Govt Opens Applications for Forest Carbon Credits

Government Opens Applications for Compensatory Carbon Credits for Forest Owners

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has announced that the owners of forest land established before 1990 can now apply for a one-off compensatory allocation of carbon credits valued from $700 to $1000 per hectare.

From 1 August 2010, owners of forest land that was planted in exotic forestry before 1990 have until November 2011 to apply from the government to receive an allocation of tradable carbon credits that is valued between NZ$700 and NZ$1000 per hectare of forest.

Carbon Business Manager for Independent Forestry Services Mike Mitchell said that this is an opportunity that forest owners should not pass up.

“This free allocation of tradable carbon credits is essentially compensation for the impact of deforestation rules brought in under the Emissions Trading Scheme has had on pre-1990 forest land. These credits can be sold tax free. This is a windfall for some forest owners, and they should be looking to apply as soon as possible”.

For southern forest owners, the value of this allocation is over NZ$50 million, and over the whole country hundreds of millions of dollars.

Mitchell says that it is expected that government will have a backlog of applications so it is important that forest owners contact IFS now to submit the required details so that forest owners can receive and sell their credits sooner rather than later.

IFS is a New Zealand based forest management and consulting company that provides a full forest management service that integrates traditional forest management with carbon management. They have been providing advice on carbon management to major New Zealand corporates, forest owners and overseas investors since the inception of the New Zealand carbon market.

ENDS