Biodiversity Best Protected Through Harvesting

26 April 2001

Federated Farmers is urging the Inquiry into Sustainable Forestry Management to allow landowners to sustainably harvest indigenous forestry.

Federated Farmers has told the inquiry that allowing landowners to sustainably harvest indigenous forestry gives them the income for proactive management and provides greater incentives to sustainably manage the resource. The enforced lock up will make areas of indigenous flora a liability, and will eventually lead to their loss due to lack of management.

"Enabling legislation to encourage landowners to maintain indigenous flora and fauna on private land will do more to enhance biodiversity than any amount of restrictive rule and regulation," said spokesman John Aspinall. Commercial harvest on a sustainable basis is the best way of doing it.

"Federated Farmers supports the need for landowners to sustainably manage the soil, water and air. However, if the public wishes to maintain a particular vegetation type or management style in the "public good" then the public must either fund this or provide the incentives to make it worthwhile for the owner," said John Aspinall.

Federated Farmers is concerned at the high cost of obtaining a sustainable management permit under the Forests Amendment Act (FAA) and the lack of certainty in the process. Federated Farmers has also submitted that sustainable management plans under the FAA should clearly fulfil the requirements of the RMA, to avoid duplication of process.

ENDS

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