Forestry slash and silt blankets the once green Esk Valley since Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo: RNZ / Kate Green
The government is bringing in new rules to tighten up on farm-to-forestry conversions, giving communities greater control of what is planted, and where.
Local councils would decide under the Resource Management Act what land could be used for pine forests.
"These changes are about getting the right tree in the right place, by seeing fewer pine forests planted on farmland and more on less productive land," said Forestry Minister Peeni Henare.
He said the new regulations also responded to concerns from regions such as Te Tai Rāwhiti and Wairoa, where forestry slash in floodwaters exacerbated the damage from Cyclone Gabrielle.
Henare said residents were anxious about the scale of exotic forestry and its impact on communities and the environment.
New forestry conversions would have to have fire breaks, and there would be rules on planting next to rivers, lakes and wetlands.
Peeni Henare. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
"The forestry sector is important to local economies, contributing over $6.5 billion annually and providing over 35,000 jobs. It's also important for the environment and meeting our emissions budgets and targets," Henare said.
"Afforestation provides sequestration to offset gross emissions, bioenergy to support a low carbon transition and substitution for higher carbon materials."
But he said large-scale change in land use for exotic carbon forestry, if left unchecked and without any management oversight or requirements, had the potential for unintended impacts on the environment, rural communities, and regional economies.
"The devastation that unfolded in Te Tai Rāwhiti during Cyclone Gabrielle was a stark reminder what can happen if we get land-use settings wrong."
He said changes to forestry standards regarding slash provisions, sediment control and harvest management plans would start to improve the environmental impacts of forestry.