Press Releases – CAFCA
New Zealand’s commitment to the flawed Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is causing environmental, economic and social damage as foreign companies buy up productive farmland to plant pine forests.The Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa (CAFCA) says the sale of farmland to overseas interests who aim to convert it to forestry is by far the most common type of consent that the Overseas Investment Office now issues.
CAFCA Secretary Murray Horton says foreign companies are eager to convert hill country farms to forests it in order to make a quick buck by selling carbon credits to polluters under the ETS.
“Flogging off Aotearoa’s New Zealand’s forestry rights goes back to the 1980s, when the Rogernomics Labour government sold cutting rights to overseas companies. It was only the Treaty of Waitangi that stopped them from selling the Crown land that the forests grew on,” he says.
“Since the creation of the ETS in 2008, however, the Government has approved the sale of a huge amount of private agricultural land to overseas companies – much of it sheep and beef farms in eastern regions of the North Island”.
“Stuff journalist Marty Sharpe has done a deep dive into the Overseas Investment Office’s records, and he says over the past ten years more than 95,000 hectares of land has been approved to be sold to overseas companies for $781 million”.
Corporates Invade
The two biggest buyers are connected with Ikea, so large corporations are getting in on the act.,” saysMurray Horton.
Critics say the practice of covering hillsides in fast-growing, shallow rooted pinus radiata trees creates a number of problems for both rural communities and the environment. It takes jobs out of local economies and stifles biodiversity, which threatens native species.
Sharpe’s Stuff article quotes Federated Farmers spokesperson Toby Williams, who says forestry does provide some jobs when the trees are planted and much later, when they are harvested. But it does not provide as many jobs as farming.
Federated Farmers’ Toby Williams says, while planting trees on the steepest, most unproductive land can make good sense financially and environmentally, converting whole farms to pines does not.
“It only adds up economically because of the ETS subsidies, which foreign companies are treating as a cash cow”, he says.
Clear Felling of Pines Resulting in Bared Earth/Slash/Siltation problems
ETS Failure
Murray Horton says that along with its economic drawbacks, the whole framework of offsetting emissions by purchasing carbon credits does not address the root cause of climate change.
“Manufacturers, airlines and other businesses can offset carbon dioxide emissions by purchasing carbon credits, which allows them to escape sanctions and carry on polluting,” he says. “Because of this the European Union now says companies that rely on carbon offsetting cannot claim to be carbon zero.”
Murray Horton says, for this reason Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton wants to phase out the ETS scheme. According to Upton, forests would have to remain unharvested virtually forever to offset carbon dioxide emissions.
“This is clearly not possible, since trees have a natural lifespan, not to mention the growing threats of fire, flooding and disease caused by climate change,” says Murray Horton.
“Ask people in Tairawhiti and Hawkes Bay about the downstream effects of planting vast areas of hill country in pine plantations. Slash and logs from clear-fell harvesting devastated farms and beaches and cost lives when cyclones caused floods there in 2023.”
Wilding Pines
Radiata pine trees are also very flammable which can have disastrous consequences. The people of Christchurch have watched the Port Hills catch fire and burn two times in recent years largely because some of the hillsides are planted in pines. Wilding pines also create a whole other set of problems he adds.
In summary the sale of farmland to overseas interests to plant monoculture pine plantations can create a perfect storm that is bad for the economy, bad for the environment and bad for people says Murray Horton.
Wilding pines on public lands, administered by Department of Conservation
Whole big sheep and beef farms have been bought up by foreign corporates or Queen Street would-be foresters. to change to large scale monoculture pine plantations. It’s sheer greed for the rich, short-term expediency and is an environmental chaotic outcome. Pines such large quantities of water from the ecosystem which means dewatering streams and rivers. Where is the Department of Conservation and NZ Fish and Game. They should be pounding the doors of politicians.
It’s not just this Goliath- like government, Key started the flawed ETS and Ardern’s government started the carbon conversion rort by opening the doors wide to foreign investors.
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment clearly has deep concerns about carbon forestry. I wholeheartedly support the PCE’s scepticism about carbon forestry. Former PM John Key should hang his head in shame for the ETS, a rort e economically and environmentally a mess. I have seen streams dry up after extensive pines were planted.
Forests planted for carbon credits are permanently locking up NZ’s landscapes, and could land us with more carbon costs, says the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton. Why doesn’t the government take notice. Apart from the PCE, Federated Farmers are angry, farmers en masse hate pine monocultures and wilding pines, environmentalists are angry. Is it National and ACT just feeding its rich corporate mates? The people elected the MPs and parties.
Well Messrs Jones and Bishop and Watts?
This makes me very angry.
Pine forests will cause more damage than problems they are supposed will solve.
Large areas of Gisborne have gone to pine trees. A recent one is Waipaoa Station. ORIGINALLY 33,000 acres now lost to pines. Huiarua went some time ago 28,000 acres and Ihungia 11,000 ac. Also, Hore Hore 4,500 ac. Tragic. Crazy.
Well done CFCA. This is one of the most serious causes of the degradation of our waterways. All readers should forward this article on to as many people as possible.
Pine forests are overpraised as carbon sinks. They are not as efficient as native forests, and once you cut them down you’ve created a bunch of other problems like siltation of the watershed and mass suffocation of invertebrates, native fish and trout. Although climate change is very real, where skeptics have a point is in the way government all too often is captured by special interests who offer self-dealing solutions without proof they work.
Pine forests are overpraised as carbon sinks. They are not as efficient as native forests, and once you cut them down you’ve created a bunch of other problems like siltation of the watershed and mass suffocation of invertebrates, native fish and trout. Although climate change is very real, where skeptics have a point is in the way government all too often is captured by special interests who offer self-dealing solutions without proof they work.
Anne Salmond wrote an excellent piece stressing similar issues here, pointing out that monoculture forests are the opposite of replacing the biodiversity of native forests. https://newsroom.co.nz/2022/02/14/folly-of-carbon-farming-with-pine-trees/