New Zealand’s Southern Wood Council wants the government to recognise the environmental benefits of the forest industry.
The request follows publication of a study by industry expert Peter Sligh which says that despite heavy on-processing of timber in the region, the industry provides more environmental benefits than impacts.
Council spokesperson Phil Taylor said if emissions from forestry activities were weighed with carbon caught up in the plantations, the forestry industry absorbed carbon to the tune of 13:1 over the first Kyoto commitment period.
But, he said, far from helping forestry be part of the solution in the fight against climate change, government policy seemed to be treating it as part of the problem.
Mr Taylor claimed the industry was having to carry heavy financial penalties through increased taxes on petrol and electricity and that the government is using the timber industry’s carbon credits to offset emissions from other industries, including its direct competitors – steel and cement.
He said the government had failed to understand the extent of the industry’s crisis of confidence and miscalculated its future growth.
He added: “The current credit system, coupled with weak timber markets, means that few are prepared to replant”, describing it as both an environmental and economic catastrophe.
