Forestry
National Environmental Standard – Plantation Forestry
The National Environmental Standard for Plantation Forestry (NES-PF) came into effect on 1 May 2018. The NES-PF are regulations under the Resource Management Act (RMA) and applies to any forest of at least 1 hectare that has been planted specifically for commercial purposes and will be harvested.
The NES-PF regulations aims to:
- set out technical standards, methods or requirements relating to matters under the RMA; and
- provide consistent rules across the country by setting planning requirements for certain specified activities.
The NES-PF regulations cover eight core plantation forestry activities that have potential environmental effects:
1.Afforestation (planting new forest)
2.Pruning and thinning-to-waste (selective felling of trees where the felled trees remain on site)
3.Earthworks
4.River crossings
5.Forestry quarrying (extraction of rock, sand, or gravel within a plantation forest or for operation of a forest on adjacent land)
6.Harvesting
7.Mechanical land preparation
8.Replanting (use the flow chart links that are currently on the planning section page)
Before activities 1, 3, 4, 5 or 6 detailed above can take place, the Regional Council (and in some cases District Council) must be given written notice. Activities 2, 7 and 8 do not require notice, but the criteria in the NES-PF must be complied with.
To notify the Council of forestry activities please complete this form
Some activities may require the submission of additional information such as Earthworks Management Plans, Harvest Plans and Quarry Erosion and Sediment Plans. The NES-PF includes two schedules (Schedule 3 and Schedule 4) that lists the information that must be included in the management plans.
Most forestry activities are permitted by the NES-PF so long as foresters meet specific conditions to prevent significant adverse environmental effects from occurring. If foresters can't meet these conditions they need to apply for a resource consent.
For more information see the Ministry for Primary Industries website here: https://www.mpi.govt.nz/growing-and-harvesting/for...
