The National Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry came into force in May 2018 to manage the environmental effects of 8 main forestry activities, including afforestation, earthworks, river crossings and harvest. To enable site-specific risk assessment and the application of appropriate site-specific controls the regulations take a management plan approach to forestry earthworks, quarrying and harvest. 

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For some councils the regulations were not a significant departure from existing rules and experience with plantation forestry. For others they introduced a new set of requirements, processes and responsibilities. Te Uru Rākau carried out a review of the regulations in 2019-20. One of the key findings was that some councils and some foresters needed greater support in understanding good forestry practice and applying a risk-based approach to forestry management and compliance to improve outcomes. Te Uru Rākau has commissioned work to determine how we can support improved knowledge and understanding of forestry risks and good practice to mitigate risk. We would welcome this opportunity to share some of the lessons we have learned and test interest in further engagement with the compliance and enforcement sector. 

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