New forest endeavour embraces people, planet and profit

NATIVE: Two pine forests in Gisborne — one 263ha and the other 186ha — will be retired and regenerated into native forests, like this one at Paritu Station, under a MyFarm investment offer. File picture

New efforts to purchase two Gisborne forests could be good for business and the planet, investment company MyFarm says.

“Essentially we are looking to buy four properties for long-term reversion to native,” MyFarm Investments chief executive Andrew Watters said.

Two of the four forests are near Gisborne.

“We will be retiring them from harvest with the aim of promoting the regrowth of natives that is already occurring,” Mr Watters said.

“It is a new area of endeavour but we feel a good thing to do.”

One property is a 263 hectare Pinus radiata forest located on a total title area of 281.4 hectares. It is approximately 19km north-west of Gisborne and is on class 7 steep land subject to erosion.

The other property is a 186.2 canopy hectare Pinus radiata forest. It consists of six titles, with a total title area of 218.9 hectares. There is about 25ha of native bush and it is approximately 22km due north of Gisborne.

“On both of these properties there is regeneration of native shrubs and ferns which we will encourage over time through creating light wells by cutting down or poisoning selected trees and through managing browsing pests,” Mr Watters said.

The offer would establish a new forest, with the aim that it also becomes a permanent regenerating forest.

Over time, what started as a Pinus radiata forest will be encouraged to regenerate into native species, with the pine acting as a nurse crop, and with the right interventions, allowing native seedlings to establish and eventually take over as a regenerating native forest.

“As owners of the property we are receiving a lease, and we expect the lessee to manage the conversion to native over time,” Mr Watters said.

“Admittedly, the forests will not look like native forests for perhaps another 50 years but in the meantime we have managed to save them from being cut down, the community avoids the risk of more slash and we also save the carbon sequestered in those forests which will help new Zealand meet its climate change/ Paris Accord commitments.”

The proposal expects to reduce New Zealand’s net emissions by about 1 mega-tonne by 2030. Although less than 0.2 percent of New Zealand’s need, it is still equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of more than 40,000 families for one year.

The investment offer through Terra Verde Investments LP opened on May 10 and forecasts cash returns of 8.5 percent (adjusted for inflation).

That was “a pretty good return” compared to a pine carbon farming model where there was risk around the amount of carbon being stored (which could be affected by wind throw or some other loss) and the price for carbon, Mr Watters said.

A capital raise of $20.6m plus oversubscriptions of $2.1m is sought on minimum investments of $50,000. The offer closes on June 21.