Peter Berg: Aotearoa’s native forests are worth fighting for

Native trees have always had a special place in Peter Berg's heart. File photo / Michael Craig

Opinion: Peter Berg, chair of Tane’s Tree Trust, writes about his decades-long fight for native trees and how in that time public interest has grown from a “modest-sized group” to the sold-out O Tātou Ngahere Conference at Te Papa today.

Aotearoa’s native forests have been evolving separately from the rest of the world for 100 million years.

I know this is hard to contextualise. But if we were to compact these 100 million years into the timeframe of a single year, then humans have been in Aotearoa for a mere four minutes.

In that time, we’ve managed to remove much of what is unique to our lands, including a large part of our diverse and totally unique native forest and the associated wildlife.

Before people first arrived in Aotearoa, it’s estimated that 80 per cent of our land was covered by native forest growth. That number now sits at less than 30 per cent.

Native trees have always had a special place in my heart. After 60 years as a forester, I’ve come to know I have to do as much as I can to ensure my grandchildren and their grandchildren can walk beneath canopies of mighty kauri, tōtara, ponga, and rimu. Just as I’ve been able to.

But over these years I’ve seen our native forest cover dwindle and its quality diminish.

More than two decades ago I joined some like-minded people who felt the need to save and grow the native forests. Initially, it was a modest-sized group.

They were like me, pretty ordinary folk. Scientists, farmers, and foresters who felt the same, and together we founded Tāne’s Tree Trust, with the goal of ensuring our descendants could experience the uniqueness our terrestrial environment has to offer.

In 2000 and 2010 we held native forest-focused conferences. These were fantastic but in truth, we struggled to gain traction with most mainstream New Zealanders. People still weren’t convinced of their importance.

We didn’t give in, continuing to investigate, plant, and share the knowledge of how these magnificent trees protect and nurture our environment and the very culture of Aotearoa.

Unless we catalysed some action, we and our descendants were less likely to see old-growth native forests in the future.

We know it’s imperative we share the knowledge and experience we have at Tāne’s Tree Trust to regenerate and manage native forest. We believe it’s possibly our country’s most valuable resource.

People have proved this with the personification of Te Urewera Forest by law to reflect the intrinsic spiritual tie between mana whenua and ngāhere.

And it’s proved again, as farmers take it upon themselves to regenerate native forest remnants on farmland, instead of converting it to pasture or exotic forestry. And we’re now seeing it again as we look at how forestry can protect us from global warming.

Listen to Jamie Mackay interview Peter Berg on The Country below:

With Tāne’s Tree Trust I’ve worked hard to build national support for native forests. This includes planting many thousands of native trees and advising and assisting landowners to do the same themselves through a range of projects. And after two decades of hard work, we’re finally seeing it pay off.

This year we’re again hosting Ō Tātou Ngāhere and the difference between our events in 2000 and 2010 couldn’t be starker.

We’re entirely sold out with only virtual attendance remaining. People are coming from across the country to hear industry leaders and experts discuss how we best look after our most precious asset.

We want to provide information for people to plant, regenerate, and manage native forest in a way that will contribute to all the benefits they provide. This is about more than just wood supply.

The argument for natives is limitless. It’s about wairuatanga and kaitiakitanga, the spirituality and connection we have with trees as whakapapa and the need to protect them.

It’s about restoring our water systems, sustaining biodiversity, building environmental resilience, and sequestering carbon dioxide.

More than 70 per cent of people who come to Aotearoa are said to visit a native forest area. It’s part of our identity and character, it brings peace and a sense of belonging to locals and visitors alike.

These are the exact reasons why native forests are worth fighting for and why I’ve put my effort into bringing Ō Tātou Ngāhere to life alongside Pure Advantage.

There’s a fork in the road before us and there are two options we can choose from.

The first involves widespread native regeneration across the motu that our mokopuna will enjoy and which will continue to thrive for the next 100 million years.

The second continues our current less-focused trajectory, which won’t see major changes anytime soon.

I know which path I want to take and I’m proud to say that I, and those at Ō Tātou Ngāhere, are committed to making every effort to see that happen.

- Peter Berg ONZM, is the chair of Tāne’s Tree Trust