Many New Zealand farms are already dotted with significant stands of exotics and natives, and it doesn’t take too much more work to ensure those trees meet the requirements needed to earn carbon credits.
All landowners want to maximise the returns from each hectare of land they manage and if they can do it through planting trees or manuka, it diversifies their business.
But it’s still far more enticing to grow pine and some farmers want a rethink on how natives are treated under the regulations.
While they may sequester less carbon, they play other vital roles in a biodiverse environment.
It seems it’s time to give the home team a fair deal.
Bryan Gibson
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