Rt Hon Helen Clark 25 March 2003 Address to United Nations Forum on Forests Experts Meeting
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my pleasure this morning to welcome all participants in this important forum on the role of planted forests in sustainable forest management.
Four years ago, New Zealand participated in the first expert meeting on the positive role of planted forests in sustainable forest management. We are delighted that so many nations, international organisations, and NGOs are represented at this second meeting.
New Zealand is an active participant in international efforts for sustainability in general. We know that the ecosystem of our planet is under considerable stress, that the world's population is rising steeply, and that natural resources are under great pressure. We believe that the current unsustainable use of resources cries out for urgent action on a global scale. While no one nation can resolve the problems, all nations, no matter how small, must be part of their resolution. This was the essence of the message which I took as New Zealand Prime Minister to the World Summit on Sustainable Development in South Africa last year.
Our quest for sustainability at home and abroad has seen New Zealand ratify the Kyoto Protocol; reorient our development assistance programme to a focus on poverty alleviation; work for sustainable fisheries in our own region of the Pacific and internationally; and shift our forestry production almost entirely away from our native forest to sustainable planted forests.
Our government places a very high priority indeed on the conservation of New Zealand's native forests. When elected at the end of 1999 we took a decision to stop all logging in indigenous forests owned by the government. We have a strong belief that the intrinsic values of our remaining wild natural areas should be preserved for future generations. We also know that in economic terms New Zealand benefits from its international reputation for being clean and green and having vast areas of pristine forest. Indeed around twenty four per cent of our total land area is covered in native forest.
In summary, our native forests have far more value to us in their conserved state. They are culturally significant to New Zealanders. They are important for their unique biological diversity. They help stabilise soil and protect water values. They are used for recreation and many other purposes. We believe it is important to protect what we have left.
The small amount of native forest not in public ownership is in general subject to strict rules aimed at sustainable management, and contributes less than one half of one per cent to the twenty million cubic metres of wood produced each year in New Zealand.
As long ago as the 1890s, it was recognised in New Zealand that if we continued to fell our indigenous forests for agricultural development and to meet our wood product needs, we would have cleared all those forests well before the close of the twentieth century. Active planning and the establishment of planted forests in the early twentieth century enabled an alternative resource of nearly two million hectares of planted forests to be developed. We see planted forests as not only a sustainable resource, but also as providing a way for the world to protect the full biodiversity of its indigenous forests.
Currently, the New Zealand forestry sector accounts for four per cent of GDP with an annual output worth of $5 billion. Forestry is our third largest export sector and earns twelve per cent of New Zealand's total export revenue. The sector aims to be the largest export earner by 2025. It directly employs 25,000 people, and generates an additional 100,000 jobs.
The government does not provide direct assistance or incentives to the forestry sector. Over the past three years, however, our government has worked in partnership with the forestry sector on a wood processing strategy to maximise the value for New Zealand from our planted forests.
There is a wide range of participants in the forestry sector. At one end of the spectrum there are the multinational corporations, and at the other, there are family-owned forests consisting of only a few hectares. Ninety one per cent of our planted forests are owned or managed privately.
New Zealand's planted forest area represents just one per cent of the total global planted forest area. At the global level, planted forests make up only five per cent of the world's total forest area. However, this relatively small percentage masks the significant contribution that planted forests can make towards sustainable development. A recent FAO study showed that the five per cent of the total forest area which is planted provides 35 per cent of the world's wood supply.
New Zealand's planted forests have made significant contributions to New Zealand's economic, social and environmental well being. In addition to supplying wood and non-wood forest products, planted forests also contribute environmental benefits, such as soil and water protection and carbon absorption. Our planted forests have rehabilitated degraded land and stimulated regional and national economic growth and development.
There can, of course, be problems if forest planting is undertaken without due regard for environmental and other wider social and cultural considerations. Policy makers and politicians the world over need to address those issues in order to maximise the role of planted forests in sustainable forest management. That is why this forum is being held: to discuss, debate, and advance these issues from the discussion which occurred in Santiago, Chile in April 1999 where the broader benefits of planted forests were reinforced.
During your visit to New Zealand we are keen to give you a glimpse of our diverse forest landscape and of how we have developed our forestry sector, and to tell you of the lessons we have learned along the way. I know that after the forum some of you will be touring the South Island forests and some parts of our conservation estate where you will see our magnificent natural forests. I hope that these forest visits add some context to your discussions, conclusions, and impressions. And I hope that when you next meet in a forum such as this one, you will look back to your visit to New Zealand and reflect on your experiences here.
In conclusion, I wish to thank the Governments of Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States and the following international organisations, the International Tropical Timber Organisation, the Centre for International Forestry Research, the International Union of Forest Research Organisation, and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations for co-sponsoring this meeting. It is my pleasure now to declare this second expert consultation on the role of planted forests in sustainable forest management officially open.
the past three years, however, our government has worked in partnership with the forestry sector on a wood processing strategy to maximise the value for New Zealand from our planted forests.
There is a wide range of participants in the forestry sector. At one end of the spectrum there are the multinational corporations, and at the other, there are family-owned forests consisting of only a few hectares. Ninety one per cent of our planted forests are owned or managed privately.
New Zealand's planted forest area represents just one per cent of the total global planted forest area. At the global level, planted forests make up only five per cent of the world's total forest area. However, this relatively small percentage masks the significant contribution that planted forests can make towards sustainable development. A recent FAO study showed that the five per cent of the total forest area which is planted provides 35 per cent of the world's wood supply.
New Zealand's planted forests have made significant contributions to New Zealand's economic, social and environmental well being. In addition to supplying wood and non-wood forest products, planted forests also contribute environmental benefits, such as soil and water protection and carbon absorption. Our planted forests have rehabilitated degraded land and stimulated regional and national economic growth and development.
There can, of course, be problems if forest planting is undertaken without due regard for environmental and other wider social and cultural considerations. Policy makers and politicians the world over need to address those issues in order to maximise the role of planted forests in sustainable forest management. That is why this forum is being held: to discuss, debate, and advance these issues from the discussion which occurred in Santiago, Chile in April 1999 where the broader benefits of planted forests were reinforced.
During your visit to New Zealand we are keen to give you a glimpse of our diverse forest landscape and of how we have developed our forestry sector, and to tell you of the lessons we have learned along the way. I know that after the forum some of you will be touring the South Island forests and some parts of our conservation estate where you will see our magnificent natural forests. I hope that these forest visits add some context to your discussions, conclusions, and impressions. And I hope that when you next meet in a forum such as this one, you will look back to your visit to New Zealand and reflect on your experiences here.
In conclusion, I wish to thank the Governments of Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States and the following international organisations, the International Tropical Timber Organisation, the Centre for International Forestry Research, the International Union of Forest Research Organisation, and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations for co-sponsoring this meeting.
It is my pleasure now to declare this second expert consultation on the role of planted forests in sustainable forest management officially open.
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