Workshops

CURRENT SUSTAINABLE FARMING FUND PROJECT:

Indigenous forestry - a comprehensive approach to providing information to the widest possible audience.

DESCRIPTION:

The project is divided into several sections although all have the ultimate objective of improving the flow of information about planted indigenous forest to any person involved in its practice. The sections are:

Workshops are being run over the whole country to introduce people to the topic and present the latest information on growing native trees.

Early research information, which is scattered around the country is being located and key information entered on to a database which when complete will be widely available.

A Manual on Continuous Cover Forestry is being written. This will cover the history and principles of CCF as well as containing practical information for the grower.

The proceedings of “Profiting from Biodiversity” seminars, which dealt with the taxation and resource management issues associated with growing native trees for timber, are to be published with funding assistance from SFF.

Preliminary work on the setting up of an interactive information and database system, to enable the recording of native tree plantations and trials.

THE ISSUE / OPPORTUNITY:

All of the above aspects of the project reflect a rapidly increasing interest in the growing of native tree species for timber. This requires the provision of readily available information, good record keeping systems and actions to make external impacts like taxation less prohibitive.

CONTEXT / BACKGROUND:

The project is important because the information that people need in order to establish and manage their own forests is at best scattered and at worst not available in usable form. The Trust’s objectives illustrate the requirements.

• building a network of knowledge sharing amongst stakeholders
• retrieval of past incomplete research projects pertaining to establishment, growth and productive use of indigenous tree species.
• the establishment of new research projects.
• maximising the economic incentives for establishing indigenous trees by reducing establishment costs.
• resolving taxation, legal and political obstacles currently serving as disincentives to the planting of indigenous trees

METHODS

Most of the methods are mentioned in the above. The Trust has set up a network of stakeholders which include individual land owners, scientists, foresters, Regional and Local Councils and government employees. To these stakeholders and the wider public we will disseminate information by means of workshops, publications, through our website and newsletter to network members and by the provision of databases to enable rapid search and retrieval of information.