What is forest land under the Emission Trading Scheme (ETS)?
Under the ETS, forest land is defined as being at least 1 hectare with forest species that has, or is likely to have, tree crown cover with an average width of more than 30% on each hectare.
Forest species are trees that are capable of reaching five metres in height at maturity in the place that they are growing, excluding tree species that are grown primarily for the production of fruit and nuts crops.
What is pre-1990 forest land?
Pre-1990 forest is land that was in forest on 31 December 1989 and remained in predominantly exotic forest on 31 December 2007. Indigenous forest is not subject to the rules of the ETS and therefore is not pre-1990 forest.
How many New Zealand Units (NZUs) are allocated to Crown forest licensed (CFL) land?
The Climate Change Response Act provides for 18 NZUs per hectare for eligible pre-1990 Crown Forest Licensed (CFL) land transferred on or after 1 January 2008.
Seven NZUs per hectare will be transferred into the FEUT holding account in the first instance. The remaining 11 NZUs/ha will be transferred in 2013 subject to Government policy on the ETS not changing in the meantime.
The table below summarises the number of NZUs that have been allocated to each of the 47 forests and held on trust by FEUT. Each forest also shows a map of the eligible pre-1990 forest land for which the allocation of NZUs apply. This table will be updated regularly as the FEUT progresses through the application and allocation process.
The number of hectares of pre-1990 forest land for which the FEUT has applied for NZUs is based on the independent analysis of eligible land undertaken by Indufor Asia Pacific. In the most part, the areas of pre-1990 forest land initially mapped by MAF GIS experts corresponds with the FEUT’s independent analysis.
Tree Weed Exemption for Karioi Forest
The FEUT has applied to MAF for a Tree Weed Exemption over 140 hectares of land that has been cleared of Pinus contorta (lodgepole pine) that has also mapped as eligible pre-1990 forest land. MAF has advised that the application will be considered in early July 2012 and that any areas of Karioi Forest that receive a Tree Weed Exemption will be deducted from the Notice of Final Determination. Consequently, decisions on the final allocation of NZUs for Karioi Forest and the transfer of NZUs into the FEUT Holding Account are not expected until late July.
