Eucalyptus
Workshop February 2009
Eucalyptus
milling demonstration, February 13th
Membership
page
Media
release: Australasian Professional Foresters Support Measures to Reduce
Deforestation
Reducing
Emissions from Deforestation and Degredation
Opinion:
Carbon used or carbon stored?
NZIF
Briefing Paper to the Incoming Government, November 2008
Bio-foam
breakthrough
Review
of the Emissions Trading Scheme
President
Patrick Milne patrick@cypress.co.nz
-Nelson
-Marlborough
-North Canterbury
-Central canterbury
-West Coast
Vice President
Denis Hocking jdhocking@xtra.co.nz
-Waitomo
-Taupo & Districts
-Hawkes Bay
-Taranaki
Newsletter editor
Dean Satchell
dsatch@gmail.com
National Executive
John Dermer dermer@inspire.net.nz
-Middle districts
-Tararua
-Waikato
-Wairarapa
-Wellington
Ian Jackson ijacko@xtra.co.nz
-Ashburton
-South Canterbury
-North Otago
-Sthn High Country (north)
Neil Cullen cullen@farmside.co.nz
-Mid Otago
-South Otago
-Southland
-Men of Trees
-Sthn High Country (south)
Dean Satchell dsatch@gmail.com
-Far North
-Mid North
-Lower North
-South Auckland |
Notices
Primary Sector Water Partnership meetings with
regional councils
PWSP is in the process of arranging a series of
follow up meetings in
some regions to discuss in more detail the PSWP priority catchment
programme. The regional council reps have been asked to come back with
the details on the catchment/s that they have selected for their
regions. (i.e. catchment name, mix of land use etc).
The expectation is that depending on the mix of land use within the
selected catchments, there would be someone from each of the sectors at
each of these meetings. I have asked the regional council reps to
select catchments, if they can, that have a reasonable mix of land use
rather than just a single land use. Despite this some land uses may not
be represented in some regions.
The dates for the meetings are set out below. Branches please consider
who you will send to these meetings to represent NZFFA. It is hoped that by mid January, a list
will be provided that includes a few more details. Those interested in participating should
contact the NZFFA PSWP representative Grabrielle Walton gabrielle.walton@xtra.co.nz
Northland 16 February, 1pm - 4pm
Waikato 17
February, 1pm - 4pm (To be confirmed)
Bay of Plenty 18 February, 1pm - 4pm
Hawke's Bay 4 February, 9am - 12noon
Horizons 3 February, 9am -
12noon (To be confirmed)
Wellington 2 February, 1pm -
4pm
Canterbury 5 February, 9am
- 12noon
Otago 3
March, 1pm - 4pm
Southland 4 March, 1pm - 4pm (To be
confirmed)
Conference 2009: The registration form can be downloaded
from here
(pdf), or can be accessed from the website.
Please inform local members about registering for Conference 2009,
Gisborne 19th-23rd April.
Call
for nominations for election of three executive members at the 2009
conference in Gisborne
Retiring Executive Member (North Island):
Mr John Dermer, R D 7, Feilding.
Elected April 2004.
John is available for re-election.
Retiring Executive Member (South Island):
Mr Neil Cullen, Glenomaru Valley
Road, R D 1, Balclutha.
Elected April 2007. Neil is
available for re-election.
Extraordinary Executive Member vacancy (South Island):
The extraordinary vacancy which
ensued from the election of Patrick Milne as President in 2007 has
remained unfilled.
Non-Retiring Members of the Executive:
National President:
Mr Patrick Milne, 75 Raddens Rd.,
Ohoka, R D 2, Kaiapoi.
Patrick will complete the second
year of a two-year term as President in 2009 but has chosen to serve an
additional one-year term as provided for under the amended clause
11(b)(ii) of the Constitution and Rules.
North Island Members:
Mr Denis Hocking, R D 1, Bulls.
Elected 2001 but had previously
served on the Executive.
Mr Dean Satchell, Skudders
Beach, R.D.1 Kerikeri
Elected March 2006
South Island Members:
Mr Ian Jackson, Hunter, R D
1, Timaru
Elected April 2003.
Nomination forms can be downloaded here.
Nominees for Executive can be nominated only by branches in their
respective islands. Nominees must sign their consent and
nominations must be received by Head Office, by 20 January 2009.
Awards:
Closing date for nominations is 20
February 2009
- The Husqvarna Farm
Foresters of the Year Awards (North and South Islands) recognise
excellence and achievement in farms forestry, including service to the
association and the community. Download
nomination form
- The Michael Hay
Memorial Award is a $5,000 grant to enable a younger farm forester to
maintain the impetus of planting trees. Download
nomination form
- The NZ Landcare Trust Innovation
Award recognises innovation in sustainable farm forestry –
“think outside the square”.
Prize:
$2,000. A requirement is that an Innovation Award field day be
held on the property.
Send nominations by due
date to: NZFFA National Office.
Nomination forms may be requested from NZFFA National Office, or downloaded
from here.
NZFFA Health and safety
representative required:
Many
thanks to Dave Gratton for his many years of service. However we now
need a replacement representative. Please contact Bruce Bulloch for more information or to lodge an
expression of interest.
While a Wellington or Rotorua-based person would be the ideal, NZFFA
has some funds to cover travel costs for our representatives, and for
the H & S representative some outside funding is also likely to be
available.
NATIONAL
CONFERENCE GISBORNE 19 - 23 APRIL 2009
Due to an error, some November 2008 copies of the Tree Grower did not
have the National Conference 2009 programme registration form inserted.
Each Branch secretary should have 10 additional copies so members
should source one locally or access a copy from the NZFFA website
[please include address ]
We look forward to hosting members from across NZ at the Gisborne
conference in April 2009, we can assure you of an interesting programme.
Nick Seymour, conference chairman.
phone 06 8622697 or email pnseymour@xtra.co.nz
Meg Gaddum, conference secretary and registrar
email meg@plantfinder.co.nz
Eucalyptus Workshop February 2009
University of Canterbury
Wood Technology Research Centre presents
Revisiting Eucalypts
WORKSHOP 2009
Thursday 12 February 2009
This Workshop is an opportunity to explore opportunities for eucalypts,
ranging from carbon capture to substitution for tropical woods. The
emphasis will be as much on your informal discussion, interpretation
and application of ideas as on the presentation of technical material
by the speakers. It is hoped that participants will capture practical
benefits for their own commercial profit. At the same time the
discussions will enable us to tune our own research goals to industry
needs.
Registration will be in the Office of the School of Forestry, which is
accessed via Forestry Road, off Creyke Road, on the Ilam Campus of the
University of Canterbury. The registration pack will include a car
parking sticker and a copy of the Workshop Notes.
The Workshop will be held in Lecture Theatre COM 101 of the Commerce
Building. Coffee, Lunch and Tea will be provided in the School of
Forestry’s Common Room. There is designated day-long
parking on campus. The closest is immediately adjacent to the Commerce
Building – between there and Creyke Road.
There is a charge of $50 (including GST) to cover the cost of lunch, and
to contribute towards administration costs. Download the enrollment
form and programme here.
Eucalyptus milling demonstration, February 13th,
Canterbury
This milling
demonstration and research project will be on the day
following the Eucalyptus workshop, on the 13th Feb. Small diameter
Canterbury Eucalyptus nitens
will be milled and seasoned to establish recovery volumes and quality.
Local Canterbury branches should find this most interesting, and
financial support would be appreciated. An application to Sustainable
Farming Fund to complete the project, which aims to assess the economic
potential of Eucalyptus in New Zealand has been prepared but depends on
branch support. Canterbury has a large resource of E.nitens, so come along and show
your support.
Milling Location: Mike Davies, Downs Road, Hororata, Ph. (03)3186899
Please bring earmuffs.
Enquiries contact Dean Satchell (09)4075525
Membership web-page
This page is
for membership use, and can be accessed here.
Please have a look at it and give me feedback, ideas and suggestions.
Dean Satchell dsatch@gmail.com
Media release: Australasian Professional Foresters
Support Measures to Reduce Deforestation
New
Zealand Institute of Forestry
Te P?tahi Ng?herehere o Aotearoa Inc.
AND
The Institute of Foresters of Australia
17th December 2008
Following conclusion of the fourteenth Conference of the Parties (COP)
of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
in Poznan, Poland, the Presidents of the Institute of Foresters of
Australia (IFA), Dr Peter Volker, and the New Zealand Institute of
Forestry (NZIF), Dr Andrew McEwen, have jointly expressed support for
international recognition of activities to Reduce Emissions from
Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) within the post-2012 Kyoto
framework.
IFA and NZIF represent Australasia’s forest scientists, forest
educators and forest land managers, with a combined membership of over
2000 professionals.
REDD is a proposed mechanism whereby developed nations can encourage
reduced emissions in developing countries by helping to improve their
forestry practices.
Emissions from deforestation are currently estimated to result in
approximately 20% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.
IFA members attending the conference in Poznan noted the widespread
support for incorporation of a REDD mechanism to help meet the
objectives of the UNFCCC.
Critics of REDD have argued that timber harvesting, particularly of
native forests, should be stopped in order to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. Dr Volker acknowledged that old growth forests
store very high levels of carbon, but noted that when properly managed,
timber harvesting only temporarily reduces the amount of carbon stored
in part of the forest, while maintaining a constant reservoir across
the entire forest estate.
“In addition, what also needs to be better recognised
internationally is that when timber is harvested, carbon is transferred
from the forest to the harvested wood product, where it continues to
store carbon for long periods of time” said Dr Volker and Dr
McEwen. “If reforestation activities follow harvesting then
the storage capacity of the forest is restored, leaving the carbon
stored in wood products as a net removal from the atmosphere”
they said.
Given the very low emissions associated with timber production followed
by reforestation, the IFA and NZIF consider that it would be a perverse
greenhouse outcome to substitute the use of wood products with more
greenhouse intensive materials such as aluminium, steel and concrete.
“The optimal approach to implementation of REDD is a combination
of well-managed reserves, alongside a timber harvesting estate with
secure tenure, in which sustainable forest management is
practiced” they said.
While the Presidents noted that REDD can be implemented using
technologies that are already available, significant capacity-building
effort s are required to assist implementation in developing
countries. “As part of a global network of skilled forestry
professionals, we are well-placed to provide technical assistance in
implementation of REDD in developing countries.” They added
that successful implementation of REDD will require skills in the areas
of forest measurement, monitoring, remote sensing, policy and community
stakeholder consultation.
In response to concerns expressed by indigenous groups that REDD could
potentially to displace or fail to provide benefit to indigenous
peoples, the Presidents stated “the IFA and the NZIF would
support a REDD framework with the broadest possible participation of
indigenous peoples, where benefit flow to forest-dependent communities
is maximised.” “The traditional owners of the
land have a wealth of knowledge from centuries of implementing
sustainable forestry practices, and we should draw on this knowledge in
implementation of REDD.”
Reducing
Emissions from Deforestation and Degredation
Peru
is seeking $200 million in international contributions over the next
ten years to cut deforestation to zero, reports BBC News.
.
Speaking to BBC News at the U.N. climate meeting in Poznan, Poland,
Environment Minister Antonio Brack said Peru would aim to conserve 54
million hectares of forest over the next 10 years, an area that could
eventually rise to 60 million. He said the country is seeking $20
million per year from industrialized nations to augment the $5 million
the Peruvian government is willing to commit. He added that the
government believes 80 percent of the country's primary or old growth
forests can be saved.
"We are not a poor country going to the Poznan meeting begging
for aid," he told the BBC. "We are an important country with a large
area of forest that has a value."
The Peruvian proposal segments the 54 million hectares into four
categories: 17 million hectares of existing national parks, 12 million
for indigenous reserves, 21 million for sustainable forestry
development, and 5 million for eco-tourism. Some of the funds would go
towards increasing the country's nascent environmental police force
from 61 officers to more than 3,000.
While it wasn't initially clear how reducing emissions from
deforestation and degradation (REDD) mechanism would play into Peru's
proposal, the emergence of a market for forest carbon could be worth
hundreds of millions of dollars to the country.
Opinion:
Carbon used or carbon stored?
Under
the confidence and supply
agreement signed on 16 November between National and Act, National has
agreed to a review by a special select committee of Parliament into the
current ETS. The opportunity as I see it is for a sensible u-turn
towards centralised and direct subsidisation of clean energy
technology.
The forest industry should be focusing on the mitigation benefits of
bioenergy and woody biomass as a fossil energy substitute. This
market share for biofuels will only increase, and over time will exceed
by far the value
of forest carbon offsets, and represents revenue without liabilities
attached. In my opinion the forest industry should be focussing their
attention on the energy minister. Gerry Brownlee has tabled in
Parliament a
Bill to repeal the obligation placed on oil companies to sell a certain
proportion of biofuel. National also is to repeal the 10 year
moratorium on new base-load fossil-fuel thermal electricity generation.
This effectively delays wood-energy thermal generation, with coal the
winner. In fact Mr Brownlee has recently called coal "sexy". He
probably has no idea of the potential for wood to meet our energy
needs, or that Tasmania has actually developed export markets for wood
fuel. Is the forest industry knocking on the wrong doors when we engage
only with the ministers for Climate Change and Agriculture and
Forestry?
Dean Satchell
NZIF Briefing Paper to the Incoming Government, November
2008
Forests and Forestry, an essential ingredient of New
Zealands Economy, Society, Environment. (PDF)
Bio-foam breakthrough
New
Zealand researchers have again been honoured on the international stage
with a new environmentally friendly biofoam winning a prestigious
annual International Bioplastics Awards in the "Best Innovation in
Bioplastics" category. The novel low density, polylactic acid (PLA)
foam was entered in the awards on account of its green credentials, key
performance attributes at low densities comparable to existing
oil-based materials such as expanded polystyrene foam (EPS), and its
ability to be processed on existing EPS manufacturing lines.
The awards were presented on December 3 in Munich, Germany and accepted
on behalf of the Biopolymer Network, by awards director Mr Steve
Crowhurst. The research and product development was undertaken by a
team of Scion scientists within the Biopolymer Network, a joint venture
between three of New Zealand's Crown Research Institutes, Scion,
AgResearch and Plant & Food Research. Scion Chief Executive, Tom
Richardson, says "Within this project, we have extended the functional
application and use of this commercial bioplastic, creating a new
biofoam. The foam offers similar performance standards to the materials
that are more familiar to people such as polystyrene, which is made
from traditional, oil-based plastic."
Biopolymer Network Acting Chief Executive, Sarah Heine, says "This
biofoam ticks the sustainability box and can potentially be used in
many applications where polystyrene is traditionally applied such as in
thermal or acoustic insulation and typical building practices. The
process has been demonstrated in a commercial polystyrene moulding
plant in New Zealand to prove the concept is operable on real,
existing, manufacturing lines, removing many barriers to uptake which
may otherwise have existed."
Source: Friday
Offcuts
Review of the Emissions Trading Scheme
The Parliamentary
select committee met on 18 December. Craig Foss was appointed deputy
chairperson. The committee called for written submissions on its terms
of reference, which are available on the parliament website, and set a
closing date for submissions of 13 February 2009. Submitters have been
asked to identify the particular terms of reference they are submitting
on.
The committee will next meet on 12 February 2009.
Terms of reference
- hear views from
trade and diplomatic experts on the international relations aspects of
this issue
- consider the
prospects for an international agreement on climate change post Kyoto
1, and the form such an agreement might take
- require a high
quality, quantified regulatory impact analysis to be produced to
identify the net benefits or costs to New Zealand of any policy action,
including international relations and commercial benefits and costs
- identify the
central/benchmark projections which are being used as the motivation
for international agreements to combat climate change; and consider the
uncertainties and risks surrounding these projections
- consider the impact
on the New Zealand economy and New Zealand households of any climate
change policies, having regard to the weak state of the economy, the
need to safeguard New Zealand’s international competitiveness,
the position of trade-exposed industries, and the actions of competing
countries
- examine the
relative merits of a mitigation or adaptation approach to climate
change for New Zealand
- consider the case
for increasing resources devoted to New Zealand-specific climate change
research
- examine the
relative merits of an emissions trading scheme or a tax on carbon or
energy as a New Zealand response to climate change
- consider the need
for any additional regulatory interventions to combat climate change if
a price mechanism (an ETS or a tax) is introduced
- consider the timing
of introduction of any New Zealand measures, with particular reference
to the outcome of the December 2009 Copenhagen meeting, the position of
the United States, and the timetable for decisions and their
implementation of the Australian government
- and report to the
House accordingly.
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