NZ's Green Party pushes new environmental standard

01/07/2013

The Green Party in New Zealand has urged the Government to roll out a national environmental standard as soon as possible.

The recent adoption of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standard by the International Forestry Stewardship Council, has proven that a national standard is indeed possible.

The FSC standard outlines protection directives for 60 per cent of New Zealand’s plantation forests, and is a step in the right direction, which now needs to be followed up with a national standard, the Green party confirms.

Steffan Browning, Green Party forestry spokesperson, told Scoop.co.nz: “In the absence of a national environmental standard, this international endorsement of New Zealand's first national FSC standard is heartening.

“The National Government has put on hold the development of a national environmental standard for plantation forestry leaving massive land disturbance, sedimentation and biodiversity losses to carry on unchecked”, said Mr Browning.

He went on to add that forestry was a “hugely important sector to New Zealand’s economy and that the Government needs to “do their job and finish a national environmental standard that will lead to better environmental outcomes for all forestry in New Zealand”.

The Green Party detailed how the lack of a New Zealand-wide standard left the country's environment open to the mercy of “weak council plans” and “private standards that are yet to be monitored effectively”.

Forestry is the third largest export sector in New Zealand, accounting for seven per cent of the country's export revenue. Alongside the economic value of forests, the forest cover also has a number of other uses, from ecological, environmental and recreational uses to spiritual, social, medicinal and cultural uses, the Green Party confirmed.