New Zealand Legislation: Regulations
Regulations are laws made under Acts
Add to web feed 2007/354
These regulations are administered by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
Pursuant to sections 67Y and 67ZL of the Forests Act 1949, His Excellency the Governor-General, acting on the advice and with the consent of the Executive Council, makes the following regulations.
These regulations are the Forests (Permanent Forest Sink) Regulations 2007.
These regulations come into force on 1 December 2007.
In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires,—
Act means the Forests Act 1949
active establishment —
(a) means the direct human-induced conversion of unforested land to an eligible forest through planting, seeding, or promotion of natural seed sources; but
(b) excludes the clearance on or after 1 December 2007 of 5 or more hectares of land predominantly in naturally occurring indigenous tree species
approved harvesting practice means—
(a) a harvesting practice that is consistent with continuous cover forestry; or
(b) any other harvesting practice approved by the Minister under regulation 8
assigned amount unit has the same meaning as in section 4(1) of the Climate Change Response Act 2002
basal area means the total cross-sectional area of all trees, excluding bark, measured at a point that is 1.4 metres from ground level on the uphill side of the tree, expressed in square metres per hectare
carbon stock, in relation to a forest sink, means the total carbon stored in a forest sink
continuous cover forestry means the management of a forest sink where the harvesting of trees retains a minimum of 80% of the pre-harvest basal area on each hectare for the first harvesting operation, and for subsequent harvesting, either a minimum of 80% of the existing pre-harvest basal area on each hectare or 80% of the previous pre-harvesting basal area on each hectare, whichever is the greater
If the basal area for a given hectare is 100 square metres, then 80% of this basal area must be retained at the end of the initial harvest. Subsequent harvesting may only occur if the basal area is above 80 square metres for the hectare and may not drop the basal area below 80 square metres. If the landowner leaves the forest to grow to a basal area greater than 100 square metres after a harvest, then the 80% retention requirement applies to the greater basal area (that is, if the basal area increased to 140 square metres, the subsequent harvests may not drop the basal area below 112 square metres).
eligible forest —
(a) means an area of land of at least 1 hectare that has, or will at maturity have, tree crown cover (or equivalent stocking level) of more than 30% in each hectare in which—
(i) the trees have the potential to reach a minimum height of 5 metres at maturity in the place where they are located; and
(ii) the forest consists of—
(A) closed forest formations where trees of various heights and undergrowth cover a high proportion of the ground; or
(B) open forest; and
(b) includes areas normally forming part of a forest that are temporarily unstocked as a result of human intervention or natural causes but that are expected to revert to forest; but
(c) does not include—
(i) a shelter belt where the tree crown cover at maturity has or is expected to have an average width of less than 30 metres; or
(ii) areas of land where the tree crown cover at maturity has or is expected to have an average contiguous with other eligible forest; or
(iii) horticultural crops
first commitment period has the same meaning as in section 4(1) of the Climate Change Response Act 2002
forest sink means eligible forest that is growing or will be grown on Kyoto-compliant land as the result of active establishment
forest sink area means the area specified as the forest sink area in a forest sink covenant
forest sink plan means the plan completed by the landowner, and includes the requirements that the landowner must meet for the—
(a) active establishment of the forest sink; and
(b) management of the forest sink
harvesting means the felling and removal of timber from a forest sink area
Kyoto-compliant land means any land not covered by an eligible forest as at midnight on 31 December 1989
Registry has the same meaning as in section 4(1) of the Climate Change Response Act 2002
restricted period, in relation to a forest sink covenant, means 99 years from the date on which the covenant is registered under section 67ZD of the Act
units has the same meaning as in section 4(1) of the Climate Change Response Act 2002.
(1) A landowner may apply to the Minister to enter into a forest sink covenant.
(2) The application must be—
(a) in writing addressed to the Minister on a form provided for that purpose by the Secretary; and
(b) signed by or on behalf of the landowner.
(3) The application must be accompanied by—
(a) a forest sink plan; and
(b) information that establishes that the land is Kyoto-compliant land; and
(c) for areas greater than 50 hectares, a geospatial data file derived from an orthographically corrected aerial photograph or a survey plan capable of being deposited under the Land Transfer Act 1952 that verifies the boundaries of any proposed forest sink area; and
(d) for areas less than 50 hectares, either—
(i) the information required under paragraph (c); or
(ii) GPS co-ordinates from a GPS device that captures bounding co-ordinates of the proposed forest sink area; and
(e) the applicable fee, charge, or levy specified in Schedule 1; and
(f) the landowner's holding account details in the Registry.
(1) The Minister may require a landowner who has made an application under regulation 4 to provide further information relevant to evaluating the application.
(2) The application lapses if the landowner does not supply the required further information within 90 days after the date on which the Minister informs the applicant in writing that it is required.
The Minister may enter into a forest sink covenant with a landowner who has made an application under regulation 4 on the terms that the Minister thinks fit if the Minister is satisfied—
(a) with the landowner's application; and
(b) that—
(i) the land is Kyoto-compliant land; and
(ii) the landowner has paid any applicable fees, charges, or levies specified in Schedule 1; and
(iii) the landowner has submitted a suitable forest sink plan for the proposed forest sink.
Subject to the terms of the relevant forest sink covenant, harvesting may not take place within a forest sink area during the restricted period unless the harvesting is consistent with approved harvesting practice.
The Minister may approve a harvesting practice other than a practice that is consistent with continuous cover forestry if the Minister is satisfied that the practice is—
(a) necessary to salvage timber from a forest sink area that is affected by a natural disturbance; or
(b) required as a result of the exercise of any power that relates to a public work.
Any person who breaches regulation 7 is liable to a civil penalty that is the sum of—
(a) any units received in respect of the proportion of the forest sink harvested in breach of regulation 7; and
(b) any additional units calculated on the basis of an annual compounding rate of 10% applied to each year's increase in carbon stock from that proportion of the forest harvested in breach of regulation 7 for the period beginning on the date that the covenant came into force and ending on the date that the breach occurred.
(1) A landowner may, after 1 January 2009, submit a request to the Secretary to receive units.
(2) A landowner may only make 1 request under subclause (1) per calendar year.
(3) To receive units in relation to the first commitment period, a landowner must submit a request to the Secretary to receive units by 31 March 2013.
(4) If a landowner makes a request under subclause (1) or (3), and is entitled to receive units, the Secretary must arrange for the transfer of the units to the landowner's holding account in the Registry.
(5) Subclauses (1) to (4) are subject to the terms of the relevant forest sink covenant.
(1) The landowner is entitled to receive assigned amount units for the net increase in carbon stock by the forest sink area during the first commitment period.
(2) If the landowner is obliged to transfer units to the Crown, the units must be units that can be held and transferred from the landowner's holding account in the Registry.
(3) However, the Crown may, at its sole discretion, accept payment in New Zealand dollars for the value of the units that the landowner is obliged to transfer to the Crown.
(4) The landowner is entitled to receive units, of a type approved by the Minister, for the net increase in carbon stock by the forest sink area after the first commitment period.
(5) Prior to making a decision to approve a certain type of unit under subclause (4), the Minister must consult with the landowners that would be affected by the decision.
(1) The landowner of a forest sink area must keep records of—
(a) all carbon stock measurements in respect of the forest sink, including (but not limited to)—
(i) raw data:
(ii) statistical analysis:
(iii) data collection techniques:
(iv) forest inventory methodology; and
(b) harvesting within the boundaries of the forest sink, including (but not limited to)—
(i) measurements of the pre-harvest and post-harvest basal area:
(ii) maps showing the location and boundaries of areas subject to harvesting:
(iii) the dates of harvesting:
(iv) the volume of timber harvested; and
(c) any changes of ownership of the forest sink; and
(d) any records required by the relevant forest sink covenant.
(2) The records required under subclause (1) must be—
(a) accurate in all respects, including (but not limited to) the events, measurements, and activities that the records purport to represent; and
(b) complete; and
(c) reliable.
(1) The landowner, or landowners, of a forest sink area—
(a) must provide the Minister with the following information:
(i) any changes of ownership of the forest sink; and
(ii) details of any person acting on behalf of the landowner in respect of the forest sink; and
(iii) details for accessing the forest sink, including (but not limited to)
(A) a description of how access may be gained; and
(B) the contact particulars of the person to be notified if access is required; and
(iv) any information required to be provided to the Minister by the relevant forest sink covenant:
(b) must, on the request of the Minister, provide the Minister with any information required to be kept under regulation 12.
(2) The information required under subclause (1) must be—
(a) accurate in all respects, including (but not limited to) the events, measurements, and activities that the records purport to represent; and
(b) complete; and
(c) reliable.
(1) The fees, charges, and levies set out in Schedule 1 are payable in respect of the matters specified in that schedule.
(2) The fees, charges, and levies are payable—
(a) on the making of the relevant application or on the performance of the relevant service (as the case may require); or
(b) in the case of fees or levies payable annually, within 10 days (or within a longer period that the Secretary may allow) after receipt of a demand for the appropriate amount from the Secretary.
The fees, charges, and levies specified in Schedule 1 are exclusive of goods and services tax.
The Secretary may grant an exemption from, or waive or refund, in whole or in part, any fee, charge, or levy specified in these regulations in any appropriate case or class of cases.
Schedule 1 |
| Activity | Items included | Cost recovery method | Fee, charge, or levy |
| Application processing | Acknowledging | One-off application fee and then hourly rate | $500 fixed fee plus $115 per hour for every hour over 4 hours |
| application, checking for completeness, opening file, entering data and recording information, checking land eligibility, approving forest sink plan, preparing and signing covenant, and transferring data to national carbon accounting system | |||
| Travel | Travelling to and from site to assess application and land eligibility | Rate per kilometre, actual and reasonable costs, and hourly rate for travel | 69 cents per kilometre for motor vehicle travel, actual and reasonable costs for meals, accommodation, and transportation (including airfares), and $115 per hour of travel |
Schedule 2 | r 17 |
Rebecca Kitteridge,
for Clerk of the Executive Council.
This note is not part of the regulations, but is intended to indicate their general effect.
These regulations, which come into force on 1 December 2007, set out the various requirements in relation to the establishment and maintenance of permanent forest sinks.
Date of notification in Gazette: 22 November 2007.
Add to web feed