SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL DECLARATION & CHOICES.
In 1997 Lindsay & Dixon and the Waitutu Incorporation (local iwi) were instrumental in negotiating the Waitutu Block Settlement Act, which enabled 2100 hectares of virgin Rimu forest to be gifted back to the Crown, in exchange for the cutting rights over the naturally regenerating Longwood & Rowallan Beech forests in Western Southland. Lindsay & Dixon has a 100 year contractual forestry agreement to sustainably manage and harvest the resource.
Te Uru Rakau (Ministry of Primary Industries) administers and audits the Sustainable Forestry Management Plan (SFMP 4-13-0019) on an annual basis. Southland District Council and Environment Southland administer and audit matters related to the Resource Management Act with a particular focus on waterways and flora and fauna biodiversity.
In 2004 Lindsay & Dixon gained Forest Stewardship Council certification (FSC – NC-FM/COC 001148). The FSC process provides a 4th tier level and overarching audit of the company operations. Lindsay & Dixon is the only company in New Zealand to hold FSC certification for indigenous forest management and harvesting.
SUSTAINABLE forest management is defined as the forest being able to provide a full range of products and amenities in perpetuity, while maintaining the forest’s natural values. Sustainability of indigenous forests must consider the area and volume of the resource that is permitted for harvest, as well as the forests ecological biodiversity – water, soil, flora and fauna management.
SUSTAINABLE AREA – Indigenous forests comprise 6.4 million hectares or 24% of the total land area of New Zealand. The Waitutu /L&D forest estate under sustainable management is 12188 hectares with a maximum allowable harvest area of 87ha per annum.
SUSTAINABLE VOLUME – There are 2 billion trees within New Zealand’s indigenous forest estate, and approximately 2.5 million trees within the Waitutu /L&D estate. The maximum permitted harvest is 24000 trees per annum. As a percentage of both area and volume the permitted harvest level is less than one percent per annum.
ECOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT – addresses the protection and preservation of the waterways, soil condition, flora and fauna and the regeneration of our forest post harvesting. Regeneration of the forest is a critical element of the SFMP and provides certainty that forest products and amenities are available in perpetuity.
Beech forests regenerate naturally and prolifically, with thousands of seedlings lying dormant on the forest floor until the canopy of the forest is opened. Sufficient tree slash is left in the forest to provide a nutrient base and protection for new seedling establishment. Pest animal and wilding plant control is undertaken in the area of operational activity.
The forest has a natural incremental growth rate of 4% or the equivalent of 100000 trees per annum. For each tree harvested, the equivalent of 4 new trees are naturally grown on and replaced.
HARVESTING of the trees is selected by cutting trees in ‘coupes’ – the size and area of the coupes is subject to the terrain and topography of the operational area and can range from 0.50ha to a maximum of 20.0ha. The coupe areas are surveyed and mapped prior to harvest and demarcate natural waterways, wetlands and adjoining legal boundaries.
CARBON BENEFITS – Timber sequests (absorbs and stores) a net 1.8 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere over and above the energy expended in growing, harvesting and processing the wood for sale. During the production of comparative building materials, the production of one tonne of:
CEMENT emits 1.2 tonne of CO2 into the atmosphere; STEEL emits 1.9 tonne of CO2 and ALUMINIUM emits 11.5 tonne of CO2.
THE SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL benefits of specifying Southland Maple Beech timber & veneer are significant and highly credible. The growth, regeneration and biodiversity of a managed forest is significantly improved; Maori iwi receive financial benefit and reinvest in regional tourism and commerce; a diverse range of sustainable products are provided for the health & food industry, furniture & joinery, commercial architectural buildings, animal welfare farming and a wood energy source for the replacement of fossil fuels. Providing regional employment and certified wood products naturally is the ethos of our indigenous forest management.
