Waitutu: the agreement

Forest and Bird, Issue 280, 1 May 1996, Page 28

Waitutu: the agreement

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AITUTU is tucked away in the one of the lesser known corners of New Zealand, in southwest Southland, bordered on the west and north by Fiordland National Park, and 32 kilometres from the nearest roadend. The bulk of the forest is contained in the former Waitutu State Forest (see map). From the early 70s this area was the subject of controversial beech logging proposals by the Forest Service. The former National Parks and Reserves Authority recommended its addition to Fiordland National Park but its protection was only ensured when it was allocated to DoC in the carve up of Crown lands in 1987. Forest and Bird has continued to argue for its addition to the national park. Most of the coastal land is owned freehold by the Waitutu Incorporation (today made up of 800 members) and was given to Maori in 1906 as supposed compensation for their dispossession of the Southland Plains. It contains the most recent and most fertile of Waitutu’s

distinctive marine terraces and thus the most impressive tall podocarp forests. That is why its significance is greater than its area (2,170 hectares) would suggest — and also why, despite its problems of remoteness and poor access, it has been particularly sought after by loggers in recent decades. When the Maori incorporation sold the cutting rights of their land to Feltex Ltd in 1981, Forest and Bird and other conservation groups mounted a major campaign to protect the forest. Under pressure Feltex finally withdrew from the scheme, and inconclusive stop-start negotiations between the government and the owners over long-term protection continued through the 1980s. In 1993 the incorporation again sold the cutting rights — this time to Paynter Timber. Again Forest and Bird launched a major appeal to protect the forest. Two and half years later protection has finally been achieved — possibly the most important gain in forest conservation this

decade and a tribute to all those Forest and Bird members who worked so hard to save this icon. The agreement, signed by the incorporation and Conservation Minister Denis Marshall in March, protects the forest in perpetuity. Special legislation will be passed to enshrine the agreement and allow DoC to manage the land as if it were a national park. The incorporation will be given $13.5 million and will retain title. The conservation downside of the agreement is that cutting rights to 11,582 hectares of Crown beech forest in the Longwoods, Rowallan and Woodlaw forests in western Southland have been assigned to the incorporation. The incorporation has on-sold its rights to Paynter Timber for 80 years. Logging will need to be under a sustained yield management plan. Forest and Bird will continue to work for the protection of these beech forests.