Covenant on East Cape forests

Forest and Bird, Issue 294, 1 November 1999, Page 6

Covenant on East Cape forests

The protection of 8503 hectares of native forest on Maori land near East Cape should provide local children with a ‘living university, according to the trust board chairman, Aubrey Tawhai, who helped negotiate the covenant. Under an arrangement with Nga Whenua Rahui, the covenant protects forests in the Mangaroa /Ohutu Blocks adjacent to the Raukumara Forest Park. The covenanted land will be a place young people can learn to appreciate the forests and ‘learn about unconditional commitment to the land; Mr Tawhai says. The covenanted forest lies in the hinterland southeast of Te Kaha, between the Motu and Waikakariki rivers. It is rich in wildlife, which includes the New Zealand falcon, various native fish including giant kokopu, and many invertebrates.

At higher altitudes, the forests consist of unmodified hard beech, tawa, rewarewa, tawari, kamahi, with some rimu. Silver beech dominates the highest points Control of pests, such as possums, goats and deer, is part of the trust’s future plans. The forest forms part of a buffer zone around the Raukumara Forest Park (111,000 hectares) which runs down the spine of East Cape. Alongside the new covenant lies another 14,000 hectares, south of Te Kaha, (the Iwiroa and Maungaroa 3B blocks) which came under the protection of a Nga Whenua Rahui covenant in December 1997. At $500,000, the agreement to covenant Mangaroa/Ohotu is one of the largest signed between a Maori trust and Nga Whenua Rahui, since it was established in 1991. — Source: Nga Whenua Rahui.