Cyclones, land use and forestry – how do we adapt?

In the last few years New Zealand has been hit by a number of extreme weather events, the latest being ex cyclones Hale and Gabrielle. Massive damage has been caused, especially on the east coast of the North Island, and recovery will require a very long-term effort. The intensity and frequency of these storms are expected to increase under climate change. A Ministerial Inquiry into Land Use is underway for the Gisborne/Wairoa regions which will assess causes and effects and make recommendations to Government based on their findings.

Forestry is one of the land uses affected by the extreme events and one of the land uses affecting the wider environment. There has been widespread media coverage of damage to infrastructure from logs and accumulations of logs on beaches and calls for changes to the way we manage our forests. This talk will focus on the history of production forestry in New Zealand, how forests are managed today, and what changes could be made to reduce impacts from these extreme events in the future.

Dr Tim Payn is a Principal Scientist at Scion in Rotorua. His research focusses on sustainability, climate change and the environment. He is a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Forestry.