INDIGENOUS FORESTS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18629, 26 July 1930, Page 20

INDIGENOUS FORESTS

State Forest Work Dealing with the conservation side of the work of the State Forests Service the Commissioner of State Forests, Hon. W. B. Taverner, referred to the good work that had been done under the Forests’ Act of 1921 in the way of stopping the suicidal misuse of forest lands which were quite unsuitable for turning into farms. The Act enabled areas to be declared “Provisional State Forests,” and then could be carefully inspected by the proper officers who could decide whether the land was suitable for farming or for permanent reservation. “It is expected.” said the Minister, “as a general rule that a country should have not less than 25 per cent of its total area under forests—Germany has 26 per cent, and yet has to import one quarter of the timber consumed—in New Zealand the percentage under forests is only 19 per cent, but as a large proportion of this is on private land (and most of this will be destroyed), the area of forest controlled by the State is reduced to 13 per cent. Moreover, of this 13 per cent, only 61 per cent or 72 million acres is State or Provisional State Forests; and this is liable to be reduced as further examination may show that some j portions of it should be made available ) for settlement.”