“Working and spending time with family in the Gisborne-Tairāwhiti area highlighted some of the environmental problems unique to the region” says Leo Mercer, who is doing his PhD with the School of Geography, Environment, and Earth Sciences. “With my PhD research, I am aiming to work with landowners to find solutions that suit the land and the people who live there.”
Leo recently received a $10,000 Future Forest Award from the New Zealand Institute of Forestry Foundation (NZIF) to support his research into how native forest restoration and carbon farming could help Māori landowners with economic development on the East Coast.
“The East Coast’s natural environment has historically suffered from land uses that are not suited to the characteristics of this region, like sheep and beef farming and the planting of pine forests,” Leo says. “Historical land appropriation has also contributed to economic deprivation for Māori in the area.”
Leo wants to address these issues by engaging with Māori landowners and providing tools and information to assist in decision-making about land development.
One of the potential options is carbon farming. Carbon farming involves planting trees, or stimulating existing forest growth, in order to maximise the amount of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere. Individuals can earn carbon credits for offsetting carbon dioxide emissions, and under the Emissions Trading Scheme they can sell these credits to other businesses to help those businesses off-set their carbon emissions.
“Whilst my research is in its early days, carbon farming may offer an opportunity to address environmental issues and boost the regional economy through sustainable land development,” Leo says.
One farm in the area, Nuhiti Q Inc., has seen success in converting 500ha of existing native forest for use in carbon farming, as well as planting a further 70ha of exotic Eucalypt species. Under an innovative partnership, 12,000 carbon credits generated from these plantings were forward-traded to oil company Gull NZ, earning income which has been used to further develop the farm through fence repairs and a diversification scheme.
Carbon farming through planting native forests has numerous other benefits, Leo says. Native forests are a strong tourist attraction, and they can also be used to create natural products like mānuka honey or even pharmaceuticals. They also prevent erosion, encourage biodiversity and give local Māori access to plants used in Rongoā Māori (Māori healthcare).
Leo admits there are some barriers to local landowners taking part in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).
“A poor legacy of Crown land management in the area means many are distrustful of land development schemes,” Leo says. “It is also complicated to enter the ETS, and once in, carbon prices can be volatile.”
To counter this, Leo is researching other land development options that would suit the area. He is consulting with experts in land development and curating a series of options for local landowners. Once those options are clearly defined, Leo will meet with Māori landowners to discover their preferences for the different land development options.
“It is imperative that Māori have usable tools to be able to make decisions about their land,” Leo says.
As well as funding from the NZIF Foundation, Leo’s work has been supported by Nuhiti Q Inc., Hikurangi Enterprises Ltd., Motu Economic and Public Policy Research Trust, the Whakatāne District Historical Society, and the School of Geography, Environment, and Earth Sciences at Victoria University of Wellington.