The Forest

Kānuka Hill is 76.4 ha of naturally regenerating indigenous forest located in Uruwhenua, Mōhua (Golden Bay). Registered under the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme in 2012, the forest sequesters on average 896 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. The land is also home to the Kill Devil track, a historic and technical track used by mountain bikers and back country trampers on the edge of the Kahurangi National Park.

In the 1990s the area was ex pasture overrun with gorse and a few regenerating natives. Now it is an established forest of Kānuka, Mānuka, Tōtora, Ferns and Rimu that have largely self seeded.

Kānuka Hill 1993.

Kānuka Hill 1993.

The People

Aline D’oust looking out across Kānuka Hill.

Aline D’oust looking out across Kānuka Hill.

The landowner Aline D’oust (pictured above) gave up the right to farm the land, choosing instead to protect it as a permanent forest. 51 ha of the land is also protected under the QE II covenant. Aline has enhanced the forest removing gorse and planting additional Mānuka trees to foster honey production.

Aline’s vision for Kānuka Hill is to recreate an untouched landscape that fosters biodiversity as a permanent forest.

The Location

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Technical Stuff

The Uruwhenua Native Regeneration Project is being undertaken under the Permanent Forest Category of the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme. The project issues New Zealand Units (NZUs) based on New Zealand Government rules for carbon sequestration rates by indigenous forest.

Once the NZUs are sold to a carbon offset buyer, they are cancelled in the New Zealand carbon unit registry, so they cannot be used by (or sold to) anyone else.

Follow The Money

Conservation costs money. The main cost elements are:

  1. Establishing a forest. This forest was established by nature because it naturally regenerated after the landowner stopped grazing this land.

  2. Conservation management costs. This includes pest and weed control, forest monitoring, and the administration of the carbon project (carbon returns, registry account management and general administration).

  3. Opportunity costs. This is the revenue that the landowner has given up to enable forest conservation to happen. In this project the landowner gave up revenue from pastoral farming - revenue that would normally be used to make a living off the land.

  4. Measurement, reporting and verification costs required for carbon offset certification to an international carbon standard.

When carbon credits are sold from this project the revenue goes to cover these costs.