Environmental Update

June 2006

Environmental Certification

Wenita currently holds both FSC and ISO 14001 certification for its Environmental Management System. We are extremely proud of this achievement, but what does it actually mean and what can you do to help?

FSC Certification:

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

  • Is an independent and international environmental certification for forest management.
  • Ensures an extremely high environmental performance especially with respect to chemical use and reserves management.

ISO 14001 Certification:

  • International Standardisation Organisation (ISO).
  • Is an independent third party benchmark for Environmental Management Systems.
  • Sets out requirements for and ensures compliance with international standards.

Wenita has achieved and maintained both standards since 2001 and has been Corrective Action Request (CAR) free since 2003 making us one of the highest performing forestry companies in New Zealand.
Internationally, many of our forest product customers demand such certifications but little is known about FSC or ISO in New Zealand. You can help raise awareness and therefore support improved environmental management by requesting any forest product you purchase has the FSC or ISO tick.

Forest Public Use

Permitted public use of Wenita forests has skyrocketed with over 2,400 permits being issued over the last year. This compares with an average of 700 users in previous years.
This increase is attributed to Wenita’s new procedures for motorbike and hunting permits.

Staff Changes

Wenita welcomes on board Aaron Gunn as the new Environmental Management Co-ordinator. Aaron replaces Stephanie Rotarangi who has taken early ‘retirement’ and is living life as a full time mother.

Aaron has worked for Wenita for the last two years in various roles and graduated with a Bachelor of Forestry Science from Canterbury University in 2001. Aaron and Stephanie will continue to work closely together to effect a smooth transition that ensures the uninterrupted management of Wenita’s environmental operations.

Monitoring

Biodiversity Monitoring

Vegetation species surveys are continuing within Wenita’s estate to ensure all indigenous areas enjoy adequate protection. Over 800 hectares of reserve areas have been comprehensively surveyed since 2001, resulting in over 40 management plans for these areas. In 2006, a major review of the protection process was undertaken with the aim of providing better management plans to contractors working around these areas. This review resulted in the 40+ separate management plans being combined into 10 plans to lesson confusion whilst maintaining reserve protection.

Waterways Monitoring

SHMAK monitoring has been undertaken in the six major forest catchment streams within the Wenita estate. This year’s monitoring programme saw our fourth different assessor in as many years. As some of the SHMAK habitat quality indicators are subjective and the aim of the SHMAK method is to keep a record of long term trends, maintaining future continuity of assessors will be important. Nevertheless, the results show that our streams are in a healthy condition forest wide with some individual fluctuations in quality. Stage 3 of the Narrowdale Stream Assessment Project has been completed. This project is a comprehensive stream assessment of the effects of harvesting on the catchment and is made up of 4 stages and is due to conclude in 2009.

  • Stage 1: a pre-logging survey to establish existing stream population characteristics.
  • Stage 2: a post-logging survey to establish levels of impacts.
  • Stage 3: survey to monitor stream recovery.
  • Stage 4: survey to assess similarity with pre-logging condition.

Chemical Usage

The amount and toxicity of chemical used in 2005 has reduced in accordance with our commitment to FSC principles. A key chemical reduction initiative undertaken over the last year has been to leave land fallow for longer before replanting. This results in all major weeds being present prior to planting and ensures an effective pre-planting spray programme which is much less toxic that a post-harvest spot spray application.

Questions and Answers

Q Does Wenita have a wilding management programme?
A Yes. Wildings are monitored aerially each year. Problem areas are then ground surveyed and ranked for remedial treatment.

Q How does Wenita manage historical sites?
A Contractors and staff are trained to manage sites if found accidentally (Accidental Discovery Protocols). All sites are investigated, reported to the appropriate authority, documented and recorded in the GIS with management plans.

Environmental Incidents

There has been no environmental incidents since the last issue of this newsletter.

Environmental Policy Statement

Wenita is committed to being recognised as a well managed, environmentally responsible plantation forest owner and producer of wood-based products. Underpinning that objective is a commitment to :-

  • Sustainable forest management through;
    • providing a safe and healthy working environment
    • managing and controlling the environmental and social effects of its operations
    • compliance with international, national and local statutory requirements and industry best-practice standards including:
      • ISO14001 programme
      • Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Principles and Criteria
    • consulting with Ngai Tahu and other affected stakeholders
    • continuing employee and contractor training
    • the prevention and control of pollution, fire, pests and diseases
  • The protection of cultural and historical sites, and areas of significant indigenous habitat.
  • A process of continual improvement including the annual review of the adequacy and completeness of its environmental management system, its policy statement, targets and objectives.