Simplified grant process to help combat erosion

“Gisborne district landowners will now find it easier to address severe erosion under changes to the East Coast Forestry Project,” Forestry Minister Jim Anderton said today. “What was a tender process has been changed to a direct grant. This should increase the uptake of the ECFP funding because the new process makes it easier for landowners by removing the uncertainty of the tender system.”

Jim Anderton said that the Government sees a critical need for partnership with Councils to achieve best practice.” I am pleased that the Gisborne District Council (the GDC) has notified a Plan Variation to assist commitment from landowners to bring about the land use changes and to also ensure their durability into the future. This variation complements the ECFP.”

ECFP will now pay 70 percent of the actual and reasonable cost of pole planting for soil erosion control. For forestry treatment, the rate for the 2007 grant round is $1,342/ha with an additional top-up, if the grant area is over 80 km from the Gisborne Port and/or includes high priority gullies. For the reversion treatment, the grant rate is $1,375/ha with an additional top-up, if the grant area includes high-priority land.

Jim Anderton planted a tree, after announcing the new ECPF funding guidelines at Komihana Station, near Gisborne. “The Labour-Progressive Government is prioritising sustainable land management,” he said. “In the Gisborne-East Coast, as in other areas of North Island hill country, soil conservation plays a critical role in ensuring the economic future of primary production. With climate change and expected increases in extreme weather events, we can expect more pressure on erosion-prone country. The East Coast Forestry Project (the ECFP) is designed to prepare ourselves for such events.”
The Government has set aside $10 million over the next four years to fund a Sustainable Land Management (Hill Country Erosion) Framework. This funding aims to support regional initiatives that target the most erosion-prone land.
“This funding is part of the Government’s agenda aimed at the economic transformation of our agriculture sector into the most sustainable primary production system in the world.”
The revised guidelines and grant rates are available at http://www.maf.govt.nz/forestry/east-coast-forestry/index.htm