Forestry owners turn green to gold

A group of Maori forestry owners in Western Southland is on track to prove money can be made out of conservation.

The Rowallan Alton Incorporation is run by a collection of South Island Native Landless Act (Silna) forestry owners.

In 2007, the group and Wellington-based company Carbon Partnership began investigating potential carbon market opportunities on Silna land at the start of the Hump Ridge Track, funded by Te Puni Kokiri.

Carbon Partnerships principal Sean Weaver said a feasibility study, which tested whether theory could be put into practice, was in its final stages. The next step would be to complete an international validation process before credits could be sold in the voluntary carbon market, he said.

He said he was confident the project would pass, signalling other forestry owners could do something similar.

While the option of selling credits on the voluntary carbon market was "not a goldrush" it meant landowners could look at selling a non-timber product from their forestry holdings, he said.

"Even if it can't compete dollar for dollar ... conservation can start to pay for itself," Mr Weaver said.

The Southland Times had previously reported the incorporation wanted to set aside up to 150ha of land as a "mainland island" with predator control to encourage wildlife back into the area.

Incorporation kaumatua Ken McAnergney said the group still planned to fund predator management and pest eradication in the forest through those carbon credit sales.

The incorporation would also hold two hui around November to inform people about what it had achieved and how it could be applied in other parts of the country, he said.

The project was trucking along nicely and the hui would show others how to take advantage of potential rewards the market had to offer, Mr McAnergney said.