The West Coast Accord was an agreement signed on 6 November 1986 between government, industry and environmental organisations concerning the forests of the
West Coast of
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
.
The major focus of the Accord was for the
sustainable yield of timber from the indigenous forests on the West Coast.
The signatories were:
*
Minister for the Environment
*West Coast United Council
*
Native Forest Action Council
Native Forest Action Council was an environmental organisation in New Zealand.
It was formed in 1975 from what was the Beech Forest Action Committee to advocate for the protection of native forests and changed its name to the Maruia Society in 1 ...
*
Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand
Forest & Bird ( mi, Te Reo o te Taiao), also known by its formal name as the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand, is an environmental organisation specialising in the protection and conservation of New Zealand's indigenous f ...
*
Federated Mountain Clubs of New Zealand
*West Coast Timber Association
*Westland Timber Workers Union
It was cancelled on 15 May 2000 by the Forests (West Coast Accord) Act 2000. From 31 March 2002 the forests in public ownership were no longer logged and were reclassified for conservation purposes.
The Accord was doomed to failure since there were conflicting opinions between industry and environmental groups as to what constituted sustainable management of the forests.
See also
*
Forestry in New Zealand
Forestry in New Zealand has a history starting with European settlement in the 19th century and is now an industry worth seven percent of annual revenue. Much of the original native forest cover was burnt off and logged, however forests have been e ...
References
External links
*{{cite web
, title = Forests (West Coast Accord) Act 2000
, publisher =
Land Information New Zealand
Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) is the public service department of New Zealand charged with geographical information and surveying functions as well as handling land titles, and managing Crown land and property. The minist ...
, date = 2000-12-12
, url = http://www.linz.govt.nz/docs/titles-and-records/rgl-publications/8-0-forests-act-2000.pdf
, format = pdf
, access-date = 2008-02-08
Environment of the West Coast, New Zealand
1986 in New Zealand law
1986 in the environment