Investigating the regional variation in rules and best management practices for forestry in New Zealand

Under the Resource Management Act 1991 (NZ), the interpretation and implementation of environmental policy is primarily the responsibility of local government. The management of forestry operations may be influenced by statutory rules published in regional and district plans, and recommended best management practices (BMPs) published in guidelines. There are concerns that inconsistency between jurisdictions’ rules have a negative impact on the forestry industry’s financial and environmental outcomes. This research investigated and quantified the variation in Permitted Activity rules and BMPs, for culvert installation and earthworks, between New Zealand’s 16 Regional Councils. Significant variation in these regional rules and BMPs existed in both the level of control (i.e., the number of rules and BMPs per council), and the nature of control (i.e., the proportion of rules or BMPs utilised). Further, the rules and BMPs of one council are seldom the same as another. This variation is apparent on both a national scale and when considering only neighbouring pairs of councils