Beef + Lamb New Zealand says the Government’s announcement of a trial of a voluntary nature credits market framework could provide important recognition of the work sheep and beef farmers do to protect and enhance indigenous biodiversity on their farms.
Associate Minister of Agriculture and the Environment, Hon Andrew Hoggard, announced the new framework, including pilot farms, at Fieldays today.
B+LNZ Chair Kate Acland says B+LNZ welcomes any moves to provide greater recognition of the work farmers do to protect and enhance biodiversity, and has been advocating for this for some time.
“Our sector is hugely supportive of indigenous biodiversity. Sheep and beef farmers are proud guardians of 24 percent of New Zealand’s total native vegetation – that’s 2.8 million hectares – on their farmland.
“A biodiversity credits system, where farmers enter into an agreement with the private sector, could represent a useful complement for some farmers’ businesses.
“It’s good to see an outline of the framework around this, which will bring some rigour.
“We look forward to seeing how the pilot programme progresses.”
Acland noted B+LNZ is continuing to work in parallel with the Government on ensuring the regulations around Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) are fit for purpose and protect truly significant biodiversity, in light of concerns about how broad the current criteria for SNAs are.
ENDS
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