As Swedish furniture giant IKEA prepares for its highly anticipated store opening in New Zealand, growing concerns are emerging from rural communities over the fire risks associated with large-scale pine forestry on converted farmland.
According to a report by Alexa Cooj of 1News, since 2020, IKEA has converted six Central Hawke’s Bay farms into pine plantations, making it the largest forestry owner in the district. This, along with the sale of at least four other Hawke’s Bay farms to overseas forestry companies this year, has intensified concerns over the loss of productive farmland and the dangers linked to widespread pine planting.
Concerned by the scale of land-use change, Porangahau farmer James Hunter and pilot Joe Faram took RNZ on a flight over thousands of hectares that were once traditional farmland, as reported by 1News.
“This is the dumbest thing New Zealand has done in agriculture,” Hunter said, 1News has quoted.
He said the true scale of the transformation was being overlooked.
“It’s not just one farm, it’s farm after farm and I think it’s the scale of it that people don’t understand, as quoted by 1News.
“Suddenly we’ve got a district that’s been swallowed, and this is apparently good for the country,” he said, quoted 1News.
More than 1.8 million hectares of land in New Zealand is now planted in pine, with many farms converted since 2008 following the introduction of the Emissions Trading Scheme, creating a surge in so-called ‘carbon farming’ where forests are permanently locked for carbon credits.
IKEA has purchased about 28,000 hectares of farmland since 2021, with another 10,000 hectares pending approval in Northland. However, the company told RNZ none of its trees were planted for carbon credits, though it may look at “some form of offsetting in the future”.
Fire fears escalated after about 200 hectares of IKEA-owned forest near Porangahau caught fire in October, taking days to extinguish due to high winds grounding helicopters.
“So the question for the forestry owners is how confident are they that they can stop New Zealand haemorrhaging money chasing fires?” Hunter said, 1News has quoted.
“They’ve brought basically the equivalent of petrol tankers into these rural districts. Why should we pay for the cost of fighting something while they’re making extraordinary money?”, 1News has quoted.
He said there had been “no thought to firefighting”, particularly in high winds.
As quoted by 1News, “I want to see them have to put in their own water supplies. And I want some confidence that they can fight a fire when the helicopters are not able to fly - and if the helicopters are not able to fly, what happens to the rest of us downwind?”
Hunter also raised concerns about Fire and Emergency New Zealand’s (FENZ) ability to manage large-scale forestry fires due to funding limitations.
“We do not have a separate breakdown of levy contributions from forestry companies,” a FENZ spokesperson said, as reported by Alexa Cook of 1News.
“Other than funding from the levy, Fire and Emergency does not receive any additional dedicated funding to fight forestry fires.”
FENZ said it was “confident in its ability to respond effectively to forestry fires”.
IKEA forestland country manager Kelvin Meredith acknowledged the risk but said the company, like other forestry owners, was uninsured.
“We don’t insure for fire. It’s prohibitively expensive in New Zealand,” he said.
The Forest Owners Association confirmed that only 30 to 40 percent of plantation forests are insured.
“Standing crop insurance is becoming increasingly unaffordable, so - like other rural landowners - forest owners weigh the cost, risk and benefits each year,” it said.
“Some companies choose to self-insure and invest heavily in their own firefighting capability, which in turn strengthens rural fire response more broadly.”
Meredith said the company worked closely with FENZ and had strong fire mitigation plans.
“What we can do is have decent fire breaks and decent fire plans in place so if it does break out, the key consideration is that no one’s life is in danger.
“I can’t speak for all forest owners, but I think we’re relatively well prepared in the event of a fire,” said Meredith.
However, Hunter said farmers were unfairly burdened if forestry companies failed to contribute.
“So you want to go and plant your trees? Cool. Don’t leave me with the costs.”
Porangahau hapu Ngāti Kere chairperson David Tipene Leach shared similar concerns, particularly after the October fire.
“They came to the marae, they talked to us, they told us what they had to offer.
“When you look back on it a couple of years later, actually there’s not much to offer.”
“If you look around the world, and certainly in this day and age, we look into Canada and into the States and other places, and you see the huge forest fires that are occurring in these big plantations, we’ve got to be worried about that sort of stuff.
“With regard to exit and entry from our little isolated town, they’re planting, planting all along the road. You can’t get out of our town if the forests are burning,” he said.
IKEA responded that large-scale tree removal was unlikely.
“As far as taking the whole Stoneridge face out of trees, I can’t see that happening. What we need to do is meet with the community and understand what are the real concerns here related to fire,” said Meredith.
Pilot Joe Faram, who has fought forestry fires for decades, said the transformation of the landscape was deeply troubling.
“The transition has been very vast over the last 15 years ... a lot of that mindset has been detrimental to the betterment of New Zealand.
“I’m embarrassed to be a New Zealander, it’s shameful,” he said.
“Because there’s more material, there’s more fuel. We’re certainly putting ourselves in a dangerous situation, so you’re managing risk control.
“By a little bit of good fortune and luck, we have had fires, but we’ve managed to suppress them quite effectively. But one day, the Swiss cheese will line up and we will have a fire that, instead of putting it out in two or three days, it could be up to a month,” he said.
Forest Owners Association chief executive Elizabeth Heeg said the industry remained focused on environmental and community protection.
“Part of this is adapting to climate change, and with increasing numbers of significant storms, foresters are very focused on adapting their forest and harvest management plans to prevent and prepare for incidents where forest waste leaves their land, 1News has quoted.
“Our forests are a vast resource and with greater collaboration across the industry and other sectors, using woody biomass for energy generation, more timber in construction, and increasing domestic processing, New Zealand has a significant opportunity to gain far greater value from them,” said Heeg, as quoted by 1News.
Forestry Minister Todd McClay said the government was taking forestry fire risks seriously.
“There has been a wide package of work across prevention, readiness, and response. This includes updated guidance for landowners and councils, better coordination between the New Zealand Forest Service and Fire and Emergency New Zealand, and ongoing investment in research, risk mapping, and seasonal forecasting,” he said, quoted 1News.
“It's important to note that 98 per cent of wildfires in New Zealand are caused by human activity and often spread into forests.
“It's also important to note that under the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017, FENZ have the authority to require a landowner to create and clear a firebreak on their property if it believes this is needed to help control fires,” 1News has quoted.
“Large forestry companies often have their own firefighting teams, equipment, and water supplies. Getting full insurance against fire damage is difficult, so some forestry owners choose to self-insure or buy partial coverage.
“Ultimately, the financial risk of losing trees to fire sits with the forest owner,” McClay said, as reported by 1News.