Assessment of sustainable forest management in New Zealand indigenous forest

There has been considerable international progress towards sustainable forest management (SFM) of temperate and boreal forest. However, the effectiveness of SFM legislation in providing for the protection of natural forest values has been largely undemonstrated. In this study, all the SFM Plans in the North Island, New Zealand, approved under the Forests Amendment Act (1993) are assessed. It is concluded that the requirements in the plans for assessing, monitoring and maintaining natural values are inadequate with the lack of public participation, and associated appeal rights over decisions, viewed as the key gap in the legislation.