Different kinds of forest land in the ETS

 Post-1989 forest land includes:

• regenerating and planted native (indigenous) forest
• forests planted in exotic tree species
• mixed-species forest.

The trees in post-1989 forest land are planted or first established after 31 December 1989. The history of the land after 1989 also plays a part in determining if the land is post-1989 forest land. The forest may be post-1989 forest land if it was established onto land with a history that meets one of the following conditions.

• The land was not forest land on 31 December 1989.
• The land was forest land on 31 December 1989 and was deforested between 1 January 1990 and 31 December 2007 inclusive.
• The land was originally pre-1990 forest land that was deforested after 31 December 2007. Any New Zealand units owing as a result were paid in full.
• The land was pre-1990 forest land that was deforested after 31 December 2012. It was replaced at the time under an application to plant a replacement forest elsewhere (offsetting forest land, see below).
• The land was pre-1990 offsetting forest land planted for offsetting deforestation elsewhere (see below). It was deforested after 31 December 2012, and any units owing for deforesting the land paid.
• The land was originally pre-1990 forest land and was deforested more than 8 years ago and was not forested during this time. The owners successfully applied for an exemption to deforest without any liability to pay units. The owners have since repaid the units that would have been owed without the exemption.

If the land is presently in the ETS as any type of offsetting forest land, it cannot enter the ETS as post-1989 forest land. This does not exclude land that was previously offsetting land, as above.

Responsibilities for land in the ETS

Once registered in the ETS, you will have responsibilities for reporting carbon in your forest. You must complete emissions returns at certain times. You may have to pay units if you harvest, deforest or decide to deregister from the ETS, for example.

If you buy or inherit post-1989 forest land that is already in the ETS, the ETS responsibilities for the land transfer to you.

Apply to register in the ETS with post-1989 forest land

Read more about buying, selling, and inheriting land registered in the ETS

Pre-1990 forest land meets these conditions:

• the land was forest land on 31 December 1989 (native or exotic forest species), and
• the land was forest land on 31 December 2007 and contained mostly exotic tree species.

Land that was native forest on 31 December 1989 and remained native forest on 31 December 2007 is not pre-1990 forest land. It is not covered by the ETS.

Pre-1990 forest land and ETS rules

This type of forest cannot earn units.

If you plan to deforest pre-1990 forest land, you must either:

• apply in advance to plant another forest to replace it (pre-1990 offsetting land), or
• let us know within 20 working days once the land is deforested, prepare and submit an emissions return in the following calendar year, and pay any units owing, or
• apply for permission to clear the land without having to pay units – this is called an "exemption" and is only available in certain limited situations.

Deforesting pre-1990 land

When ETS requirements for deforestation don’t apply

Learn about planting forest to replace pre-1990 land and offset the emissions from deforestation (also known as pre-1990 offsetting land)

If you plan to deforest pre-1990 forest land, you may end up owing units. To avoid this, you can apply to plant a forest to capture the same amount of carbon, or more, from the atmosphere as the original forest.

This is known as "offsetting land" as you are using a forest planted in another location to "offset" (or recapture) the carbon released during the deforestation of the original forest. Once the offsetting process is complete (meaning once the offsetting forest has completed its first usual rotation), this other forest removes the requirement to pay units for deforestation.

Read more about offsetting forest land and how to apply

Read more about averaging accounting

Not all forests in New Zealand are grown for commercial reasons or harvesting cycles.

Some approaches to forest management, including iwi or hapū interests, may involve leaving the whenua and ngahere undisturbed over decades or generations. Some land may contain regenerating forest. Some forest owners may choose to leave most of their forest undisturbed while carrying out selective harvesting.

If you don't intend to harvest your forest by clear-felling, from 1 January 2023 you can choose to register with your forest identified as a permanent post-1989 forest. This is forest land that will not be clear-felled for at least 50 years after it enters the ETS. These forests may earn units if eligible. These units are tagged to show that they come from this sort of forest. Limited selective harvesting of permanent forests is also allowed without penalty.

Read more about permanent post-1989 forest land

If you own forest in the Permanent Forest Sink Initiative (PFSI), an older forestry scheme, you can apply to move this into the ETS during the 2023 calendar year. The PFSI land can enter the ETS as either:

• permanent post-1989 forest land, or
• post-1989 forest land.

After 2023, any PFSI forest that hasn't switched to the ETS as permanent or standard post-1989 forest land will automatically become permanent post-1989 forest land by default.

Register in the ETS with post-1989 forest land

Find out more about the Permanent Forest Sink Initiative (PFSI)