How does the public conservation estate and DOC fit into the Kyoto Protocol?
At present forested public conservation land (FPCL) is not considered in the Kyoto Protocol because the Government elected not to pursue the “forest management” option offered under Article 3.4 of this international treaty.
It was thought that existing forests (including FPCL) may potentially be an emitter between 2008 and 2012, being the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. And even if it were a sink, there is an upper cap on how many carbon credits New Zealand could claim, namely, 3.7 Mt of CO2e over the five years, which is not much.
But new forests formed since 1990 can be used to offset human-caused emissions under the Kyoto Protocol, Article 3.3 on “afforestation”. Their contribution during CP1 will be assessed by measuring the carbon stored in “Kyoto forests” in 2012 and comparing that figure with carbon stored in those same forests in 2008.