Forest Areas Cleared for Dairy Farming in New Zealand

Aerial photo of deforested Tahorakuri Forest area which Landcorp, a New Zealand government owned company, is converting into large-scale intensive dairy farms. Agriculture accounts for 49 per cent of New Zealand’s total greenhouse gas emissions.

Unique identifier: GP01HRT

Type: Image

Shoot date: 04/04/2008

Locations: Aotearoa, Tahorakuri Forest, Taupo

Credit line: © Greenpeace / John Cowpland

Ranking: ★★★★ (E)

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Forest Areas Cleared for Dairy Farming in New Zealand

Landcorp, a New Zealand government owned company, is converting Tahorakuri Forest into large-scale intensive dairy farms. Agriculture accounts for 49 per cent of New Zealand’s total greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions are set to climb further. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) estimate that 455,000 hectares of forestry land is at risk of being deforested and converted into pastoral use – the majority for dairying. Greenpeace is calling on the NZ government to bring the agricultural industry into the Emissions Trading Scheme within the next two years, take regulatory action to halt dairy expansion, and adopt a 30 per cent emissions reduction target for 2020.

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