If you’re going to plant more than 1 hectare of trees for harvest, you need to check if you need resource consent.
Check with your local city or district council if there are any vegetation clearance or planting rules, or local body regulations. These could limit your ability to plant.
Many forestry activities under the NES-CF are permitted if conditions set out in the regulations are met. If you cannot meet the conditions, then you require resource consent.
You need to understand the erosion risk on your land to determine how you manage forestry activities. If it is a high risk, then you will need a resource consent for certain activities. The Ministry for Primary Industries has information and online tools to help with this.
If you’re planting a conifer species, you will need to do a wilding tree risk spread assessment. The Ministry for Primary Industries has information and a tool for assessing risk.
You cannot plant in a significant natural area or an outstanding natural feature or landscape without resource consent. Check council maps to see if you have any of these areas on your land.
The NES-CF specifies setbacks from certain areas, and you will not be able to plant in these. For example, if you are planting next to:
The NES-CF regulations provide more details on these requirements.
Provide written notice to your council of the location, proposed setbacks and dates your planting will start and end.
The NES-CF regulations provide more detail on what councils need to know.
The NES-CF sets out national regulations to manage the environmental effects of forestry.
The NES-CF applies to any forest of at least 1 hectare that is a plantation forest or an exotic continuous-cover forest as defined by the regulations. It does not include:
The NES-CF regulations cover 8 core commercial forestry activities that have potential environmental effects:
The National Environmental Standards for Commercial Forestry (NES-CF) are available below. The regulations include changes made in 2023 and 2025.