Pāmu and True Nature have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore native restoration across the Pāmu farming network, with around 600 hectares expected to move into native forest over three to five years.

The MOU was signed at a Trees That Count restoration site in the Wairarapa on the same day the government announced its support for the development of a voluntary nature credits market, says Robyn Haugh, chief executive of True Nature. Haugh says it is the largest partnership True Nature has signed to date.

True Nature grew out of Trees That Count, which has been operating for more than a decade, connecting funding from individuals and businesses into native tree planting projects, Haugh says. True Nature was recently established to move into the voluntary nature markets space, she says.

“Pāmu is exactly the kind of partner that makes this market work at scale. One trusted relationship, access to land from Northland to Southland, and the data and land management infrastructure to do restoration well. This is what it looks like when farming and forest reforestation work together.”

Under the partnership, True Nature will assess Pāmu sites to identify land not necessarily productive for farming that would benefit from native forest cover, Haugh says. Credits generated will meet the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market’s criteria, be independently verified, and available to both domestic and international buyers, she says.

“We will find those sites, and then we will fund the reforestation with native trees. And then from that, we will generate high-integrity, nature-based carbon and biodiversity credits.”

There is strong demand for high-integrity credits from New Zealand companies setting net-zero targets, as well as international organisations, Haugh says.

“Their purchasing of credits funds the upfront forest establishment. These companies purchase now and ensure security of supply over the longer term.”

The model is open to farmers beyond the Pāmu partnership, Haugh says. Sites from one or two hectares of optimised land through to steep marginal slopes with existing seed sources are suitable, she says. Areas with established mānuka or kānuka are good candidates — natural regeneration can be supported with additional planting, Haugh says.

“The scale is there, the momentum is there, the willingness is there. We just need to create the pathway, which the government’s signaling there was the first step forward…”

Ongoing pest and weed control is part of the long-term commitment, Haugh says.

“It is an ongoing investment, but it is an investment in the future and in our biodiversity.”

Landowners can register interest at truenature.nz.

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