Forests Act 1949 (No. 19 of 1949).

This Law on forests is divided into the following Parts: Administration (1); State forest land (2); Regulation of log traders and forestry advisers - Use of State forest land for public recreation (2A); Ministry of Forestry administration of private forests (3); Provisions relating to indigenous forests (3A); Mechanism allowing landowners to access value created by Kyoto Protocol of carbon sequestration on land through establishment of forest sink covenants (3B); and Miscellaneous provisions (4).
The Minister or the New Zealand Forestry Corporation Ltd. may act as agent for owners of private forests (including Maori land) for the purpose of establishing, managing, or protecting any forest, or managing or protecting any land used or intended to be used for any purpose in connection with any forest or proposed forest, or for the purpose of appraising or selling or utilising any timber or other forest produce, or making inspections and preparing reports for any such purpose as aforesaid, or for all or any of those purposes (sect. 64). The provisions of Part IIIA aim at the sustainable forest management of indigenous forest land by imposing certain export controls on indigenous timber (sect. 67C), and prohibiting the milling of indigenous timber unless under specific conditions (sect. 67D). The Secretary of Forestry may also approve, in cooperation with the owner, a sustainable forest management plan relating to a specified area(s) of indigenous forest land. Schedule 2 of the Act lists the matters to be incorporated in such plans which shall also be registered by the landowner with the appropriate District Land Registrar. Owners of land not subject to management plans may apply for permits for the harvesting and milling of timber (sect. 67M). Section 67V requires an owner to obtain the necessary resource consents under the Resource Management Act of 1991 before commencing any activity to which this Act applies. The miscellaneous provisions include controls on the trade of injurious forestry products as well as regulation-making powers on quarantine grounds and for the eradication or prevention of disease for example. Section 71C contains provisions for the stopping of vessels in the territorial sea or EEZ suspected of carrying injurious organisms.