Māori Land and Carbon Farming

Whenua Māori sits under its own rules for carbon forestry. Land held under Te Ture Whenua Māori, land converted to general land in the 1960s, and Treaty settlement land are exempt from the new limits on exotic forestry, and decisions usually run through a trust or incorporation and its owners.

This guide covers those exemptions, how governance and owner consultation shape a carbon decision, where the Māori Land Court can come in, and the extra income that can sit alongside carbon, such as mānuka honey and biodiversity credits. It also sets out the main challenges: governance load, capacity, price and policy risk, and competing uses for the land.