From 11 to 16 March 2012 Ecologic Institute and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) hosted a one-week study tour in New Zealand for European foresters and forest policy experts to inform them about the integration of the forestry sector into its national emissions trading scheme. Traveling the length of New Zealand's north island, the participants met with forest landowners and managers (including from the indigenous Maori tribes), carbon trading experts, forestry policy think tanks, and regional and national policymakers to gain a well-rounded perspective of how the current policies were developed, how they are being monitored and implemented, and which actors are benefiting from them.

The twelve European participants hailed from a variety of countries (France, Germany, Denmark, Austria, Ireland, Finland, and Lithuania) and represented perspectives ranging from private and public forest landowners and associations to national and international policy experts and analysts. The tour was especially timely, as the European Commission and other bodies are currently considering the role of the forestry sector in the EU's own climate change policies.

New Zealand's forestry sector was the first sector to be included in the country's emissions trading scheme, preceding industry and the power sector by one year. A distinct innovation of the system is the incentivzation of both traditionally managed forests and forestry activities on otherwise unproductive agricultural lands. The latter offers the potential for increased sequestration and new income streams for foresters and farmers; in many places there is the opportunity for the expansion of forests to contribute to erosion management, biodiversity, and the reduction of nitrogen emissions.

The tour was made possible through an initiative of EDF. Dominic Marcellino, Fellow, represented Ecologic Institute Washington on the tour.