The Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society is reminding the New Zealand government that protecting natural resources means more than purchasing one’s way through environmental regulations.

Advocacy manger Kevin Hackwell put it plainly, saying, “it would be crazy to allow people to get carbon credits by destroying indigenous vegetation and planting pine trees when the vast majority of New Zealand’s carbon is stored in our native forests, scrublands and tussock grasslands.”

It’s true. Environmental initiatives must be about more than paying for the right to pollute. Environmental initiatives are about minimizing environmental impacts by reducing waste streams, increasing recycling, reducing carbon emissions and by restoring habitats. One of the most vital aspects of restoring habitats is to plant native vegetation because that vegetation can withstand local climate conditions and stand better to adjust (as applicable) to changing climate conditions. Additionally, replacing habitat with native vegetation draws back in native wildlife providing them with shelter, feeding and breeding resources. The result? A healthier ecosystem.

According to Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society, 93 percent of New Zealand’s carbon storage is in native lands. Sustaining and expanding vegetated land available to capture carbon through photosynthesis and store it in plant root systems, is a simple and effective way to continue an environmental initiative that promotes many benefits.