Boosting Maori employment in rural towns is one of the things that will be discussed at a Maori forestry hui this month, the Crown's forest research institute says.
The hui, hosted by the Waiariki Institute of Technology, will discuss the future of the $2 billion stake Maori have in forestry.
Warren Parker, who's chief executive of the Crown institute Scion, says it's a chance for Maori land and forest owners to develop a national strategy on the opportunities of forestry. The objective is to create economic growth.
Mr Parker says there will be a 20-30% increase in harvesting in the next decade as plantations planted in the 1990s mature and that presents benefits for Maori based in rural communities such as Kawerau, Gisborne and Northland. He says it's a chance for Maori to get jobs overseeing forestry projects.
The hui is in Rotorua on 16 August.
