Exploring Global Best Practice for New Zealand’s Erodible Steeplands
The WIDE Trust is proud to award Myles Guy a Best Practice Study Tour grant of up to $30,000 to explore leading-edge practices and innovations in forestry, land use adaptation and environmental risk management internationally.
Myles is an experienced forestry and environmental management professional, currently working as Environmental and Land Use Business Manager at John Turkington Limited. With more than 20 years’ experience across resource management, sustainable land use, forestry, erosion and sediment control, climate change policy and environmental regulation, he brings both strategic knowledge and practical industry experience to the study tour.
The tour will allow Myles to investigate how other countries manage forestry and land use in steep, erosion-prone landscapes, and how those learnings could support future practice in New Zealand.
Responding to a Critical Industry Challenge
New Zealand’s forestry sector is facing increasing pressure to adapt the way it manages highly erodible steepland environments.
Recent severe weather events have highlighted the vulnerability of steep landscapes, particularly where forest harvesting, slash movement, slope failure and downstream impacts can affect infrastructure, waterways and communities. These challenges have increased public scrutiny, regulatory expectations and the need for practical, future-focused solutions.
Myles’ study tour is designed to respond directly to these issues by exploring international examples of erosion risk management, land use adaptation, restorative forestry and alternative approaches to forestry in high-risk catchments.
Learning from International Examples
The study tour is planned across two international legs in 2027, allowing Myles to visit regions that share relevant terrain, climatic or environmental challenges with New Zealand.
The first leg will focus on Japan and China. In Japan, Myles intends to explore steep-slope stabilisation, bioengineering, landslide prevention and systems designed to reduce slash mobilisation. In China, the focus will include large-scale erosion control, landscape restoration and the transition of vulnerable land into more stable long-term cover.
The second leg will focus on Chile and British Columbia, Canada. These regions provide opportunities to study steep-slope harvesting, riparian buffer management, continuous cover forestry, watershed protection and governance models that prioritise environmental resilience.
Together, these destinations will provide a broad international view of how forestry systems can be adapted to better protect soils, waterways, communities and long-term productive landscapes.
From Global Insight to Local Application
A key strength of the proposed study tour is its focus on applying international learning back in New Zealand.
The tour will explore practical themes including:
hazard mapping and terrain risk assessment
bioengineering for erosion and slash control
continuous cover and variable retention forestry
restorative forestry and native enrichment
riparian protection and catchment-scale planning
community input and co-governance approaches
operational models for harvesting on steep and vulnerable land
These areas are highly relevant to New Zealand’s forestry sector, particularly in regions where erosion risk, environmental expectations and community confidence are central to future land use decisions.
Myles’ background positions him well to connect these learnings with real industry application. His career has included senior roles across private forestry, regional council delivery and central government policy, with experience spanning environmental codes of practice, erosion risk classification, catchment strategy, resource management and forestry regulation.
Sharing Knowledge Across the Sector
The study tour has been designed with knowledge sharing at its centre.
Following the tour, Myles intends to share findings with industry groups, forest managers, environmental practitioners and wider forestry stakeholders. Planned outputs include technical reporting, industry briefings, conference presentation opportunities and written guidance to help translate international examples into New Zealand practice.
The findings are also expected to support the ongoing development of environmental codes and practical guidance for forestry operations, helping ensure the value of the tour extends beyond one individual.
Supporting Leadership and Industry Development
The Best Practice Study Tour grant reflects the WIDE Trust’s commitment to supporting leadership, innovation and capability across New Zealand’s forestry and wood sectors.
Opportunities like this allow experienced professionals to step outside their day-to-day work, engage with international thinking and return with insights that can strengthen the industry as a whole.
For Myles, the tour represents a chance to investigate some of the most pressing environmental and operational questions facing forestry today. For the wider sector, it offers an opportunity to learn from international examples and consider new ways of managing risk, protecting communities and building long-term resilience into forestry landscapes.
Looking Ahead
As New Zealand continues to navigate the future of forestry on steep and erosion-prone land, access to international knowledge and proven practice will be increasingly important.
Through this Best Practice Study Tour, Myles will explore how other countries are approaching similar challenges and how those lessons could support more resilient, adaptive and environmentally responsible forestry systems in New Zealand.
The WIDE Trust is proud to support this opportunity and looks forward to seeing how the knowledge gained can contribute to the future of forestry practice across Aotearoa.