How we'll plant one billion trees

Why plant one billion trees?

Planting one billion trees transforms New Zealand forests in a way that improves land productivity. It helps New Zealand’s natural environment by:

tackling environmental issues like erosion
reducing the effects of climate change, helping us meet our global commitments
improving soil and water quality
moderating river flows
providing important habitats for a range of native species
enhancing natural landscapes.

The One Billion Trees programme is transforming our forestry sector. It enables lasting economic growth and development in regional New Zealand. This will create jobs and different income opportunities.

The programme helps us to:

move to a carbon-neutral economy
obtain an alternative energy source
make sustainable use of our resources.

The programme provides opportunities for Māori to get the most out of their land and resources. It supports tourism and infrastructure development by improving and protecting landscapes.

How many trees have been planted?

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The One Billion Trees progress chart shows the latest update as of 30 September 2024.

The number of trees planted since the One Billion Trees Programme was announced in 2018, to September 2024 is 698,395,000.

The One Billion Trees fund has directly funded 40,723,000 trees for planting between 2018 and 2028.

Find out more about progress made towards planting one billion trees

Right tree, right place, right purpose

The One Billion Trees Programme isn't just about numbers. We're making sure the right trees are planted in the right places for the right purpose.

Right tree

We encourage both permanent and plantation forests made up of exotic and native tree species. The programme encourages the planting of native species to improve biodiversity.

Right place

We want to see trees integrated into the landscape to complement and diversify our existing land uses, rather than see large-scale land conversion to forestry. We also want the trees planted to be suitable for the site and their intended use. To do this we align tree planting with local land-use and planting priorities and strategies.

Right purpose

We're making sure tree planting is well planned and considers the long-term maintenance and end-use of the trees. Commercial viability for production forests and protection for permanent forests should be thought through before planting. We also want to make sure plantings take local social, environmental, cultural, and economic priorities into account.

Our role

The role of Te Uru Rākau – New Zealand Forest Service in the programme is to support and enable New Zealanders to plant more of the right trees, in the right places, for the right purpose. To achieve this, we use:

regulatory changes
information and support
incentives, and
government investment in forestry and related initiatives.

Government plays a key role as an enabler, but it’s everyday Kiwis who do the planting. Groups across New Zealand provide a lot of support to meeting our goal. To achieve the target of planting one billion trees, we work with:

other government entities
landowners
commercial foresters
conservation groups
regional councils
Māori
schools
communities and others.

One Billion Trees Fund

The One Billion Trees Fund is now closed. The Fund provided direct grants to those wanting to plant trees. It enabled organisations to partner with us to increase tree planting initiatives. We continue to work with funding recipients and others who want to:

reduce erosion
improve water quality
achieve regional development goals
enhance biodiversity
develop Māori owned land, and
diversify productive land uses.

Matariki Tu Rākau

Matariki Tu Rākau was funded under the One Billion Trees programme. The Matariki Tu Rākau programme supported communities to plant trees to honour New Zealand’s heroes.

Find out more about the Matariki Tu Rākau programme