In the last decade this trend has accelerated. In the 1960s forestry was sponsored by the government as a soil conservation measure in severely eroding headwater areas. More recently, there has been a growth in new planting by forestry investment syndicates on moderately erodible land closer to Gisborne. Specific effects of the interdependence, such as changes in employment opportunities, rural depopulation, the loss of rural services, change in demographic structure and change in social structures are all evident in the area. Whether for good or bad, change is inevitable and demands a response.
Communities have choices as to their responses.
They may either accept change and make the best they can of it, or they may attempt to anticipate the opportunities change may offer and channel it so that the community benefits to the maximum extent. Whichever approach is adopted, sustainability is an issue. This is reinforced by the Resource Management Act . For that reason alone, if for no other most rural communities must consider the concept of sustainability as a central component in managing change. This paper synthesises two papers prepared by Landcare Research for the Ministry of Agriculture and submitted in August 1997.