Five-year report on state of Australia's forestsFriday 4 Apr 2014
ABARES Executive Director, Karen Schneider, said the report gives an important insight into Australian forests for the five-year period ending in June 2011, with Australia having the seventh-largest forest area of any country worldwide. “Improved methodologies for forest mapping means this report provides the most accurate national picture of our forests to date”. “There has been no reduction in the areas of rainforest or multiple-use public native forest since the previous report in 2008,” Ms Schneider said. “Between July 2006 and June 2011, the area of commercial plantations increased to 2 million hectares. In 2011 the volume of wood harvested from plantations had increased to 76 per cent of Australia’s total log supply. The total number of people directly employed in all forest sectors fell from 85,000 people in 2006, to 73,000 people in 2011,” Ms Schneider said. "It is pleasing to see acknowledgement of the significant role forest products can play in sequestration of atmospheric carbon with the report indicating that 226 million tonnes of atmospheric carbon was sequestered and stored in forest products, an increase of 27 million tonnes since 2000. This storage is equivalent to 37 years’ worth of annual domestic aviation emissions in Australia” the Australian Forest Products Association’s CEO, Ross Hampton. "It was highlighted in the report that plantation forests contribute 76 per cent of Australia’s total log supply. However, AFPA notes with concern that only 10 000 ha of new plantations were established in 2010-11 compared with 87 000 ha in 2006-07 and 137 000 ha in 2000-01. Without further plantation expansion, Australia’s forest processing sector will have limited opportunities to grow, so that they can remain competitive in increasing global wood product markets'. "Australia remains a net importer of wood and wood products with forest product imports valued at over AU$4.0 billion. Further restrictions to resource supply in Australia and limited expansion of the plantation resources can only lead to a worsening trade deficit which currently stands at AU$1.93 billion". "AFPA has previously sounded the alarm on diminishing levels of research and development with regard to forest and plantation silviculture and forest product manufacturing, including packaging, cellular level research on wood derived fibre and biodegradable plastic substitutes. The report reaffirms our concerns and highlights the dramatic decline, over the reporting period, in the number of researchers and technicians involved in forest products research". Australia’s State of the Forests 2013 is available on the ABARES website. | ||
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