Forests for People

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Sustainable forest management in Australia

Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

ustralia has a long history of forest management and use

since European settlement, dating back to the early 19th

century in native forests and the early 20th century in

plantations. Since then, Australia’s forest industry has devel-

oped into a legitimate, useful and important industry. In the

past decades, Australia’s forests have increasingly been recog-

nized and valued for the role they play in sequestering carbon,

addressing environmental degradation issues, and conserving

and providing habitat for biodiversity, as well as for their social

and cultural values. Australia’s forests also provide a sustain-

able timber product which contributes to rural and regional

employment throughout the country.

Forests occupy 19.4 per cent of Australia, equivalent to 149.4

million hectares of the country. Of this forest area, 147.4 million

hectares is native forest, dominated by eucalypt (79 per cent) and

acacia

(7 per cent) forest types and 2.02 million hectares is occu-

pied by plantations.

Australia is divided into six states and two

territories and both state and territory governments have consti-

tutional responsibility for forest management. The Australian

Government coordinates a national approach to sustainable forest

management.

Forest policy in Australia

Successive Australian, state and territory governments

have sought to implement the vision of ecologically

sustainable management for Australia’s forests and

plantations.

The National Forest Policy Statement, which was

finalized in 1992, brought together the vision shared

by successive Australian, state and territory govern-

ments to manage Australia’s forests and plantations

in an ecologically sustainable manner. Eleven broad

national goals constitute the statement, which provides

a robust framework for the holistic management of

forests in Australia. The statement resulted in the

establishment of a comprehensive reserve system for

Australia’s forests and provides continued support for a

range of innovative, competitive and sustainable forest-

based industries. These industries use forests and their

resources in an efficient, environmentally responsible

manner and are responsive to community and market

signals. The statement continues to have relevance and

underpins Australia’s forest management to this day.

In developing and implementing the National Forest

Policy Statement, governments were mindful of the

important conservation values of Australia’s forests,

and of the contribution that forest-based activities

make to the national economy and rural and regional

communities. This is reflected in the Regional Forest

Agreements which are a key mechanism developed to

achieve several outcomes of the statement.

Regional Forest Agreements are 20-year agreements

between the Australian Government and state govern-

ments for a balanced and sustainable approach to

managing Australia’s native forests.

The 10 Regional Forest Agreements, currently imple-

mented in four states, have three key objectives:

• To protect environmental values and a world-class

system of national parks and other reserves

• To manage all native forests in an ecologically

sustainable way

• To encourage job creation and growth in forest

based industries, including wood products, tourism

and minerals.

The Regional Forest Agreement process was initiated

with scoping agreements to identify key government

obligations, regional objectives and interests, and broad

forest uses. Criteria for a comprehensive, representa-

Australia’s forest cover

Source: Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences