Today’s State of the Environment report paints a grim picture of the challenges facing the Australian landscape and highlights the need for our sustainable forest industries to play a greater role in the solution, said Ross Hampton , Chief Executive of the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA). said.
“The report highlights the urgent need to tackle the real threats to our environment and endangered species, such as invasive flora and fauna, disease, climate change and catastrophic bushfires,” Ross said. Hampton.
“It also highlights the potential for Australia’s sustainable forest industries to help address these threats. The federal government’s goal of planting one billion new timber plantation trees by 2030 will have a significant climate mitigation benefit through the carbon stored in growing trees and in renewable wood products. and paper made from them.
“And as Australia moves to phase out single-use plastics, plastic alternatives derived from paper, cardboard and wood fiber made right here in Australia will become increasingly important in our war against waste.”
Ross Hampton also warned policy makers not to confuse Australia’s small and sustainable indigenous forest industries with land clearing and habitat loss, as forestry in Australia is regulated to the highest environmental standards in the world.
“Our indigenous forest industries use the equivalent of only 6 out of 10,000 trees on Australia’s 132 million hectares of native forest, and regenerate after harvest to ensure no net loss of forest area. They also ensure the continuous supply of essential wood products for our homes, pallets for our supermarkets and firewood to heat our homes.
“Studies have also shown that timber harvesting has not been a ‘major threat factor’ in the extinction of any Australian mammal since European settlement.”
Ross Hampton also urged policy makers to heed advice from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which says sustainably managing our native forests for timber yields the best mitigation results. climate change:
A sustainable forest management strategy aimed at maintaining or increasing forest carbon stocks, while producing a sustained annual yield of wood, fiber or energy from the forest, will generate the greatest sustainable mitigation benefit. . – IPCC 4e Evaluation
“The AFPA looks forward to working with the federal government to act on the findings of the report and ensure that our environment is preserved for future generations,” concluded Ross Hampton.
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