By Hans Drielsma, Executive General Manager
Forestry Tasmania’s sustainable management practices and its role in helping to reduce the rate of climate change have been reinforced by the findings of an international study.
Commissioned by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the International Council of Forest and Paper Associations (ICFPA) the study examines the positive role forest products have on global carbon balance.
It shows that carbon stocks are stable or increasing in sustainably managed and certified production forests and that forest based biomass energy could significantly reduce carbon emissions.
The Impact of the Global Forestry Industry on Atmospheric Greenhouse Gases report concludes that many forestry companies increase carbon stocks in forests or help avoid their decline by:
This is in line with Forestry Tasmania’s management of state forests to sustain biodiversity, jobs, healthy forests, community access and science based stewardship. State forests are growing faster than they are being harvested and each year they absorb 24 per cent of Tasmania’s carbon emissions.
Wood products from state forests are certified to Australian Forestry Standard (AFS) and endorsed internationally through PEFC. The certification provides secure chain-of-custody and labelling systems for verification of wood origins through the supply chain to final customers.
The analysis in the report strongly supports the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assertion that sustainable management of production forests is an important option for climate change mitigation over the long term.
The study found that wood markets encourage landowners to keep land under forest, thus helping to avoid large-scale losses of carbon to the atmosphere through land-use change.
It indicates that, as in Tasmania, carbon stocks are generally stable or increasing in sustainably managed and certified production forests in North America and the European Union which account for 69 percent of global industrial roundwood production.
Forests remove carbon from the atmosphere and it is also stored for long periods in wood products such as those used in the construction industry, furniture and craft items and even in paper.
Wood products have a much lighter carbon footprint than products like concrete, aluminium and steel. They can also be used to decrease emissions by replacing fossil fuels.
It is estimated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that forest biomass energy could reduce global emissions by between 400 million and 4.4 billion tonnes of carbon equivalent per year.
In Tasmania a biomass station presents the opportunity to reduce smoke by up to 70 per cent, while making productive use of 250,000 tonnes per year of currently unsaleable wood from harvested areas.
To view the Impact of the Global Forestry Industry on Atmospheric Greenhouse Gases report - Click Here
Branchline, August 13, 2010
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