Facts on the table

 by Bob Gordon, Managing Director

 THE round-table discussions on the future of the forest industry offer an opportunity for real dialogue, including with conservation groups, and Forestry Tasmania is keen to work with all parties involved.

 We all agree forests play a vital role in the geographical, social and economic makeup of our state, and contribute to what makes Tasmania such a special place.

For some the emphasis is on wilderness and conservation values and for others it is the fact that forestry is an ongoing sustainable industry that directly employs 6300 people and generates up to $1.6 billion for the economy.

Our hope is the round-table talks will help us find ways forward to create the best possible balance for the future of Tasmania and to put the divisive forestry debate behind us.

To be successful discussion needs to be based on real information.

Without a common starting point it is very difficult to more forward so it is important to establish agreement about the facts of current land uses in Tasmania, whether or not we endorse those uses.

Tasmania already proudly boasts the highest level of forest reservation in the world with 47 per cent in reserves, about 98 per cent of identified wilderness protected, and 78 per cent of old growth also in reserves.

The Greens, the Wilderness Society and others have drawn up a map of further areas they would like to see in reserves because of what they describe as high conservation values. To assist the public debate, we have used our considerable mapping resources to identify where the extra reserves are and what they would mean in terms of wood production.

This analysis showed the proposed new reserves cover 580,000 ha, of which 540,000 is state forest and the remainder includes a large part of the Buckland Military Area managed by FT. The range is used for grenade training, small-arms fire and marksmanship training.

The area of state forest proposed for the new reserves includes 12,000 ha of hardwood and softwood plantations, 43,000 ha of special timbers coupes and 150,000 ha of eucalypt native forest which includes 45,000 ha of forest that has been clearfelled, burned and regenerated in the past 30 years.

On the flip side, these proposed reserves would reduce sawlog production by 43 percent and other lower quality products by about one third.

We are certainly not seeking to embarrass the Wilderness Society for including plantations and previously harvested areas in their list of high conservation value forests, but by doing this analysis, we are providing the public with the information they need to make up their own mind about these matters.

It is also a fact that native, or natural forests as we prefer to call them, are important to the industry. As well as providing employment and generating income for the state, natural forests are the only source of the special species timber that makes Tasmania’s craft industry so unique.

Bearing these facts in mind we are looking forward to the opportunities presented by the round-table talks.