TFGA SAYS HANDS OFF PRIVATE FORESTS IN CARBON ACCOUNTING

Tasmanian farmers today warned the Australian and Tasmanian Governments not to jeopardise billions of dollars of investment in private native forests, that is, native forests on private land, by locking up their stored carbon reserves to balance the books on carbon emissions.

Tasmanian farmers manage most of the state’s private forests.

“If you lock up Australia’s sustainably-managed private native forests, you shift the onus for environmental care onto those who fell the rainforests of Indonesia and Chile, because that is where the replacement timber will come from,” Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association chief executive Jan Davis said today.

She was commenting on two reports out today:
• that the Australian Government is looking to use increased native forest protection to reduce carbon emissions by two of the five per cent target for all industries by 2020; and
• Tasmanian Climate Change Minister Nick McKim’s adoption of a Tasmanian Climate Action Council recommendation that there be a 25 per cent reduction target by 2020 in this state.

Ms Davis said Australians were being led to believe that Australia could meet a large portion of its emission reduction targets by planting more trees and harvesting fewer.

“By banning sustainable forestry activities in more native forests, governments think they can take the heat off other industries to reduce emissions. Moves to end harvesting of native forest in Tasmania and eastern Victoria are specifically mentioned,” Ms Davis said.

“Once again, no distinction is being made between public and private forests. Some 40 per cent of timber in the state comes from private landholdings, most of which are owned and managed by farmers.

“These private forest owners rightly fear that they will be the next cab off the rank for limitations on their harvesting, if not outright bans.

“And, once again, the expectation seems to be that farmers will bear the real financial burden of meeting broader community expectations.

“The fallacy of this course of action is that if Australia’s sustainably-managed native forests are not able to supply the furniture trade, builders, etc, imported timber from places such as Indonesia and Chile will replace the local resource. Their forests are not sustainably managed. It follows that just as many trees will be felled, but outside Australia and outside Australia’s ability to enforce reafforestation or replacement planting.

“So all we will have achieved is destroying an important Tasmanian industry and Tasmanian jobs. That is an out-of-sight, out-of-mind attitude that is quite unAustralian.”

Ms Davis said Tasmanian private foresters had demonstrated that actively-managed forests sequestered more carbon than those not being managed

“Active management enables the state to contribute to carbon sequestration and, when added to the contribution farmers really make, it may well mean Tasmania is already carbon positive,” she said.

“Political parties should stop looking for easy solutions to the challenges of climate change. They should thoroughly analyse the consequences of their proposed actions, at home and abroad,” Ms Davis said.
Jan Davis http://www.tfga.com.au/