New analysis by the Wilderness Society has revealed that the Tasmanian Government’s plans to force the sale of plantations could fatally undermine Forestry Tasmania’s (FT) international market certification.

Forestry Tasmania’s 2014-15 Annual Report confirmed the Government is pressing ahead with plans to sell Forestry Tasmania owned plantations.

The briefing paper Plantation Asset Sales and Forestry Tasmania’s Market Certification shows that any sale of high quality sawlog plantations will undermine Forestry Tasmania’s ability to produce a ‘sustainable yield’. Sustainable yield refers to the production of a volume of timber that can be sustained over time, and is a key requirement of both FSC and AFS endorsement.

“Tasmanian sawmillers and timber products customers should be extremely concerned about the Government’s actions. Forcing a fire sale of community owned plantation assets that threatens certification and sawlog supply is an incredibly irresponsible proposal from a government that claims to support the forestry industry,” said Vica Bayley, Tasmanian Campaign Manager for the Wilderness Society.

“AFS and FSC certification both require proof that timber volumes can be ‘sustainably’ produced. Our analysis of Forestry Tasmania data shows that if sawlog plantations are sold, there will immediately be a gap of between 37,000 and 47,000 cubic metres of sawlogs from 2027 until 2063.

“A 2012 complaint to AFS that native forest production was unsustainable was dismissed on the basis that plantation sawlogs were counted towards overall volumes. If Minister Harriss proceeds with the sale of pruned sawlog plantations, it’s virtually impossible to see how FT could prove they are producing their required sustainable yield of 137,000 cubic metres per year.

“Forestry Tasmania has been transparent about the challenge in meeting the global ‘gold standard’ FSC endorsement. It would be an extreme risk from Minister Harriss, who claims to be strongly committed to FSC, to sell plantation assets and throw an insurmountable roadblock in front of FT gaining FSC.

“While AFS runs a very distant second to FSC as a requirement of timber customers, government action that results in the loss of AFS would be an additional blow to FT and Tasmanian timber producers.

Download …

BriefingPaperPlantationsandPEFC.pdf
Vica Bayley Tasmanian Campaign Manager The Wilderness Society (Tasmania) Inc.