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Australia's Forest Policies
In Australia, state and territory governments have primary responsibility for forest management while the Australian Government coordinates a national approach to environmental and forest industry development issues.
What are governments doing?
The Australian, state and territory governments are all signatories to the 1992 National Forest Policy Statement. The NFPS provides the framework within which the governments can achieve cooperatively their vision for sustainable management of Australia’s forests and ensure the community obtains a balanced return from all forest uses.
A key element of the approach adopted in the NFPS involves RFAs between the Commonwealth and State governments. RFAs provide for forest conservation and secure access to wood resources and help to create a positive environment for investment in value-adding manufacturing.
RFAs are based on scientific, comprehensive regional assessments of forest values and uses, and on consultation with stakeholders. The 20 year agreements seek to provide a balance of the full suite of environmental, social, economic and heritage values that forests can provide for current and future generations.
They establish a forest conservation reserve system, which aims to be comprehensive, adequate and representative, and complementary sustainable forest management systems outside reserves.
Governments, industry and regional groups are also working together on Plantations for Australia - The 2020 Vision and on farm forestry initiatives to increase the supply of plantation wood.