Australia Yearbook - 2001

Chapter 16—Forestry and fishing 657
Australia’s public and private forests and outlines
a vision for the ecologically sustainable
management of Australia’s forests, comprising
11 broad national goals in the following areas:
conservation; wood production and industry
development; integrated and coordinated
decision-making and management; private native
forests; plantations; water supply and catchment
management; tourism and other economic and
social opportunities; employment, labour force
education and training; public awareness,
education and involvement; research and
development; and international responsibilities.
Plantation initiatives under the NFPS
In 1993, under the NFPS, the Commonwealth
established two plantations initiatives: the Farm
Forestry Program and the Community Rainforest
Reafforestation Program (CRRP). The CRRP is a
joint initiative sponsored by the Commonwealth
Government and State/Territory and local
governments. Commonwealth funding of the
CRRP and FFP has continued since 1992 under
the Wood and Paper Industry Strategy. From
1997–98, further funding for the FFP has been
provided under the Natural Heritage Trust.
Farm Forestry Program (FFP)
The FFP aims to promote commercial wood
production on cleared agricultural land so as to
provide an additional reliable, high-quality wood
resource for sustainable regional industries, as
well as to diversify farm incomes. The FFP also
promotes tree-planting for the production of
non-wood products with an emphasis on
developing commercial uses of native species,
while addressing problems of land degradation.
A total of $36.5m is available from the Natural
Heritage Trust for farm forestry, of which
$3.1m was available in 1997–98. The National
Farm Forest Inventory will identify the extent of
farm forest plantings in 2001.
Regional Forest Agreements (RFA)
Australia’s National Forest Policy sets out broad
conservation and industry goals for the
management of Australia’s forests agreed
between the Commonwealth Government and
the State and Territory Governments. They have
agreed to a framework and process for carrying
out comprehensive assessments of the economic,
social, environmental and heritage values of
forest regions. In 1996, the Commonwealth
Government allocated an additional $48m over
three years to accelerate the completion of the
Comprehensive Regional Assessments (CRA)
process. Once completed, CRAs will provide
Governments with the information required to
make decisions about forest use and sustainable
management over the long term.
RFAs will provide a blueprint for the future
management of our forests, and the basis for an
internationally competitive and ecologically
sustainable forest products industry. The first
RFA was signed between the Commonwealth
Government and the Victorian Government for
the East Gippsland region in February 1997. The
RFA for Tasmania was signed in November 1997,
while the RFA for Central Highlands (NSW) was
signed in March 1998 and the RFA for North East
(Victoria) in late 1999. RFAs for Eden (NSW),
Upper North East (NSW), and the Lower
Northern East (NSW) were signed in the first
half of 2000.
Wood and Paper Industry Strategy (WAPIS)
The Commonwealth outlined new initiatives to
underpin development of the wood and paper
industry in the WAPIS released in December
1995. The strategy is intended to build upon the
RFA process, and aims to facilitate a positive
environment for investment in downstream
processing based on resources from sustainably
managed native forests and plantations. In the
1996–97 Federal Budget, $32m was allocated to
the Wood and Paper Industry Strategy over the
four years 1996–97 to 1999–2000. The WAPIS is
complemented by the Forest Industry Structural
Adjustment program.
Forestry Industry Structural Adjustment
Program (FISAP)
The 1996–97 Federal Budget allocated $98.6m to
the FISAP to assist businesses and workers
involved in native forest industries to adjust to
changes as a result of the Interim/Deferred Forest
Agreements and Regional Forest Agreements.
Under matching funding arrangements with the
States, $60m has been committed to NSW,
$18.8m to Victoria, $5m to Queensland and
$15m to Western Australia. As at 30 June 2000,
about $18.2m had been spent in NSW, $1.5m in
Victoria and small amounts in Queensland and
Western Australia. A further $0.3m has been spent
in Tasmania, without a matching State
commitment, to assist private landowners
adversely affected by the Deferred Forest
Agreement.
National Forest Inventory (NFI)
In late 1988 the Commonwealth Government
initiated a National Forest Inventory (NFI). A
State of the Forests Report (SOFR) produced by