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Wood graduates with Honours Yale research finds increased timber harvest has profound, positive effect
A STUDY led by Yale University, a respected US institution with origins dating back to1640, confirms that using more wood and less steel and concrete in building and bridge construction substantially reduces global carbon dioxide emissions and fossil fuel consumption. Despite an established forest conservation theory holding that tree harvesting should be strictly minimised to prevent the loss of biodiversity and to maintain carbon storage capacity, the new study shows that sustainable management of wood resources can achieve both goals while also reducing fossil fuel burning. The results were published in the Journal of Sustainable Forestry. Cont P 3
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Yale University study .. using more wood and less steel and concrete in building and bridge construction will substantially reduce global carbon dioxide emissions.
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SEPTEMBER 1, 2014 | PAGE 1
INDUSTRY NEWS
Forest harvesting link to fires danger off the mark
Conflicting evidence draws industry criticism
THE timber industry and foresters in Australia and Canada have questioned a report by two academics that links logging with increased fire danger. Melbourne University’s Dr Chris Taylor and Professor David Lindenmayer at the Australian National University claim clear fell logging of mountain ash forests in Victoria added to the intensity and severity of fires on Black Saturday. Chief executive of the Australian Forest Products Association Ross Hampton says there is conflicting evidence on the link between bushfire and logging. “There is a lot of evidence that goes both ways on that,” he said. “Let’s just be so careful when we decide that a particular study decides that the forest industry was particularly part of a problem.” Mr Hampton argues a true assessment of forestry’s link to bushfire should include the industry’s positive contribution to fighting fires.
‘Logging practice greatly increase severity of fires’
forestworks@forestworks.com.au
www.forestworks.com.au
Taylor and Lindenmayer claims logging practices “greatly increase the severity of fires” in extreme weather conditions such as Black Saturday. The say they examined hundreds of thousands of trees burnt in the 2009 bushfires in Victoria, which claimed the lives of 173 people on a day of extreme temperatures and high winds. They found that the increased fire risk began about seven years after an area had been logged and lasted for another 50 years. Many of Australia’s leading fire scientists simply do not agree that timber harvesting increases
PAGE 2 | SEPTEMBER 1, 2014
A forester inspects a young ponderosa pine tree growing in an area destroyed by 2013′s Rim Fire, near Groveland, California, much of which was blamed on massive fuel build-up.
fire intensity, thereby contributing to increased deaths and property damage. Professor Peter Attiwill AM, School of Botany, University of Melbourne says research in 2013 by fire experts around Australia, including the University of Melbourne, found bushfires did not burn more intensely in forests where there has been timber harvesting than in national parks and reserves where there is no harvesting. In fact, aerial imagery taken after the 2009 bushfires highlighted that areas of young forest regrowing after timber harvesting were some of the only areas unburnt during the highintensity stages of the wildfire. “The reality is the small amount of forest harvested for timber means these areas do not have an impact on overall fire severity,” Prof. Atiwill said. “These claims of Professor Lindenmayer cause unnecessary concern in fire-affected communities when our published research shows the intensity of recent bushfires in Victoria had nothing to do with timber harvesting.” Respected Queensland forester Dick Pegg, who has
more than 50 years’ experience in forest fires, said it never ceased to amaze him how these academics kept coming up with this nonsense. “In this case it seems they are talking about coupe clear falling and not selective logging,” Mr Pegg said. “I have never heard of David Lindenmayer and have no idea of his background or experience. He does not seem to understand the difference between hazard and risk. “No data are produced in the comments so it is not possible to comment on how he came up with his recommendations.” Dick Powell, chairman of the Oregon Society of American Foresters says reports that forest thinning will increase wildfire risk begs for a response. “All life requires moisture, energy, air and nutrients,” he said. “On any given area, those are finite and the life that can be supported (its carrying capacity) is also finite. This applies to ranchers, wildlife biologists, farmers and backyard gardeners. “For example, farmers don’t plant corn two inches apart with Cont P 4
INDUSTRY NEWS
Carefully managed harvesting reduces likelihood of wildfires From P 1
In the comprehensive study, scientists from the Yale school of forestry and environmental studies and the University of Washington’s College of the Environment, evaluated a range of scenarios, including leaving forests untouched, burning wood for energy, and using various solid wood products for construction. The researchers calculated that the amount of wood harvested globally each year (3.4 billion cub m) is equivalent to only about 20% of annual wood growth (17 billion cub m), and much of that harvest is burned inefficiently for cooking. They found that increasing the wood harvest to the equivalent of 34% or more of annual wood growth would have profound and positive effects: Between 14 and 31% of global CO2 emissions could be avoided by preventing emissions related to steel and concrete; by storing CO2 in the cellulose and lignin of wood products; and other factors.
Keeping some global forests in reserves About 12 to 19% of annual global fossil fuel consumption would be saved including savings achieved because scrap wood and unsellable materials could be burned for energy, replacing fossil fuel consumption. Wood-based construction consumes much less energy than concrete or steel construction. For example, manufacturing a wood floor beam requires 80 megajoules (mj) of energy per square metre of floor space and emits 4 kg of CO2. By comparison, for the same square meter, a steel beam requires 516 mj and emits 40 kg of CO2, and a concrete
Kroon Hall timber building, the recently completed home of Yale’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, has just been awarded a Platinum LEED – the highest designation offered by the US Green Building Council.
slab floor requires 290 mj and emits 27 kg of CO2. Through efficient harvesting and product use, more CO2 is saved through the avoided emissions, materials, and wood energy than is lost from the harvested forest, the Yale study suggests. “This study shows still another reason to appreciate forests – and another reason to not let them be permanently cleared for agriculture,” the director of the Global Institute of Sustainable Forestry and lead author of the new study Prof. Chadwick Oliver said. “Forest harvest creates a temporary opening that is needed by forest species such as butterflies and some birds and deer before it regrows to large trees. But conversion to agriculture is a permanent loss of all forest biodiversity.” The manufacture of steel, concrete, and brick accounts for about 16% of global fossil fuel consumption. When the transport and assembly of steel, concrete, and brick products is considered, its share of fossil fuel burning is closer to 20 to 30%, Prof. Oliver said. “Reductions in fossil fuel consumption and carbon emissions from construction will become increasingly critical as demand for new buildings, bridges and other infrastructure is expected to surge worldwide in the coming decades with economic development in Asia, Africa, and South America,” says a previous Yale study.
Professor Chadwick Oliver .. harvested,wood will save fossil fuel and CO2 and provide jobs
And innovative construction techniques are now making wood even more effective in bridges and mid-rise apartment buildings. According to Prof. Oliver, carefully managed harvesting also reduces the likelihood of catastrophic wildfires. And maintaining a mix of forest habitats and densities in non-reserved forests – in addition to keeping some global forests in reserves – would help preserve biodiversity in ecosystems worldwide, About 12.5% of the world’s forests are currently located in reserves. “Forests historically have had a diversity of habitats that different species need,” Prof. Oliver emphasised. “This diversity can be maintained by harvesting some of the forest growth.”
SEPTEMBER 1, 2014 | PAGE 3
ENGINEERED WOOD
David Lindenmayer
Dick Pegg
Ross Hampton
Thinning maturing forests brings back diversity quickly
From P 2
an abundance of weeds, and gardeners don’t plant tomatoes two inches apart under the apple tree.”
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Carrying capacity cannot sustain the added growth Dr Powell said carrying capacity varied greatly. He said coastal range rainfall was plentiful, and forests might support several hundred trees per acre as well as other vegetation. Eastern Oregon forests are drier and may support less than 100 trees and with far less other vegetation. “Post-settlement, we’ve put out fires and greatly increased fuels and numbers of trees,” Dr Powell said. “In eastern and southern Oregon, rainfall limits the land’s carrying capacity. Thinning will reduce drought-related stress and the amount of fuels. “Fire needs heat (matches and lightning), oxygen and fuel. Take one away (dirt smothers flames, water cools fire, or remove fuel) and the fire goes out. Thinning removes some of the fuel and lessens the likelihood of catastrophic fire. “There are many examples where crown fires came to a thinned area, dropped down and crept across the thinned forest’s floor. Once through the thinned area, they went back up into the canopy and resumed their
catastrophic fire behaviour. “I agree that thinning will not prevent wildfires. Preventing wildfires requires there be no lightning or people who start fires. What thinning will do is reduce the amount of available fuel should a fire start. A dense canopy lets little sunlight pass through to the understory and allows less diversity of flora and fauna. Besides reducing available fuel, thinning opens the canopy, gets more sunlight into the understory and greatly increases the forest’s diversity. “Until tree crowns grow together, a young forest has lots of sunlight reaching the ground and has the greatest diversity of both flora and fauna. After crown closure, that diversity begins to diminish. Later, as it matures and trees die, fall over, or tops die, sunlight again begins to pass through the canopy and into the understory and diversity increases.
Thinning that mature forest brings diversity “Thinning that maturing forest brings diversity back more quickly than if left alone. “Removing fuels and maintaining a green understory creates a smaller fire hazard than an accumulation of dry, woody fuels. Similarly, a layer of dry leaves around a house is far more hazardous than if green grass surrounded it.”
2014 AROUND THE CIRCUIT
SEPTEMBER
13: 2nd Annual Women in Forest & Timber Network Charity Champagne High Tea. Franklin Villa, 35 Brighton Road, Highgate Hill, Brisbane, 2 pm-5 pm. Tickets $55 p.p. Fab food, chilled champagne and great prizes .Register at www. timberqueensland.com.au/events 17-18: Wood Innovations 2014: Timber Preservation – Wood Modification – Composite Products – Rotorua, NZ. 23-24: Melbourne. (www.woodinnovations2014.com). Changes in new wood treatment formulations, processes and systems, standards, legislation with the focus also on wood plastic composites and modified wood products. 19-20: ForestTECH 2014. Rotorua, NZ. 25-26: Melbourne. (www.foresttech2014.com). Remote sensing, field Inventory, forest estate planning. 25: Make the Connection. Engineered wood seminar. Moda Events Portside, Level 2, Portside Wharf, 39 Hercules Street, Hamilton, 2.15 pm-5.30 pm (includes afternoon tea and cocktail function). Free entry for Timber Queensland members and technical subscribers. Non-members $40 p.p. Industry experts discuss the design, specification and realities of developing buildings incorporating glued-laminated timber (glulam), wood I-joists, cross-laminated timber, wood structural panels and some world firsts: posttensioned round timber wall panels, round timber floor panels and hollow timber piles. Guest speakers, panel sessions and live demonstration included. Details at www.timberqueensland.com.au/ events (see notice, Page 16).
OCTOBER
10: Forum for the Future: The Timber Industry in NSW. 10 am-2 pm at National Maritime Museum, Darling Harbour, Sydney. Speakers include Mark Bouris, chairman of Yellow Brick Road and executive chairman of US-based technology company TZ Ltd; Daryl Patterson, head of operational excellence, Lend Lease’s property business; Ken McBryde, Australian architect, Hassells Architecture; Ross Hampton, CEO, Australian Forest Products Association. Cost: $140 p.p. includes lunch. Booking and inquiries: fpa@nswfpa.com.au 16: Chile Wood Expo – Lake Room, Waterview Conference Centre, Bicentennial Drive, Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush Bay, Sydney. Free entry for wholesalers, trade agents, timber merchants, resellers, retailers, manufacturers, builders, technical experts and trade association representatives. Registration brochure available soon. Inquiries to Nicolas Birrell (02) 9262 2326 or nbirrell@ prochile.gob.cl or John Halkett 0417 421 187 or john.halkett@ bigpond.com 17: VAFI annual dinner – Park Hyatt, Melbourne. Theme: ‘Securing the Future”. Speakers include MPs Peter Walsh and Jacinta Allan. MC radio presenter, comedian and author Ian Cover. Inquiries to Jillian Roscoe at jroscoe@vafi.org.au 26-29: Australian Forest Growers 2014 Biennial Conference. Trees: The Future Crop for Changing Climates. Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW. More than 40 presentations from leading forest researchers and practitioners, a day of field trips, featuring local forestry initiatives, along with icebreaker and dinner events complete a full conference program. Speakers include Australian Farm Institute
executive director Mick Keogh, former Governor-General Major General Michael Jeffery, Andrew Campbell, Charles Darwin University, Prof. Jerry Vanclay, Southern Cross University, and Rob de Fegely, president. Institute of Foresters Australia. Contact Mark Wright, AFG 2014 conference convenor. Email: agconference@afg.asn.au
NOVEMBER
13-14: Engineered Wood Products – From Here to the Future. Australian timber industry seminar. Surfers Paradise Marriott Resort, Gold Coast. Co-hosted by the Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia and Forest and Wood Products Australia. Australian and international speakers. Contact Eileen Newbury, marketing manager, Forest and Wood Products Australia.Tel +61 (3) 9927 3212. Mob: +61 (0) 41931 3163. Email: eileen.newbury@ fwpa.com.au or visit www.fwpa. com.au for registration and accommodation details.
2015 MARCH
EVENTS
THE AUSTRALIAN FOREST PRODUCTS ASSOCIATION The lead voice in Canberra on policy affecting forest, wood and paper products industries. AFPA strives to deliver benefits for the complete industry value chain including those involved in: • Forest growing • Harvest and haulage
25: ForestWorks annual industry conference and dinner in Canberra. Flagship event for the forest, wood, paper and timber products industries. Joining with the Australian Forest Products Association to co-host the popular networking industry dinner at Parliament House. Conference will look beyond the innovative technologies in industry and focus on the people, exploring how they can help to bring about innovation. Further details will be announced in the coming months, including the conference theme, speakers and venue. Contact forestworks@ forestworks.com.au
• Sawmilling and other wood processing • Pulp and paper processing • Forest product exporting
Join us today and share the benefits Call (02) 6285 3833
SEPTEMBER 1, 2014 | PAGE 5
INDUSTRY NEWS
The who, what and how of diligence New training on import regulations starts in October
A SECOND series of training seminars on the Australian illegal logging regulation and timber due diligence has been announced by the Timber Development Association. The training next month will occur just before the commencement of the Illegal Logging regulation in November. The training will cover who the regulation applies to, what the regulation requires and how to undertake due diligence for illegally logged timber. The declaration that importers will have to make at port of entry will also be covered. The Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth seminars are open to importers of timber, plywood, veneer, MDF, shutters, joinery, flat packs, wine barrels, paper and wood furniture, their service providers, retailers and even overseas suppliers.
TDA due diligence tools will make compliance easier “While many will argue the merits of the regulation as the vast majority of imports are from legally harvested wood, the reality is that from November most importers of timber products will have to comply,” TDA CEO Andrew Dunn said.
Andrew Dunn
Stephen Mitchell
To make compliance easier, the TDA has developed free timber due diligence tools to complement the guidance provided by the federal government. The tools have been developed with the support of timber importers, via Forest and Wood Products Australia. “The training sets participants up to be much better prepared than their competitors,” TDA sustainability program manager Stephen Mitchell said. “It can also assist reduce over-compliance which is costly. “Previous seminars we held in June were well received as the tools are very practical.” The seminars are being conducted in conjunction with The Forest Trust, a specialist in responsible sourcing of timber from high risk areas and wood
species. Further information on the training seminars and booking information can be found at www.timberduediligence.com. au Training seminars – time and place: Melbourne – Wednesday, October 8, Engineering House, North Melbourne. Perth – Friday, October 10, Technology Park, Bentley. Brisbane – Wednesday, October 15, The Greek Club, South Brisbane. Sydney – Thursday, October 16, Dooleys Waterview, Silverwater. The Australian Illegal Logging Prohibition Amendment Regulation applies to importers of ‘regulated timber products’ such as sawn timber, plywood,
PAGE 6 | SEPTEMBER 1, 2014
wood panels, builders’ joinery, pulp, paper products, and wood furniture. It also applies to Australian processors of raw logs. The regulation requires that importers and domestic processors undertake ‘due diligence’ from November 30, 2014. The core of the ‘due diligence’ requirement is that importers and domestic processors undertake a risk management process. For importers the purpose is to minimise the risk of importing illegally harvested timber, or timber products containing illegally harvested timber. For domestic processors the purpose is to minimise the risk of processing illegally harvested raw logs. The Timber Development Association is an Australianbased non-profit timber industry association with the primary objective of building markets within Australia for timber and wood products. Operating since 1938, TDA accomplishes this through research and development, technical training, educational and marketing activities. The association has been closely involved in the regulation consultation process and development of industry responses.
INDUSTRY NEWS
Government unwinds key parts of Tasmanian forest peace deal
‘Changes jeopardise FSC certification of state’s timber’
THE Tasmanian Liberal government has succeeded in unwinding key parts of the peace deal to end the state’s forest wars. The legislation gives the timber industry greater access to forests, makes them harder to set aside from logging, and cuts out environmentalist consultation. Around 400,000 ha of high conservation value forests protected by the peace deal will be placed in future logging zones. Access to reserves for rare rainforest timbers was also confirmed. The Liberal government’s bill, which is passing through the state parliament, met an election pledge to “tear up” the deal reached between industry, union and environmental groups over nearly five years of arduous talks. “For the first time in our state’s history the Green tide is being turned and the balance is being reset,” Resources Minister Paul Harriss said. “We are rebuilding the forest industry, making clear that there will be no more lock-ups, and working to remove reserves from the clutches of the Green locksmiths.” The government previously
Wood Protection ®
Paul Harriss
Phill Pullinger
failed in its bid, which was backed by the Abbott government, to wind back the peace deal’s crowning conservation achievement – an extension of the state’s world heritage area to protect another 170,000 ha of tall old growth forest. The government was also warned its legislation may endanger vital international green certification for the state’s timber, and it has had to delay plans for the country’s first mandatory sentences for workplace protest, directed at forest activists. Environment Tasmania’s Phill Pullinger said that after the marathon efforts to reach the original peace deal, the passage of the government’s forests bill was “very sad, and very disappointing”. “This is something that Tassie absolutely has to move on from,
Ruth Forrest
Vanessa Goodwin
and unfortunately this is going to take us backwards,” Dr Pullinger said. His seat, and that of other environmentalists, has been removed from a ministerial advisory council on forests. Independent Legislative Councillor Ruth Forrest, who played a key part in the upper house debate, said the government’s changes threatened a return to conflict not seen for many years, and could jeopardise Forest Stewardship Council certification for the state’s timber. “It does not make one more job, or make one more tree available for the next six years,” Ms Forrest said. Outside the state’s 1.5 million ha world heritage area, and other national parks, the 1.1 million ha
Peter McGlone
system of conservation areas and regional reserves is open to limited timber industry access for specialty timbers such as celery top pine and myrtle. The Tasmanian Conservation Trust director Peter McGlone said the government had opened protected reserves of many years standing to environmentally destructive logging. A government spokesman said: “The bill is not doing anything that is not already (and always has been) provided for in regional reserves and conservation areas.” The leader for the government in the Legislative Council, Vanessa Goodwin, confirmed that a bill to crack down on forest protesters was being referred to a parliamentary committee.
– Sydney Morning Herald.
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SEPTEMBER 1, 2014 | PAGE 7
DARYL PATTERSO
Head of Operational Excellence | Property | Lend
Daryl Patterson was appointed Head of Operational Excellence Property business in 2012 responsible for overseeing the Prope improvement, governance and innovation across Australia. Len business units span multiple sectors including greenfield subdiv towers, high rise apartments, an extensive retirement village po use urban redevelopments around Australia.
Starting his career in architecture, Daryl progressed into constru project management and development management of compl Most recently Daryl has overseen Lend Lease’s investment into Cross Laminated Timber constructed building, and the world’s building of its kind. More recently Daryl has lead the formation o dedicated to timber engineering and prefabricated solutions for Lease projects.
Daryl’s experience during his twenty years within Lend Lease h development and delivery of major urban renewal projects in ca Australia. These projects are a key competitive differentiator of L world and typically have multi-billion dollar end values. These pr mix of asset classes, multiple buildings and substantial civic infr initial attraction to Lend Lease was its long and compelling histo improving how things have been done in the property industry. personal approach to how we create our projects and how we Daryl has sought to challenge the status quo with the first Aust laminated timber and the introduction of commercially operated precinct utility solutions. Key achievements and attributes • B.Arch, University of Auckland • Forté CLT building, Melbourne, VIC • Jacksons Landing, Sydney, NSW • Victoria Harbour, Docklands, VIC • Showground Hill, Brisbane, QLD • Green Utilities start-up business • Timber Solutions start-up business • Recipient 2012 Lend Lease Global Award for Excellence
Mr Ross Hampton TDW1902 8/14
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AUSTRALIAN FOREST PRODUCTS ASSOCIATION
Mr Ross Hampton was appointed CEO of the Australian Forest Products Association in May 2013. Mr Hampton is a veteran of the policy and political scene having worked, at various times, as a reporter, adviser and policy advocate for the last twenty-five years in Australia and overseas. Mr Hampton has a long exposure and association with the issues confronting the Forest and Forest Products sector including water policy, climate change policy, trade policy, industrial relations policy and environment protection.
PAGE 8 | SEPTEMBER 1, 2014
As Chief of Staff to the Australian Government Minister for the Environment in the mid 2000’s, Mr Hampton played a key role in the development of forestry policy as well as policies which impact forestry industries. During this period Mr Hampton was one of the lead advisers in the Australian Government’s international climate change negotiations at United Nations’, and associated, meetings in Washington, New York, London, Buenos Aires and Zurich.
Prior to joining AFPA, Mr Hampton led the development of the Australian public sector market for global networking giant Cisco System, and is credited with a significant share of the multi-million dollar growth Cisco enjoyed. Mr Hampton grew up in northern NSW. He trained as a journalist and spent his early career reporting in the regions and then
NZ forest owners welcome Labour’s climate initiatives
LABOUR’S proposal to set up an independent climate commission to advise the New Zealand government on how to meet its emissions targets has been welcomed by the Forest Owners Association. “It will reduce the likelihood of governments tinkering in the ETS,” FOA environment committee chair Peter Weir said. “This, together with clear price signals for carbon, will enable businesses and land owners to adopt low-carbon strategies with a much higher level of confidence. “Ever since climate change arrived on the agenda, we have been asking the major political parties to stop playing politics with carbon emissions and pricing. “The most recent ETS change undermined investment in forestry with an overnight, unannounced change that prevented Kyoto forest owners from using international units to settle their emissions obligations. Forest owners were the only emitters to be singled out in this way, contradicting assurances made by the government only six months before.
Moving to low-carbon economy “The government has agreed to reconsider that change, but we are still waiting to hear if they will work with us on a mutually beneficial solution.” Mr Weir says moving New Zealand to a low-carbon economy has huge benefits, quite apart from the message it sends to the world about Kiwis playing their part in addressing the global problem of climate change. “Crown research institute
INDUSTRY NEWS
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Peter Weir .. stop playing politics with carbon emissions.
Scion says there are around half million hectares of marginal farmland that would be better off in forestry for a whole host of environmental and economic reasons. Among them, cleaner rivers, less soil erosion, more biodiversity protection and greater long-term surety of log supply to major wood processors. “But at current land prices, it is not economic to develop this land for forestry based on log prices alone,” Mr Weir said. He points out that the prevailing low carbon price has devastated the tree nursery sector. Nurseries scaled up production when new land planting took off in response to an initial carbon price approaching $20 a tonne, only to have to mulch in seedlings when the government allowed the carbon price to fall back to 12c a tonne. “A realistic price for carbon and an independent climate commission to keep the policies of successive governments on track, would – in combination with Labour’s proposed ‘Wood-First’ construction policy – encourage both new planting and replanting to the benefit of the economy and the environment,” Mr Weir added.
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SEPTEMBER 1, 2014 | PAGE 9
INDUSTRY NEWS
ATIF: continuing the supply of oxygen to member companies Adding value to commercial realities of business
THE timber importing sector has faced a huge challenge driving forward the illegal logging policy and legislation agenda. “This has in large measure defined our main mission over the past few years,” the chairman of the Australian Timber Importers Federation Nils Koren said in Brisbane. He was addressing the ATIF AGM at Timber House last Tuesday. “So now we need to be able to maintain our relevance and importance to importers and wholesalers as the illegal logging regulation moves into the implementation and training stage,” Mr Koren said. “As a trade association, we must continue to focus on
Meeting at Timber House for the ATIF AGM .. Lou Boffo, manager, Le Messurier Timber, Nils Koren, managing director, Gunnersen, Melbourne (chairman of the Australian Timber Importers Federation), John Halkett, general manager, ATIF, and Michael Swan, managing director, Swan Le Messurier. Rod McInnes, CEO, Timber Queensland (left) welcomes Alicia Oelkers, Queensland manager, TABMA Australia, and David Meyer, managing director, Meyer Timber, to Timber House for the ATIF AGM and industry luncheon.
adding value to the commercial reality of member companies and continue to put oxygen into what we offer member companies.” Reinforcing the increasing value of imported timber products, notably more sophisticated engineered and panel products as housing and renovations activity lifts across the country, was emphasised by ATIF general manager John Halkett.
info@forestry.org.au | www.forestry.org.au PAGE 10 | SEPTEMBER 1, 2014
“It remains that a significant number of imported timber products were not manufactured in Australia at all or not of the quality of specifications needed to sustain building and construction activity,” he said.
Reinforcing the increasing value of timber imports Mr Halkett said that in relation to the federal government’s illegal logging legislation now moving to implementation phase, ATIF had developed a training proposal that was being considered by the Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture Senator Richard Colbeck and the Department of Agriculture. “Clearly, an important role for us as illegal logging legislation comes into force on November 30 this year is to ensure that imported timber products continue to be able to make a notable contribution to government’s housing, climate abatement and other goals.” Mr Halkett said. The ATIF board remains unchanged and Nils Koren continues and ATIF chairman.
New regulations on the agenda .. John Halkett, general manager, Australian Timber Importers Federation, Sydney, Gerry Gardiner, director, Asia Pacific Marketing, Brisbane, John Simon, chief executive, Simmonds Lumber, Sydney, and Robert Cairns, state manager, Tasman KB.
WOOD IN ARCHITECTURE
Timber innovation features in festival of landscape architects Design professionals gather at 3-day Brisbane event
TIMBER has figured dramatically in the shaping of new landscape architecture in Australia and these concepts will be vividly displayed and discussed by a select gathering of design professionals at a riverside festival in Brisbane. The inaugural Forecast: Festival of Landscape Architecture at the State Library of Queensland from October 16 to 18 promises “a festival for designers, thinkers, collaborators and innovators to join in conversations and events to help build a momentum that will underpin the future of the profession”. WoodSolutions, an industry strategy initiative targeting design and building professionals, is an event partner and sponsor of
Festival creative directors .. Di Snape, design adviser in Office for Design and Architecture, Adelaide, Dr Catherin Bull AM, emeritus professor of landscape architecture at the University of Melbourne. And Sharon Mackay, award-winning registered landscape architect with 18 years of collaborative practice in South Australia, Victoria and North America.
the festival, organised by the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA). The festival’s creative directors Diana Snape, Sharon Mackay and Catherin Bull, AM,
in an advisory role, promise a program of participatory experiences and conversations. “Forecast is designed to inspire and engage by reimagining the way we meet and
celebrate the profession, share our stories and learn through discourse and debate,” they said. “The festival will prototype a new approach for landscape architecture, reflecting the way we work as designers – transparently, collaboratively and iteratively.
Looking to the edges of profession “Forecast will look to the edges of our profession to better understand where landscape architects have influence and how we operate. “Featuring speakers who Cont P 12
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above safe levels recommended by the federal government’s National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS). NICNAS, which is responsible for the assessment and safe use of industrial chemicals, has advised construction workers and wood panel users against the use of products that contain formaldehyde exceeding the low emission limits of E0 and E1.
Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia Unit 3, 106 Fison Ave West, Eagle Farm 4009 Qld Tel: 61 7 3250 3700 Fax: 61 7 3252 4769 Email: inbox@ewp.asn.au Web: www.ewp.asn.au
SEPTEMBER 1, 2014 | PAGE 11
WOOD IN ARCHITECTURE
AILA expects 2000 members by 2017
From P 11
practice on and interact with the cusp of the profession, the conversations will reveal the terrain, explore opportunities and become a platform for forecasting a future direction.” The festival includes an opening evening party on October 16 and a dinner and awards presentation on October 17, starting at 5 pm. Among the line-up of ‘conversationalists’ is Julie Bargmann from the US, founder of D.I.R.T. studio and internationally recognised as an innovative designer in building regenerative landscapes.
Festival will prototype a new approach Ms Bargmann has received the American Academy in Rome Fellowship and
Green infrastructure .. the Burnley Living Roofs at the University of Melbourne’s Burnley Campus, designed by Hassell Architects. – Photo by Peter Bennetts.
her work was awarded the National Design Award by Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt Museum. Her D.I.R.T. projects have been featured in art and design exhibitions including
Documenta and the National Design Centennial. AILA is the peak national organisation representing and harnessing the collective interests of the Australian
landscape architecture profession. It oversees the professional recognition of registered landscape architects and has a rapidly growing membership – currently 1700 members and expected to increase to 2000 members in the next three years. AILA is the vehicle by which the profession is able to raise awareness, initiate and lead engagement with the wider community on issues of strategic importance to the natural and built environment. The institute provides leadership in the education, professional development and ethical behaviour of members and influences decision making in response to the evolving knowledge, understanding and requirements of people and natural and built environments. For festival inquiries contact (02) 6248 9970 or email admin@ aila.org.au
Global celebration to lift awareness of FSC
Being a TABMA member gives you: • Group buying discounts • Assistance with the placement of trainees & apprentices • CoC certification advice • Industry specific staff recruitment at competitive rates • National networking opportunities • An exclusive trade credit insurance plan • Technical advice and assistance • Industrial relations advice • WH&S audits • Annual Timber Industry Dinner Call 1800 822 621 for membership enquiries PAGE 12 | SEPTEMBER 1, 2014
FSC Friday, a global celebration held annually on the last Friday of September, aims to increase understanding of the FSC label and increase consumer and business demand for FSC certified products. In 2014, FSC Australia is celebrating with a Facebook competition for supporters in both Australia and New Zealand to win a holiday for four, all expenses paid, to Paperbark Camp eco-resort in Jervis Bay, NSW. Worldwide consumer awareness and demand for FSC certified products is rapidly increasing. “Locally, we’re working hard to elevate our profile and to encourage more sustainable shopping” says FCS Australia CEO Natalie Reynolds. “‘Leave a Legacy’ is the key message, and as members
and supporters of FSC we want industry to get involved in building the momentum for this campaign, by sharing it with your communities,” Ms Reynolds said. “You can help your followers to win a trip of a lifetime.” Ms Reynolds said social media was vital to harnessing consumer demand, and it enabled advocates to share the ‘legacy’ message broadly with their families, friends, and professional networks. Over the past 13 years, more than 106 million ha in more than 81 countries have been certified according to FSC forest management standards while over 12,000 FSC chain-ofcustody certified organisations sell several thousand products that are produced using FSC certified wood and carrying the FSC trademark.
INDUSTRY NEWS
Malaysian company bid to plant palm oil in PNG’s logged forests
7000 ha cleared so far for RH’s Pomio plantations
PAPUA New Guinea’s National Forest Board will consider a Malaysian company’s bid to continue logging virgin rainforest in order to plant palm oil. An ABC Australia report says the clear-felling around Pomio on the island of East New Britain has been hotly contested by some locals, as well as international groups like Greenpeace and Global Witness. Malaysian company Rimbunan Hijau (RH) says it is bringing jobs, infrastructure and longterm investment to the area. RH says it has the support of the local people, but some locals object to their land being cleared for plantations. The land is being used under PNG’s controversial Special Agriculture and Business Leases (SABLs). Last year a Commission of Inquiry into SABLs recommended almost all leases be revoked, but there was no recommendation for Pomio because one of the three commissioners simply never handed in his report. Four years ago, RH subsidiary company Gilford Ltd obtained a licence to clear the forests around Pomio and plant oil palms.
Value of the timber to be around $50m “It is one of the most important agriculture projects in Papua New Guinea. It has received huge support from the local populous in the area,” RH’s corporate policy manager Alex Wilhelm said. Mr Wilhelm said cutting down trees was part of RH’s plan for a long-term investment for plantations and a mill to produce the palm oil that goes into so much of the world’s food. He said 7000 ha had been
Harvesting palm oil in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea.
cleared so far and palms had been planted on 6300 ha of that land. “This project is not a logging project; the only forestry component is simply to prepare the area for oil palm planting,” Mr Wilhelm said. “If there is any timber of value in it, of course the timber will be commercially utilised. The landowners and the national government of course will receive their levies and their royalties.” British-based organisation Global Witness estimates 500,000 cub m of timber has been cut from around Pomio and sent to China to make plywood, flooring and furniture. Global Witness estimates the value of that timber to be around $50 million and believes some of these products are being exported to the US and Europe. While RH says the project has community support, not all locals want their land turned into palm oil plantations. Paul Povol, a community leader in the village of Mu, says clear-felling has turned the land around him into a desert. But he said the environmental damage goes beyond logging. “To make oil palm grow in my area, they like to use a lot of fertiliser,” he said.
“The fertiliser sinks into the soil, ends up in the underwater rivers and gets washed out into the sea .. so definitely it’s a permanent disaster.” Mr Povol said his village was
opposed to the development, which he said brought with it social problems.
Villages are opposed to development “Most children don’t turn up to school these days because they go to work in the oil palms, they fill up nursery bags [for palm seedlings],” he said. “Traditions, customs, culture .. we’re beginning to lose all those things.” Global Witness researcher Rick Jacobsen said many locals were not benefiting and had spoken out against the clearfelling of their forests.
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EVENTS
That’s a wrap on the Variety Bash with over $1.4m raised for charity Hoo-Hoo club joined 3050 km trek for needy kids
THE 2014 25th anniversary Variety Bash finished in Sydney on August 16 after a 10day, 3050 km trek across the Queensland and New South Wales Outback, raising $1.4 million for sick, disadvantaged and special needs kids. Contributing to the charity tally was Brisbane Hoo-Hoo Club 218 which completed its third run in the annual event with co-drivers Tim Evans and Dorothy Ferris driving the club’s 1977 Holden Kingswood. “Dubbed the National Timber Industry Bush Bash Car 253, the Kingswood was packed with more than 500 WoodSolutions timber promotion bags provided by Forest and Wood Products Australia that included lots of goodies for the kids and industry information for communities and school teachers along the way.
A well-earned rest .. Hoo-Hoo Car 253 co-driver Tim Evans relaxes after handing out WoodSolutions timber promotion bags to secondary school students at Molong in central western New South Wales.
Wandilla Station, Cobar, Narromine,
Bourke, Dubbo
and Bathurst before finishing nine days later in Sydney
Promoting the timber industry along the way More than 130 vehicles and 350 ‘bashers’ departed Brisbane on August 8, travelling through towns such as Millmerran, St George,
In the thick of it .. Brisbane Hoo-Hoo Club’s 1977 Holden Kingswood – somewhere in the NSW Outback.
and enjoying National Bash Celebrations on the 10th day, Sunday, August 17. The national Bash saw close to 2000 participants in 700 cars in six consecutive state bashes, culminating in the national bash celebration in Sydney. As with all Variety’s children’s charity events, there was the integral mix of fun and philanthropy. Together, the colourful Queensland convoy visited more than 1100 children across 11 schools, with the tour’s very own clowns using countless tubs of face paint and handing out dozens of balloons to brighten the day of kids the Variety Bashers met along the way. Since its inception in Queensland in 1990, the Variety Bash has raised more than $17 million for children and children’s organisations across Queensland. The forest and forest products industry is still encouraged to support the event and donations can be made at https://2014bash. everydayhero.com/au/tim All sponsorships will be recognised and published.
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Builders ‘upbeat on forecast’ New housing boosts growth of residential construction
THE building industry remains confident that prospects will remain positive despite the slight 1.2% seasonally adjusted fall in the ABS construction work data for the June quarter. Chief economist of Master Builders Australia Peter Jones said the easing in engineering construction forecast was confirmed by a 3.1% seasonally adjusted fall in June. However, this was largely offset by building work completed in residential building and commercial construction, which rose 1.5% seasonally adjusted in the same period. “House building was particularly strong, up 2.2% seasonally adjusted in June following a 7.3% seasonally adjusted rise in May 2014,” Mr Jones said. “Through the year to June, the volume of completed
the recovery in new home sales gather strong momentum. “The 2014-15 year, however, has started with confirmation of a downward trend emerging,” chief economist Dr Harley Dale said.
New home sales gather momentum Confidence .. new home sales and building approvals may have peaked for the cycle, but they remain at historic levels.
construction work was down by 0.6%, a picture painted by residential building being up 9.6%, non-residential building up 2.9% and engineering construction down 5.6%. “Building work completed was up strongly in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia with two consecutive quarters of strong growth in
residential building boosted by construction of new housing.” Meanwhile, the Housing Industry Association new home sales report, a survey of Australia’s largest volume builders, shows a relatively weak start to the fresh fiscal year, but that follows a very strong 2013-14. The 2013-14 fiscal year saw
“Nevertheless, we still expect this year to record a reasonably healthy level of sales activity.” Total seasonally adjusted new home sales posted a fall of 5.7% in the month of July, while over the three months to July, total sales declined by 3.5%. The monthly decline was reflected in both detached house and multi-unit sales, the former falling by 4.7%, while the latter was down by 10.9%.
SEPTEMBER 1, 2014 | PAGE 15
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INTERNATIONAL FOCUS
UK illegal imports claim based wrongly on Chatham research
EU regulation excludes’ huge numbers’ of product types AN online report from UK national newspaper The Guardian alleges the UK is still importing 1 million cub m of illegal timber a year. But its claims have been dismantled by industry expert Rupert Oliver of Forest Industries Intelligence, who says it is partly based on misinterpretation of his own analysis. The report in The Guardian’s EcoAudit pages entitled ‘How much illegal timber gets into the UK?’, the author cites a range of sources from the UK parliament’s environmental audit committee to Greenpeace, the WWF, and London-based thinktank Chatham House (which runs regular Illegal Logging Update conferences). He claims the latter’s research concluded that the UK was importing 1.5 million cub of illegal timber in 2008. The following year an EAC report stated that the country was “one of the world’s worst offenders” in the illegal trade.
EU regulations designed to stamp out the problem He acknowledged that UK illegal timber imports have since declined, but alleged they were still higher per capita than in France, the US, China and Japan.
The EU Timber Regulation makes it illegal to import and sell illegally harvested timber, but enforcement and sanctions vary among the member states.
He said that the EU Timber Regulation had been designed to stamp out the problem, and acknowledged that the UK was proactive in enforcing it. But he maintained that the European Commission ‘scorecard’, which assessed implementation in all member states, highlighted that a number had still not fully put the measure into place. As a result, illegal timber could ‘filter’ into the UK via these countries. A further problem was that the EUTR excluded “huge numbers of product types”. But Mr Oliver said the reporter had “used and abused” data from his own FII analysis, and based his conclusions on “misleading research by Chatham House”. “Chatham House’s assessment relies on speculative, outdated analysis of the proportion of
Rupert Oliver .. majority of wood imported into the UK is third party verified
wood that is illegally harvested in supplier countries, and equally speculative assumptions about the proportion of wood destined for domestic and export markets,” Mr Oliver said. “In many countries where
illegal logging is a problem, the unregulated portion is destined largely for domestic sale, and the regulated for export.” Mr Oliver said the majority of the UK timber trade had made concerted efforts to comply with the EUTR. “The majority of wood imported into the UK is already third party verified derived from sustainable, not just legal sources,” he said. Mr Oliver also said that
Volume figures often outdated and simplistic Chatham House and the Guardian’s reports used “roundwood equivalent” figures, the volume of material that would need to be harvested to make the actual volume of timber. Calculations used for these, he said, were often “outdated and simplistic”. “But even using this approach, in the speculative, worst case scenario that 1 million cub m of UK imports came from areas where illegal logging is a problem, that would still be less than 5% of the total,” he said. The real problem in terms of deforestation, Mr Oliver concluded, was conversion of forestland to commercial cash crops.
Electronics block leakages in Ghana timber Industry
THE Forestry Commission in Ghana will soon deploy an electronic wood tracking system to reduce human interventions in its operations to help deal with illegal timber, reduce losses and increase revenue to the state. The new computerised system is expected to take over the paper-based system
for tracking the commission’s timber resources which has been fraught with corruption, leading to illegal felling of timber and leakages in revenue to the state. The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources Nii Osah Mill raised concerns about the illegal harvesting and exportation of rosewood, despite a ban placed
on it, with the help of some forestry commission personnel who prepare forged documents for some timber merchants. He cautioned personnel of the commission to desist from act that would lead to revenue losses to the state. The minister suggested that commission officials, mandated to enforce, monitor and ensure
compliance, must be made to swear an oath when employed to officially bond them on their duties. The forestry commission has bemoaned the fact that it has not been able to grow new plantations, due to lack of funds and thus called for support to at least maintain existing ones.
SEPTEMBER 1, 2014 | PAGE 17
INTERNATIONAL FOCUS
Seeing the forest for the trees Global rate of deforestation is slowing down
BRAZIL, the country with more tropical trees than any other, was cutting down an area of forest two-thirds the size of Belgium every year. Roughly half of all the planet’s onceluxuriant tropical forests had been felled and the further degradation of the Earth’s green spaces seemed inevitable. It would be too much to say that forests have made a full recovery; worldwide, more than 5 million ha of jungle is still being felled or burned down each year. But, according to science writers in The Economist, the crisis is passing and the prognosis is starting to improve. Fears that the great forests of the Congo would be cleared have proved unfounded so far. Brazil and Mexico have reduced their deforestation rates by well over two-thirds. India and Costa Rica have done
more than reduce the rate of loss: They are replanting areas that were once clear-cut. Over time countries trace a ‘forest transition curve’. They start in poverty with the land covered in trees. As they get richer, they fell the forest and the curve plummets until it reaches a low point when people decide to protect whatever they have left. Then the curve rises as reforestation begins. At almost every point along the line, countries are now doing better: Deforesters are felling fewer trees; reforesters are replanting more. Despite decades of destruction, tropical forests are still absorbing about one-fifth of emissions from fossil fuels each year. Encouraging countries to plant trees is by far the most effective way of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. If
PAGE 18 | SEPTEMBER 1, 2014
Brazil had kept on felling trees as rapidly as it was cutting them down in 2005, it would, by 2013, have put an extra 3.2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the science writers believe. That means that over those eight years it managed to save six times as much carbon as ultra-green Germany did in the same period through one of the world’s most expensive renewable-energy regimes. As a way of helping the environment, protecting trees is hard to beat. It is in everyone’s interest to find out which forest policies work, and back them. Brazil shows that bans can be made to stick if there is political support at the top and popular backing from below (the policies started to bite when President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took charge of them), and if there is an institutional network to back
them up. In Brazil’s case, that meant everything from satellites to show the public what was happening in the Amazon to moratoriums on purchases of soybeans and beef produced on cleared land. Only forested countries themselves can provide leadership from the top. But outsiders can help. They could finance, say, new land registries. And they should fund an all-purpose UN program to improve forest management in tropical countries called REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation). Rich countries spend billions on renewable energy at home, which has so far cut carbon emissions only a bit. They should be willing to spend a few millions abroad, protecting tropical forests that reduce emissions a lot.
ON THE ROAD
297x210mm Vertical 254x93mm Horizontal 125x190mm Vertical 125x93mm Horizontal 73x190mm Horizontal 73x190mm Vertical 140x44.5mm 110 Vertical 34x44.5mm
297x210mm Vertical 254x93mm Horizontal 125x190mm Vertical 125x93mm Horizontal 51x93mm
Mob: 0401 312 087 SEPTEMBER 1, 2014 | PAGE 19