WA’S forest industries have welcomed a commitment by world leaders to halt deforestation by 2030, at the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, COP26. Forest Industries Federation WA (FIFWA) Chief Executive Officer Adele Farina said the Deforestation Pledge was further reinforcement that sustainable forest management needed to play a vital role in combatting climate change. Source: Timberbiz
“This pledge outlines just how important sustainable forest management is in the fight against climate change, underpinning the significance of our industry,” Ms Farina said.
“Sustainable forest management is not deforestation, any areas of forest harvested are regenerated. We regenerate every tree we use, and we are proud of that sustainable model.”
The Deforestation Pledge was signed by 124 countries, including Australia.
It comes after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) came to a similar conclusion, stating that “a sustainable forest management strategy aimed at maintaining or increasing forest carbon stocks, while producing an annual sustained yield of timber, fibre or energy from the forest, will generate the largest sustained mitigation benefit”.
Ms Farina said the McGowan Government’s decision to end sustainable native forestry undercut Australia’s Deforestation Pledge.
“We warned at the time that this decision would result in an increased reliance on imported timbers from countries with less sustainable practices than ours and we are already seeing that happen,” Ms Farina said.
“We want WA to be part of the solution and we have a world-class, certified and ecologically sustainable industry ready to go.
“The State Government needs to get on board with world leaders in recognising that our forests and sustainable forest management are vital to meeting world sustainable development goals.”
WA’s forestry industry contributes $1.4 billion to the WA economy annually and supports about 6000 jobs, with more than 90% of those jobs located in regional communities.
