Councillors
Michael Hay Memorial Award
North Island Husqvarna
award field day
Forest Sector Trends in New Zealand, Australia and the World
President
Patrick Milne patrick@cypress.co.nz
-Nelson
-Marlborough
-North Canterbury
-Central canterbury
-West Coast
Vice President
Denis Hocking jdhocking@xtra.co.nz
-Waitomo
-Taupo & Districts
-Hawkes Bay
-Taranaki
National Executive
John Dermer dermer@inspire.net.nz
-Middle districts
-Tararua
-Wairarapa
-Wellington
Ian Jackson ijacko@xtra.co.nz
-Ashburton
-South Canterbury
-North Otago
-Sthn High Country (north)
Neil Cullen cullen@farmside.co.nz
-Mid Otago
-South Otago
-Southland
-Men of Trees
-Sthn High Country (south)
Dean Satchell dsatch@gmail.com
-Far North
-Mid North
-Lower North
-South Auckland |
Councillors:
Nominations for the
National Executive AND the Innovation Award close on 20 January 2008.
Michael Hay Memorial Award
Awarded to a younger
member of NZFFA who is planting or establishing trees.
2008 NOMINATION
FORM can be downloaded
here
Nominations close 31st January 2008
North Island Husqvarna award field day
Wednesday February 20th 2008 at 10am.
Jim and Coralie Davies property 80 Colville Road, follow the signs just
thru Coromandel. Please bring lunch and any 4x4 vehicles. Some 4x4 are
already available. Plenty of accomodation in Coromandel. Also
experience Barry Brickell's railway thru stunning bush scenery.
Contact Ron Stuart 07 5491030 or Gary Fletcher 07 5750233
Forest
Sector Trends in New Zealand , Australia and the World
Brendan Slui, Hawke’s Bay
Regional Manager, Rayonier , from NZIF newsletter:
Global trends:
·
Wood removals were more than 3.1 billion m3 in 2003 (of this 1.6
billion m3/year is industrial roundwood).
·
The sources are changing increasingly towards plantations and from
Russia and the tropics.
· An oversupply is
depressing the prices.
· Global competition is
increasing.
·
Governments control about 75% of the world’s forests and are
increasingly devolving ownership to the private sector and to
communities.
·
The awareness of biodiversity and conservation is increasing. 50% of
the world’s biodiversity and 80% of all terrestrial biodiversity is in
forests. There is a move towards more international environmental
management standards.
· Logging indigenous
forests is increasingly viewed as less legitimate.
·
Carbon trading is increasing, estimated at 1.6 billion tonnes traded in
2006 worth $30 billion US.
· Deforestation: there
is an annual net loss in forest area:
o from
2000–2005 7.3 million ha/year; from 1990–1999 8.9 million
ha/year
o
the tropical harvest 2000–2005 was 13 million ha/year being: S. America
4.3, Africa 4.0, Indonesia 2.0
o
there is greater economic and social value to convert forests to
agriculture.
· Greenhouse gas
emissions (from Stern 2006):
o deforestation
and land degradation contribute 18%
o 9.2 giga tonnes
of forest biomass are burnt globally each year
o
reducing deforestation would be more effective than increasing new
planting
o there are high
levels of illegal logging in many countries
o
some countries are also attempting to bring in tighter harvesting
controls e.g. Russia is a minor player in paper and wood processing but
has huge log exports and has introduced export taxes to reduce exports
and encourage domestic processing.
· Biofuels:
o world demand is
expected to grow by 7–9% per year
o the EU has set
a target for renewable energy of 20% by 2020
o governments are
subsidising renewable energy.
·
The world is generally getting greener and companies want to appear
green and owning a forest is seen as an asset.
Australia
· Forest area 1.8
million ha: 44% hardwood, 55% softwood.
· Annual harvest 26
million m3 of which 18 million m3 is plantation.
·
Forests are being located in rural areas to help offset drought and
rural decline.
·
Nearing self-sufficiency for the first time (previously there was a $2
billion deficit).
· Plantations:
o there was an
insatiable demand for imported softwoods
o
100,000 ha had been planted by the end of WWII by the new Forest
Services
o
native forests are highly political and plantations allow a move away
from them
o the native
harvest is 10 million m3/year and declining
o
most native timber production is from public forests and is subject to
political interference
o
the native industry is small-scale and the debate is driven by emotion
rather than science
o
the contribution of active native forest management to sustainability
is rarely mentioned
o
the strategy is to increase the area of plantations to 3 million ha by
2020 – this is on track and has encouraged thousands of people to
invest in forestry with an increase in private forests e.g. by super
schemes
o
eucalypts grown on short rotations can be sawn and dried successfully
for applications such as framing and decking – the plantation harvest
is rising to 30 million m3/year and there is the opportunity to attract
new processing plants with long-term agreements and security of supply
and government assistance and substantial R&D funding.
·
The challenges: rising land prices, water, fire. Compliance with
legislation. Environmental acceptability.
New Zealand
· Forest area 1.8
million ha – 7% of the New Zealand land area.
· Annual harvest 20
million m3.
· Exports $3.1 billion.
· 13,000 ha deforested
in the year to March 2006.
· New planting 6% of
that in the mid-1990s.
· Rationalisation of
the domestic wood processing sector.
· Critical labour and
infrastructure shortages.
· High land costs,
exchange and interest rates.
· Shipping costs
increased five-fold in last five years.
· Log exports are big
business but can they survive?
·
Rayonier sees a window of opportunity being created by the Russian
export tax. New Zealand could be one of the biggest winners and it
should encourage value added processing here.
·
Other opportunities include carbon trading, biofuels, the NZ Wood
Campaign, technology to improve productivity and adding value, and more
customer focus.
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