Issue 251 Timber & Forestry E News

6935

Advertising: Tel +61 7 3266 1429 Email: cancon@bigpond.net.au

issue 251 | 10.12.12 | Page 1

Yes, minister, it’s a sound plan

This Issue

•P rohibition elements of logging Act now in force • Contractors ratify forest agreement

Road map for the future .. Rod McInnes, chairman of the Forest and Timber Industry Plan Working Group (second from left) hands over the industry’s plan to Queensland Forestry Minister John McVeigh, watched by Chris Hay, Timber Queensland chairman, and Skene Finlayson, managing director, Finlayson’s Timber & Hardware, which hosted the presentation.

Industry presents its case for the future over to the Minister for Forestry John McVeigh by the group’s chairman Rod McInnes at a special ceremony at Finlayson’s Timber & Hardware in East Brisbane.

The presentation was originally planned to take place at the Carter Holt Harvey sawmill at

The plan points to new timber Cont Page 3 Just Go t ood W

ne ree

®

Caboolture, but the mill has closed following a fire last Tuesday evening that caused damages estimated at more than $1 million (see story, Page 4).

G

r sm

MicroPro

®

Treated

THE Queensland government was presented with a plan last Thursday that aims to secure and cultivate the future of the state’s $2.7 billion forest and timber industry.

Developed by the Forest and Timber Industry Plan Working Group, the plan was handed

Glimmer of hope on the horizon?

•F SC awards for excellence • I s this the best sustainable deal?

•G rafton sawmiller, 80, starts next working decade

MicroPro

®

Copper Quat

Want a good looking deck?

A p N A pro o lu v w Co m e nt ini d F ac um or t*

Then choose MicroPro for a lighter, more natural timber appearance providing improved painting and staining qualities.

Visit: www.osmose.com.au or phone: 1800 088 809 Osmose® and MicroPro® are registered trademarks of Osmose, Inc. or its subsidiaries. Treated Wood Just Got Greener sm are slogan marks of Osmose Inc and its subsidiaries. MicroPro timber products are produced by independently owned and operated wood preserving facilities. * See MicroPro fastener and hardware information sheet. © 2012 Osmose, Inc.

Advertising: Tel +61 7 3266 1429 Email: cancon@bigpond.net.au

issue 251 | 10.12.12 | Page 1

INDUSTRY NEWS

VAFI congratulates the winners of the 2012 Sustainability Awards Arbuthnot Sawmills S Innovation Award Australian Paper Occupational Health and Safety Award Community Engagement Award Montana Timber Mo Environmental Sustainability Award Ryan & McNulty Sawmillers Community Engagement Award Skills and Training Award South East Fibre Exports Environmental Sustainability Award

www.vafi.org.au Supported by

Importers and processors should check the legality of the products they are receiving.

Prohibition elements of illegal logging Act can now be enforced

THE Illegal Logging Prohibition (ILP) Act 2012 received royal assent on November 28 bringing into force the prohibition elements of the Act. Regulations are expected to be tabled by May or June next year.

The regulations, due to take effect in November 2014, will outline steps that importers and processors should take to check the legality of the product they are receiving. Obligations for importers and processors to undertake due diligence do not commence until that time.

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry will release discussion draft regulations shortly so that businesses have time to develop due diligence systems to support the product they are importing or processing.

The Bill was passed by federal parliament on November 19.

The legislation supports Australia’s commitment to promote the trade of legally

It is now a criminal offence to import illegally logged timber and timber products into Australia Page 2 | issue 251 | 10.12.12

harvested timber and will be applied consistently regardless of where the timber or timber product originates.

The Bill aims to reduce the harmful environmental, social and economic impacts of illegal logging and is consistent with Australia’s international trade obligations. It supports Australia’s commitment to promote the trade of legally harvested timber and will be applied consistently regardless of where the timber or timber product originates.

DAFF says key provisions of the Act are now in effect, most notably the immediate prohibitions for importing timber and timber products that contain illegally logged timber; and processing domestic raw logs that have been illegally logged.

“It is now a criminal offence to import illegally logged timber and timber products into Australia or to process Australian raw logs that have been harvested illegally,” Ben Mitchell, director of international forest policy, DAFF, advised stakeholders in a circular.

“Australian importers and processors must not knowingly,

Cont Page 11

ForestWorks performs a range of industry wide functions acting as the channel between industry, Government and the Australian Vocational Education and Training (VET) system

Learning Skills Research Advice Innovation

VICTORIA

PO Box 612, North Melbourne 3051 Tel: (03) 9321 3500 Email: forestworks@forestworks.com.au

NEW SOUTH WALES

PO Box 486, Parramatta 2124 Tel: (02) 8898 6990 Email: smukherjee@forestworks.com.au

TASMANIA

PO Box 2146, Launceston 7250 Tel: (03) 6331 6077 Email: edown@forestworks.com.au

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Level 2, 32 South Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000 Tel: (08) 8219 9028 Email: michelle@forestworks.com.au

Advertising: Tel +61 7 3266 1429 Email: cancon@bigpond.net.au

INDUSTRY NEWS

Plan shows Queensland industry offers opportunity for investment From Page 1

manufacturing technologies and advanced building systems as opportunities to deliver significant economic, social and environmental benefits to Queensland.

John McVeigh welcomed the draft plan which he will present and explain to Cabinet in the New Year and which is expected to have a speedy acceptance.

“It’s a milestone for our timber industry,” Mr McVeigh said.

“I’m determined to revitalise the industry which was demonised for years by Labor.”

Rod McInnes, who is chief executive of Timber Queensland, said timber was

Plan recommends the government continues its mission of cutting red tape and works closely with industry to ensure R&D investment is focused on industry’s needs

Supporting the plan .. Michael Finlayson, director, Finlayson’s Timber & Hardware (right) welcomes DAFF representatives Bill Gordon, manager, sales and marketing (forest products), Geoff Kent, director of forestry, and Dr Beth Woods, deputy director-general.

the pre-eminent building material.

“If it was discovered today it would be considered a miracle product – almost too good to believe,” he said.

“Sourced from nature, it is strong, practical, cost-effective, renewable, recyclable, and has one of the lowest carbon footprints of any building material,” he said.

Mr McInnes said the LNP government recognised the

Conferring on the timber industry plan are Geoff Kent, director of forestry, DAFF, Jim Burgess, timber industry consultant, and Brian Farmer, chief executive, HQPlantations.

Advertising: Tel +61 7 3266 1429 Email: cancon@bigpond.net.au

existing contribution the forest and timber industry made to Queensland’s economy and its potential to deliver even greater returns.

“The Premier identified the development of a Forest and Timber Industry Plan as one of the initiatives in the government’s Six-month Action Plan: July–December 2012,” he said.

“In response, representatives from Timber Queensland, key

industry stakeholders and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry established the plan working group to develop a strategy that meets industry’s needs, and could be considered for adoption by government and industry.”

Mr McInnes said a critical part of the plan was to pursue policy settings that supported further investment.

“Queensland currently meets around 70% of its own timber needs with local product.

However, imports are set to rise significantly unless action is taken to increase the capacity of local forest resource to meet forecast demand,” he said “The processing sector also needs to expand to include a broad range of processors that can make best use of the available resource; from highvalue pruned log material to low-value sawmill and forest residues.”

The plan recommends the state government continues its mission of cutting red tape, working closely with industry Cont Page 4

Clarissa Brandt, communications manager, Timber Queensland, welcomes Warwick Temby, executive director, Housing Industry Association, and Scott Mills and Chris Hayes, Carter Holt Harvey Woodproducts, to the release of the Forest and Timber Industry Plan.

issue 251 | 10.12.12 | Page 3

INDUSTRY NEWS

CHH Caboolture mill damaged by fire

A MAJOR fire that severely damaged the Carter Holt Harvey sawmill at Caboolture, 50 km north of Brisbane, is still being investigated.

The company was happy to report there were no injuries from the fire last Tuesday night which swept through roofing and the dry mill causing up to $1 million damage. The fire started in a large planing shed, igniting sawdust, timber and hydraulic fuel.

Several mill workers say the machinery had been off for nearly two hours and they are not sure how and why it caught alight.

Senior fire officers say access

was difficult and the blaze spread from that building to a three-storey silo filled with sawdust.

The fire was eventually brought under control, and several crews spent the night damping down hot spots. Investigators say both buildings have been extensively damaged and it could be months before the mill opens again.

Fire officers say the hot dry conditions may have been a factor.

Meanwhile, New Zealand workers at Carter Holt Harveyowned Rotorua Profiles are celebrating after being told they will no longer be made

redundant as the company has found a buyer for the business.

CHH announced two weeks ago it would be closing Rotorua Profiles at a cost of around 50 jobs for employees and contractors.

The sale to Profiles Woodproducts Ltd means all workers will now keep their jobs on full pay and conditions.

EPMU timber industry organiser Ron Angel says the news is a huge relief for workers and their families.

“It’s devastating to be told you’ll lose your job at any time, particularly just before Christmas, so our members are just over the moon that their

jobs have been saved.

“Carter Holt Harvey is to be congratulated for its efforts to keep people in employment and for making such a smooth transition to the new employer. This is great news for everyone.”

The EPMU is continuing to consult with Carter Holt Harvey over the 18 redundancies announced recently at its Tokoroa plywood plant. So far six jobs have been saved and the union is hopeful the remaining twelve redundancies will be voluntary.

Plan seeks to drive new demand for timber

From Page 3

to ensure R&D investment is focused on industry’s needs, and supporting investment in innovative processing facilities within a highly competitive market for investment funding.

“For its part, the industry needs to adopt best practice technologies and business and environmental management practices, Mr McInnes said.

The plan seeks to: • Sustain existing markets and drive new demand for timber and wood products by promoting application and use, and removing any unreasonable barriers to that use.

• Forecast Queensland demand for timber and wood products along the plan path 2012-2040.

• Facilitate commercial access to, and availability of, sufficient wood fibre to meet forecast Queensland demand for timber products.

• Encourage investment in primary and secondary processing facilities in both metropolitan and regional areas to provide long-term employment and career opportunities.

The plan as presented to

Page 4 | issue 251 | 10.12.12

Timber plan recognises the contribution the forest and timber industry make to Queensland’s economy..

government was applauded by industry leaders in southern states.

Almost 12 months ago on December 13 the Victorian Timber Industry Action Plan was released by the state government.

The plan was written to ensure a sustainable future for productive forestry in Victoria by providing the forest and wood products industry with better regulation and greater levels of resource security.

Longer-term wood supply

contracts, more flexible sales arrangements and mechanisms to compensate VicForests’ customers for impacts on their contracts from changes in state government policy provided a basis for improved business confidence, investment and innovation.

Chief executive of the Victorian Association of Forest Industries Lisa Marty said a clear and effective regulatory framework for responsible forest management and wood supply was essential to ensuring the industry could continue

to provide economically and environmentally sustainable jobs in rural and regional areas.

Ms Marty said the action plan was essential if Australia – the seventh most forested nation in the world – were to reduce its $1.9 billion trade deficit in wood and paper products.

“The plan provides the right environment for the industry to invest in our businesses, markets and people; to develop market opportunities, improve productivity and sustainability, and innovate in ways that will benefit the industry and the communities it supports,” she said.

The Victorian forest and wood products industry includes a vibrant manufacturing sector in the suburbs of Melbourne and many regional communities. It directly employs about 24,000 people and produces products made from wood — a natural, renewable material that stores carbon and uses less energy to produce than many alternatives — that serve an integral part of our built environment as furniture, flooring and structural building materials.

Advertising: Tel +61 7 3266 1429 Email: cancon@bigpond.net.au

EVENTS

WHAT’S ON?

APRIL 2013

7-10: 6th international Woodfibre Resources and Trade Conference, Istanbul, Turkey. ‘Woodchips and Biomass for Global and Regional Markets’.

Hilton Istanbul Hotel. Included in the program is a pre- and postconference field trip, two days of conference and the opportunity to visit Gallipoli.

Visit www.woodfibreconference. com to register.

Residues-to-Revenues 2013 Conference and CleanTECH Expo Wood energy and ‘cleantech’ industry developments.

Crowne Plaza Hotel, Auckland, April 10-11, 2013; Bayview Eden Hotel, Melbourne, April 15-16, 2013. Event website: www. woodresiduesevents.com

7-11: Institute of Foresters of Australia conference – Canberra Rex Hotel, Canberra.

‘Managing Our Forests into the 21st Century’. Inquires to Alison Carmichael, chief executive, IFA, PO Box 7002, Yarralumla ACT 2600. Tel: (02) 6281 3992. Mob: 0414 287 079. Email: alison. carmichael@forestry.org.au Web: www.forestry.org.au April 28-May 12: EuroWOOD 2013 study tour to LigNA

Hannover (May 6-10). Study tour and visits to Austria and Germany, starting in Vienna and finishing at LIGNA, Hannover, Germany. Add-on tour options to Finland and UK and European destinations. The 16-day tour is supported by the Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia (EWPAA), in collaboration with other industry bodies and companies.

Participants will have the option to attend the full LIGNA program in Hannover and join selected visits to surrounding wood manufacturing factories and a university outside LIGNA for one or two days, allowing three full days at LIGNA. Internet site for registrations available soon. Costs: $7550* (+gst) p.p. or $9370* (+gst) single with an option for single participants to twin share. Price includes all airfares, ground travel and most meals, including entry to the famous LIGNAHannover Fair from May 6-10. The study tour will inspect the latest technologies of factorybuilt prefabricated housing and cross-laminated timber (CLT) construction methods, revolutionary MDF processes, wood panel processing, structural timber frame housing construction, and all the

machinery that puts it together.

Generous time has been allotted to rest, relax and enjoy Austrian and German tourist locations along the way while travelling by luxury coach and staying at top hotels. Tour limited to 32 participants, including professional industry tour guides.

Travel consultant: Harvey World Travel, Shop 18, Fountain Plaza, The Entrance Rd, Erina NSW 2250.Tel: 02 4365 2337. For a full itinerary and registration details, contact the EuroWOOD 2013 Secretariat, PO Box 330, Hamilton Central Q 4007 or email eurowood13@ bigpond.com * Tax deductible industry tour

MAY

8: Global Softwood Log & Lumber Conference Sheraton Wall Centre Hotel, Vancouver, BC. Sponsor opportunities available. Contact: info@ woodmarkets.com or call 1-604801-5996.

December

4-5. Focus on improving transport and logistics in the forestry sector.

It will build on the excellent program designed by the Forest Industry Engineering Association.

Visit www.foresttechevents.com

editorial inquiries tel:

+61 3266 1429

Advertising: Tel +61 7 3266 1429 Email: cancon@bigpond.net.au

Australia’s forest, wood, pulp and paper products industry now has a stronger voice in dealings with government, the community and in key negotiations on the industry’s future, as two peak associations have merged to form a single national association.

The Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) has been formed through the merger of the Australian Plantations Products and Paper Industry Council (A3P) and the National Association of Forest Industries (NAFI).

AFPA was established to cover all aspects of Australia’s forest industry: - Forest growing; - Harvest and haulage; - Sawmilling and other wood processing; - Pulp and paper processing; and - Forest product exporting.

For more information on the Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) or to enquire about membership , please call (02) 6285 3833.

issue 251 | 10.12.12 | Page 5

INDUSTRY NEWS

Contractor group votes for forest deal ‘in best interests of members’

MEMBERS of the Tasmanian Forest Contractors Association have voted to ratify the Tasmanian Forest Agreement by an overwhelming majority.

Chief executive Ed Vincent said members had taken all factors into account and made a decision which provided for a surer future than they were facing.

The voting result endorsed the work of the association over the last three years aiming to represent the best interests of its members in the changing forest industry and the negotiations leading to the agreement.

“While there are concerns about the translation of the agreement to legislation, the agreement does provide a clear opportunity to restructure our industry, albeit at a lower activity level in public native forest than the levels of over four years ago,” Mr Vincent said.

“Contractors now want to see an end to this divisive and demoralising conflict, in their lives and in the lives of Tasmanians. This agreement, properly implemented, provides that opportunity.”

Industry lobby group Give It Back is travelling across

Page 6 | issue 251 | 10.12.12

the state to give people an opportunity to hammer a nail into the coffin and sign their name.

“We are giving the people of Tasmania an opportunity to nail the lid on a dead forestry deal that has caused Tasmania so much grief over the last couple of years,” Give It Back member Michael Kelly said.

The group is halfway through its two- week campaign and already the coffin is covered in nails.

“We’re very concerned for the future of Tasmania and the people. We have six more days and we’re going to be delivering [the coffin] to Parliament House,” Mr Kelly said last Friday.

“The state government wants to lock up another 500,000 ha, which is locking up our kids’ ability to generate an income.

The sad part is that one day it will go up in smoke if not managed,” Mr Kelly said.

Give It Back is calling for an early election to deal with this issue once and for all and put the decision in the hands of the public.

“If this government believes it’s doing the right thing then they need to take this to election

Ed Vincent .. clear opportunity to restructure the industry.

and have a mandate from the people to do it,” Mr Kelly said.

Meanwhile, it is predicted the federal government could see a $7 billion windfall from Tasmania’s forestry peace deal.

The chance for the windfall comes after the commonwealth committed $300 million to the deal which reduces native forest logging.

Climate law expert Andrew MacIntosh from the Australian National University believes the deal could raise billions for the commonwealth through international carbon credits.

He has told Radio National that new rules come into effect when Australia signs the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol.

“The one that’s relevant here is that any reduction in native forest harvesting below the levels in the 2000’s results in the government getting credits,” he said.

He says the credits can then be auctioned for more carbon units in the emissions trading scheme.

Under the deal to end forestry conflict, 500,000 ha is flagged for reserve.

Mr MacIntosh says the Tasmanian government is likely to miss out on any money.

“In this case, I’m concerned that so much has been focused on what does the industry want and so much has been focused in what the green groups want in terms of lines on the maps in order to preserve areas, that the state government has not paid sufficient attention to what is the main game here; and that is the carbon credits.”

Tasmania’s Climate Change Minister is uncertain about the exact benefits that will flow from any carbon credits earned from the peace deal.

Cassy O’Connor says Mr MacIntosh is wrong, but conceded there was no guarantee money would flow to the state government.

Advertising: Tel +61 7 3266 1429 Email: cancon@bigpond.net.au

INDUSTRY NEWS

Anti-dumping body to increase penalties in Canberra crack-down on illegal trading

THE federal government has announced it will set up an antidumping commission to crack down on foreign companies who import products into Australia below the cost of manufacture.

It’s a move that has widely been welcomed by the timber industry, as well as unions.

The Anti Dumping Commission will investigate complaints, and Customs will receive a $24 million funding boost over four years to speed up its inquiries.

The plan would increase penalties for overseas producers found in breach of the anti-dumping Act. However, some industry watchers fear the commission could be a ‘toothless tiger’ without legislation to support it.

“The dumping of wood products has been proved in cases in the past, but because the courts have ruled ‘there were no material damages’ there were no penalties imposed on such dumping,” and industry analyst claimed.

National secretary of the AWU Paul Howes says the establishment of the new trade authority will save thousands of jobs.

“Finally we’ll have a tough cop on the beat when it comes to dealing with those who cheat free trade. We’ve seen in recent years a massive increase in the amount of illegal dumping occurring,” he said.

Building, paper and furniture products have all been dumped on the market in recent years from countries such as Asia where labour costs are low.

Labor MP Stephen Jones has been watching the issues closely for several months and says this move from the government is essential. “It makes a big difference to local manufacturers,” he said. “[Manufacturers] estimate that over the last 12 months, illegal

dumping of cut-price, belowvalue steel has cost their business around about 100 million dollars.”

Apart from timber, Mr Jones says an oversupply of steel in China is a large factor contributing to the ongoing issue of dumping.

“That excess supply is looking for a home and we’re concerned it will be flooded into the Australian market at below cost and that cuts jobs,” Mr Jones said.

“It is hoped the commission will better protect local

Advertising: Tel +61 7 3266 1429 Email: cancon@bigpond.net.au

Stephen Jones .. making it easier for businesses to take anti-dumping action.

manufacturers and allow for them to take action on dumping as it occurs.

“We’re increasing penalties and we’re making it easier for businesses to take antidumping action,” Mr Jones said.

In the past, government commissions have been criticised for failing to take any real action, following their establishment.

Mr Jones says special and expert staff will be appointed to the commission to ensure action will be taken.

issue 251 | 10.12.12 | Page 7

FORESTRY AND FOREST MACHINERY

Glimmer of hope on horizon?

2012 .. annus horribillis for timber industry

TO quote Her Majesty when the marriages of her two sons Charles and Andrew broke down and Windsor Castle caught fire in 1992, she described the year as an annus horribilis for the royal household.

Seems the Queen’s quote could well apply to the Australian forest industry as the year 2012 draws to a close.

It has been tough times for log processing companies, and indeed the entire forestry and timber products supply chain.

As the year dwindles away, some larger softwood sawmills are on state governmentsponsored life support, forest contractors – and not just in Tassie – and their suppliers are in survival mode, and I sense industry morale is at an extremely low ebb.

In addition, the year has been pretty much a tree planting free zone, and other forms of industry investment and innovation has all but dried up.

Some long-established, iconic forestry companies, led by Gunns, have gone to the wall and many others appear to be just holding on.

The generally bleak mood and despondency is starkly demonstrated by the lack of any enthusiasm to entertain even modest levy increases to support the current level of research and generic marketing undertaken by Forest and Wood Products Australia, when this effort has, by any measure, been outstanding.

Clearly, such a position will do nothing other than serve to dampen the domestic appetite for wood as the building material of choice and further entrench the domestic wood processing industry’s lack of international competitiveness.

So the sooner 2012 is behind us the better.

Page 8 | issue 251 | 10.12.12

A saw point .. many will be happy to cut away from 2012.

But is there a glimmer of hope on the horizon?

Amid the declining commercial position and black mood, a positive initiative launched late in the year – too late perhaps – has been the preparation and advocacy of an eight-point industry rescue plan by the

Deep in the Woods with ..

Cheryle Forrester

David Pollard .. industry has finally had enough.

Australian Forest Products Association Perhaps it’s the last throw of the dice, but AFPA is starting to talk tough and to promote the industry.

Chief executive David Pollard has fired the opening salvo in what he says is aimed at being a ‘game changer’.

He says that after decades of being the whipping boy for the Greens and almost persona non grata with the nation’s decision-makers, the industry has finally had enough. Well put, David!

He says a visionary approach

is needed to reposition the industry at the forefront of the new low-carbon economy and that AFPA has developed an eight-point plan to promote the industry and to put it to the decision-makers.

“Australia should capitalise on the strengths of its renewable forest-based industries.

The forest, wood and paper products industries are well placed to help the Australian economy transition to a sustainable, lower emissions future,” Dr Pollard says.

“With a growing population and higher demand for a range of building, paper and energy products, the sector can help satisfy this demand with a renewable resource. It can also provide significant economic development and regional jobs.

“The forest, wood and paper products industries presently turn over $22 billion, supporting around 120,000 direct jobs nationally.

“This is an environmentallyfriendly industry making products that are renewable, natural and carbon positive with significant opportunities to provide jobs and economic benefits.”

David says that the potential benefits of his plan are huge.

“The AFPA eight-point plan is part of its policy roadmap for development of the industry over the next five years,” he asserts.

So while I think I can speak for most in the industry in bidding farewell to our annus horribilis of a year, we do have something of a positive note to end on – more strength to your elbow next year, David.

This section is supported by the Australian Forest Contractors Association Advertising: Tel +61 7 3266 1429 Email: cancon@bigpond.net.au

FOREST RESEARCH

‘Retired’ scientists have unmasked bush graffiti artists on scribbly gums

IN a remarkable piece of detective work, a team of ‘retired’ CSIRO scientists has revealed the group of artists responsible for the iconic scribbles found on smoothbarked eucalyptus trees in south-eastern Australia.

Previously thought to be the work of a single species called the Australian scribbly gum moth, the scientists have uncovered at least 11 new species of moths responsible for the iconic bush graffiti.

“Although many Australians will be familiar with the distinctive scribbles on gum trees, very little was known until now about the artists that create them,” said Dr Marianne Horak, a retired moth expert working in an honorary capacity at CSIRO’s Australian National Insect Collection.

“Discovering that there are at least 12 species of moths behind the scribbles was certainly an exciting find.

We also found these moths have a link with the ancient supercontinent Gondwana.”

The scientists revealed that the relationship between the scribbly gum moths and their eucalypt hosts is a unique ecological interaction. The moths bore a tunnel through an under layer of the eucalypt bark in their larval stage, looping and moving back and forth along their tracks at different stages of their caterpillar life cycle to create the distinctive scribbles.

“In an attempt to replace the missing tissue, the trees refill the tunnels with highly nutritious, thin-walled cells,” Dr Horak said.

“This is ideal food for the caterpillars, so they turn around and eat their way back along the way the came, growing rapidly to maturity, before they leave the tree to spin a cocoon and turn into a moth. Not long after the caterpillars leave

Detective work .. different moths responsible for artwork on scribbly gums.

dennis@industrye-news.com

the tree, the bark cracks off, revealing the scribbles below.”

The formidable collaboration of scientific heavy-hitters Marianne Horak, Ted Edwards AM and 96-year-old Dr Max Day AO teamed up with botanist Celia Barlow – all honorary fellows at the CSIRO – in conducting detailed field and laboratory studies to determine the biology and life cycle of the moths.

Other collaborators performed DNA analysis and microscopic studies to help confirm their findings and pinpoint these enigmatic moth species’ place within the insect world.

“This is a wonderful example of the passion our scientists have for their work, whether retired or not,” says Dr Joanne Daly, CSIRO strategic advisor working with CSIRO’s collections.

“This research highlights that we still have so much to learn about Australian fauna and flora, even those species we see every day.”

Advertising: Tel +61 7 3266 1429 Email: cancon@bigpond.net.au

issue 251 | 10.12.12 | Page 9

CELEBRATION

Yamas, Spiros, as Grafton sawmiller starts his next working decade at 80 IT was quite a celebration – and a touching one – as balloons, flags and table mats in the blue and white colours of Greece and the sounds of a bouzouki set the scene for the 80th birthday celebration of a colourful Northern NSW sawmiller – Spiros Notaras.

More than 120 family members, friends in industry and mill workers gathered in Grafton on December 1 to salute a life – a working life – that is far from over for this son of Kythira who has never forgotten his Greek heritage.

They came from Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, and many points in between to raise glasses and shout “yamas”.

“It was just wonderful to have them all here – but it was sad Brinos and Con couldn’t be with me,” Mr Notaras told us from Grafton.

He was referring to his brother Brinos Notaras who died tragically at the aged of 75 in a motor accident in 2005 and long-time friend timber journalist Conrad Lembke, OAM, who passed away aged 78 in 2008.

“God I miss them,” Spiros said.

But Con’s wife Dawn and the family of Brinos were in Grafton to toast the iconic hardwood

sawmiller.

“Retire? You’ve got to be joking,” Mr Notaras said. “I have a plan – a 10-year plan for continued hard work with hardwoods.”

Typical of the people skills Mr Notaras has learned in his working life in the widely divergent fields of sawmilling and cinema ownership, he chose to also celebrate his 60th and toughest year in business.

The year did not start well for the mill, with staff numbers down to 36 and everyone working a four-day week amid concerns about the supply of logs to the mill.

But by the end of the year, due to a mixture of good fortune [the businesses downturn affected a competitor which opened up the log supply] and business acumen in keeping abreast of what the market wants, things are looking up for J. Notaras and Sons Pty Ltd at Heber

‘Retire? You’ve got to be joking,” Mr Notaras said.

‘I have a plan – a 10-year plan for continued hard work with hardwoods’

Joining in the celebrations .. Patsy Evan from Caboolture, Steve and Sue McKimm, Grafton real estate identities, and Jim Schaefer, sonin-law of Brinos Notaras.

Page 10 | issue 251 | 10.12.12

Powering on at 80 .. Spiros Notaras.

Street, South Grafton, which began operations in 1952.

The sawmill currently utilises 24,000 cub m of logs producing about 8000 cub m of sawn timber a year which adds about $2.5 million annually to the economy of the Clarence Valley region.

Mr Notaras noted he was born in the same year the Grafton and Sydney Harbour bridges opened and the ABC began broadcasting.

“A lot of good things started in 1932,” he said.

Mr Notaras and his brother Brinos started in the timber industry almost by accident.

He and his older brother had

Birthday celebrations .. Spiros Notaras (centre) with sons Paul and John, daughter Sue and their mother Libby Notaras.

just returned after school at Newington College in Sydney and father Jack Notaras was looking to buy a business for his boys.

“Local real estate agent Trevor McKimm mentioned this mill at Lawrence was for sale,” recalled Spiros.

Mr Notaras spent two weeks at the mill learning some of the basics and he was hooked.

He convinced his brother, who was considering a career in the menswear industry this was the way to go and the rest is history.

It’s a history Mr Notaras is keen to put to paper; he’s working on a book to tell the remarkable story of his family.

The celebrations finished with a visit by some of the birthday party guests to the Notaras family’s Saraton cinema, a heritage building in Prince Street, Grafton, built in 1926 and renovated at considerable cost.

They watched the new James Bond thriller Skyfall, adapted from stories written by Bond creator Ian Fleming who was penning his first spy novel in 1952 – the year the Notaras sawmill started up in Grafton.JIM BOWDEN.

Old friends .. Dawn Lembke and Patsy Evans.

Advertising: Tel +61 7 3266 1429 Email: cancon@bigpond.net.au

THE TASMANIAN SAGA

New plywood mill likely after forest agreement

A NEW plywood mill based in northern Tasmania is likely if the state’s forestry agreement legislation is supported.

Ta Ann Tasmania group managing director KH Wong said the agreement would bring confidence to state’s forest industry and to domestic and international markets.

“As a result of reduced contract log supply from Forestry Tasmania, Ta Ann will be seeking certified log supplies from private forest growers,” Mr Wong said.

“Should the legislation be passed, the company would have the confidence to commit to building a new plywood mill to be based in northern Tasmania.”

It is expected construction could begin within six months subject to the support of local authorities for the necessary statutory approvals.

Mr Wong has appealed to the Legislative Council to support the forest agreement legislation to support industry to move forward in a sustainable way.

Key provisions in illegal logging Act are now in force

From Page 2

intentionally or recklessly import or process illegally logged timber.

“If you receive information that the timber you are sourcing is illegally logged, believe the timber is illegally logged or are made aware that there is a substantial risk that the timber was illegally logged, be aware that penalties may apply if the timber or timber product is in fact illegally logged.”

DAFF added: “If you suspect that the timber or timber product you are processing is from an illegal source, you should ask your supplier to confirm its legality.

“If you are still in doubt, or

you have further inquiries about how the new laws may apply to you, then contact the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry on 1800 657 313.”

Visit daff.gov.au/illegal logging or email IllegalLogging@daff. gov.au.

Editor’s note: Advice on the DAFF website about steps to take in response to the Illegal Logging Prohibition Act 2012 - that people could report someone who was suspected of doing the wrong thing by telephoning or emailing the department - has been removed since it was reported in Timber&Forestry enews on November 26.

EWPs that tick ALL the boxes Engineered wood products manufactured

by EWPAA member companies top the list

Consistent QUALITY LOWEST emissions Structurally SOUND and SAFE Wood from 100% LEGAL, CERTIFIED forests GUARANTEED to Australasian Standards JOBS security

EWPAA

guArAntEEd*

Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia

editorial inquiries

tel: +61 32661429

Advertising: Tel +61 7 3266 1429 Email: cancon@bigpond.net.au

Plywood House, 3 Dunlop Street, Newstead 4006, Queensland, Australia Tel: 61 7 3250 3700 Fax: 61 7 3252 4769 Email: inbox@ewp.asn.au Web: www.ewp.asn.au

* Independently tested to the highest standard; guaranteed to comply with Australian standards; certified under JAS-ANZ accredited product certification scheme; guaranteed to be safe and to carry the designated design load; complies with the Building Code of Australia; meets safety and quality requirements accepted by unions; meets all Workplace Health & Safety requirements.

issue 251 | 10.12.12 | Page 11

ISSUES

Since at least the late 1970s, forests and forestry have been lightning rods for conflict over the meaning of sustainability

Is this the best sustainable deal Tasmania will ever get?

THE signatories to the Tasmanian Forests Agreement have spent more than two years trying to square the circle of forest conflict in Tasmania. The deal they brokered deserves prima facie respect: it is the closest to sustainability the state will probably ever get.

While many have been critical of elements of the process, me included, and while many are critical of elements of the content, me included, the key question now is: “Could you or I ever have delivered a better package?”

If you think you could have, then it is incumbent on you to explain not just what that package is but how it could have been acceptable to the other interests with whom it would have to be negotiated.

If you aren’t interested in negotiating then you are not promoting sustainability; you are simply advocating for a single interest.

Most people today accept the Brundtland definition of sustainability as development that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

Operationalising the definition in a specific policy context, however, requires political institutions to determine whose ‘needs’ are met today and how much protection to give ecological systems to provide for future generations’ needs.

Such institutions cannot be dominated by a single economic, social or environmental constituency.

If the process is controlled by industry, then longer-term ecosystem conservation

Page 12 | issue 251 | 10.12.12

‘needs’ will be sacrificed to more immediate short-term demands for profits and jobs.

Sustainability can’t be just one thing or another.

But equally, if the process is captured by environmentalists, an overly cautious approach to ecosystem protection may result in forgone development.

Sustainability, then, is about achieving an acceptable balance between economic, social and environmental interests and values. It requires properly constituted multistakeholder forums that engage in deep deliberation to broker an appropriate compromise.

Since at least the late 1970s, forests and forestry have been lightning rods for conflict over the meaning of sustainability.

Australia has been a latecomer to new governance arrangements in general and to forestry in particular. The Forest Stewardship Council Australia was founded only in 2006, long

By

DR FRED GALE

after the organisation was well established elsewhere.

Today, the Forest Stewardship Council — long the bête noire of mainstream forestry — explicitly embraces this new governance sustainability principle.

“Responsible forestry” emerges from the deliberations of the council’s

If the process is captured by environmentalists, an overly cautious approach to ecosystem protection may result in forgone development

separate but equal “chambers” representing economic, social and environmental interests.

Tasmania has had virtually no new governance arrangements in the past two decades, ever since the failed ‘Salamanca Agreement’ process.

It was only in 2010 that a ‘roundtable’ on forestry finally brought economic, social and environmental interests together.

After over two years of onagain, off-again negotiations, this not-too-unbalanced, mainly consensus-driven, multi-stakeholder negotiating group has — almost in spite of itself — produced a compromise deal aimed at achieving the required balance.

Known as the Tasmanian Forests Agreement (TFA), the deal provides the following tradeoffs: • Environmental interests get 395,000 ha of high conservation value forests protected immediately. Another 109,000 ha will be protected later, providing the deal is “durable” — meaning that large-scale protests against the industry cease.

• Environmental interests give up their long-standing campaign against native forest logging and their opposition to the utilisation of forest residues for a range of commercial uses.

• Economic interests get a lower, but guaranteed minimum wood supply consisting of 137,000 cub m of high quality sawlogs. They also get yetto-be-determine volumes of peeler billets and specialty timbers that are secured in

Cont Page 13

Advertising: Tel +61 7 3266 1429 Email: cancon@bigpond.net.au

ISSUES

Spurning the current agreement will return us to war in the woods and everyone loses

From Page 12

‘Permanent Timber Production Zones’ and ‘Specialty Craft and Timber Zones’.

• Economic interests give up their long-standing campaign to prevent most of Tasmania’s remaining public high conservation value forests from being ‘locked up’ in national parks. They must drop their opposition to Forest Stewardship Council certification.

• Social interests get compensation for affected firms and workers to transition to a smaller, but more secure timber industry. It will be aided by enhanced regional development funds to promote, among other options, valueadded forest products.

• Social interests give up the

same things economic interests must give up.

• Environmental interests get 395,000 ha of high conservation value forests protected immediately.

Winston Churchill famously remarked that “democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time”.

The aphorism might aptly be applied to the current TFA. It is undoubtedly not perfect from a process and content perspective.

But all past efforts to achieve a compromise have failed.

Spurning the current agreement will return business, workers and environmentalists to the war in the woods from which everyone loses.

Profits, jobs and the

environment will all be trashed.

This deal may stink, but probably not as badly as any other deal that could have been negotiated.

There is, simply, no realistic Plan B. The Tasmanian Liberal Party’s 13-Point Plan simply returns the state to the forest wars of the past. Point 1 of the plan is that “Jobs and regional communities come first”, illustrating its lack of balance.

Likewise, the Tasmanian Conservation Trust’s Plan, which seeks to overturn the establishment of “Permanent Timber Production Zones” among other things, offers no solution. It cannot generate the durability that industry requires.

It is this reality—that there is no realistic Plan B—that deal supporters must ensure is understood by the state’s

15-member Legislative Council.

The Legislative Council must also give careful consideration to the effect of any amendments it proposes.

The deal is a delicate balance between economic, social and environmental interests and will disintegrate if it privileges one sector over others.

The Legislative Council, as it is affectionately known, will debate the TGA legislation commencing next Tuesday (December 11).

I, for one, hope they hold their nose and vote “Yes”.

• Dr Fred Gale is senior lecturer, School of Government, University of Tasmania. His research interests are national and global environmental governance focusing on the political economy of forestry.

Visit the World of Engineered Wood .. join the EuroWOOD 2013 study tour APRIL 26 – MAY 10, 2013 This fact-finding, fully-escorted 16-day tour of Austria and Germany starts in Vienna and concludes at LIGNA Hannover

EuroWOOD2013 is supported by the Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia (EWPAA), in collaboration with other industry bodies and companies.

The study tour will inspect the latest technologies of factory-built prefabricated housing and cross-laminated timber (CLT) construction methods, revolutionary MDF processes, wood panel processing, structural timber frame housing construction, and all the machinery that puts it together.

Generous time has been allotted to rest, relax and enjoy Austrian and German tourist locations along the way while travelling by luxury coach and staying at top hotels. * Tax deductible industry tour .

Tour limited to 32 participants, including professional industry tour guides.

Travel consultant: Harvey World Travel, Shop 18, Fountain Plaza, The Entrance Rd, Erina NSW 2250 Tel: 02 4365 2337.

For a full itinerary and payment details, contact the EuroWOOD 2013 Secretariat, PO Box 330, Hamilton Central Q 4007 or email eurowood13@bigpond.com Advertising: Tel +61 7 3266 1429 Email: cancon@bigpond.net.au

* Tax deductible industry tour

$7550* (+gst) p.p. or $9370* (+gst) single includes all airfares, ground travel and most meals, including entry to the famous LIG NAHannover Fair from May 6-1

issue 251 | 10.12.12 | Page 13

FSC AUSTRALIA EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Awards reflect environmental and social benefits of FSC in Australia

Forest management, auditing, design applauded at gala dinner MORE than 200 representatives of the forest industry, government and community groups applauded winners of the 6th annual FSC Australia excellence awards at a gala dinner at the Hilton on the Park Hotel in Melbourne on November 26.

Awards were presented for forest management, supply, certification auditing, innovation in design using FSC certified wood products, print services retail and marketing and promotion campaigns.

A well-sponsored ‘silent auction’ was a feature of the event. Proceeds will help further develop the FSC Australian national forestry standard, which the association says is a project that, endorsed by all stakeholders, is crucial for present and future social, economic and environmental values of Australian forests.

FSC Australia chief executive Natalie Reynolds said the awards presentations and dinner event set a new high standard.

Ms Reynolds praised and thanked the members of the organising committee – Jennifer Bracken, KimberlyClark, Chris Philpot, Plant Ark, Eileen Newbury, Leading Edge Events International, Aleisha Cheesman, The Printing Office, Catherine Doggett, K.W.Doggett, Tammy Price, SFM Environmental Solutions, Anita Neville, Rainforest Alliance, and Nick Capobianco, SCS Global Services.

New chairman of FSC Australia Jim Adams set the scene when he presented the FSC Forest Manager of the Year Award to Australian Bluegum Plantations which was accepted by managing director Tony Price, ABP manages blue gum plantations in the Green

Page 14 | issue 251 | 10.12.12

FSC chairman Jim Adams (left) presents the Forest Manager of the Year Award to Tony Price of Australian Bluegum Plantations.

Kim Carstensen, FSC International Director-General (right) presents the FCS Supplier of the Year Award to Richard Clunie of Adshel Town & Park.

Triangle region in south-west Victoria, south-east South Australia and the south west of Western Australia.

The plantation estate comprises 94,000 ha of trees established between 1997 and 2010, managed on a 10-15 year rotation, with a number of plantations already into their scecond rotation.

ABP’s parent company, Global Forest Partners LP, is one

of the world’s oldest and largest timber investment management organisations and currently manages a globally diverse $US2.7 billion portfolio of closed-end commingled timberfunds.

The FSC Supplier Award – for current chain of custody certificate holders who supply FSC certified products – was won by Adshel Town & Park, St Leonards, NSW.

FSC national standard is crucial for present and future social, economic and environmental values of Australian forests

Urban furniture specialist, Adshel Town and Park supplies sophisticated, Australianmade furniture for urban and landscape projects. The company was the first FSCcertified timber provider in the street furniture market as well as supplying Greenpeace Greenwood and other sustainable materials.

SCS Global Services Australia, based in Perth, was the winner of the FSC Certification Auditor Award.

The international company is a global leader in third-party certification, auditing, and testing services with 30 years’ experience.

The Print Services Award for large-scale paper users, including printers, print brokers and publishers using FSC certified paper and printers went to Brisbane-based commercial printer The Printing Office. This year the company became Queensland’s first privately-owned commercial printer to be certified with ISO 14001 Environment adding to its ISO 90001 quality assurance certification.

The Innovation in Design Award went to ISIS, presented for builders, developers, architects, designers and clients committed to using FSC certified wood in projects.

Winner of two awards – retailer of the year and responsible procurement – was national on-line office products supplier OfficeMax. Best marketing and promotional campaign promoting FSC was awarded Kimberly-Clark Australia and its Kleenex Cottonelle brand for the successful Pin to Make a Difference campaign.

Kleenex Cottonelle is made from imported pulp at the Millicent mill.

Advertising: Tel +61 7 3266 1429 Email: cancon@bigpond.net.au

FSC AUSTRALIA EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Jennifer Bracken of Kimberly-Clark presents Nick Capobianco of SCS Global Services with the FSC Certification Body/Auditor Award.

Brigette Pikington of SGS and Natalie Reynolds, FSC Australia CEO, during the presentation of the Print Services Award, won by The Printing Office.

Paul Kylmenko of Planet Ark (left) presents the Innovation in Design Award to Joshua Bruce of ISIS Projects.

Gerald DeLacey of Office Max receives the Retailer of the Year Award from Nick Capobianco of SCS Global Services.

Sponsor Thomas Tuszynski of Treasury Wine Estates (right) presents the Responsible Procurement Award to Gerald DeLacey of Office Max.

FSC Australia board member Tony Price of Australian Bluegum Plantations presents the Campaign of the Year Award to Michelle Rossier of Kimberly-Clark.

FSC standard changing poor forest practices in south-east Asia region

FSC Australia is making big advances with more than 500,000 ha of native forests and tree plantations certified to Australian standards.

Widely recognised as a credible label for responsible forest management, the FSC has certified 148.6 million ha in 80 countries and established national initiatives (or bodies) in 65 countries.

To balance the interests of different stakeholders, FSC – which sets international standards for sustainable forest management – is governed by three chambers, representing environmental, economic and social interests, with equal vote and power that make decisions cooperatively.

As of February this year, FSC had 825 members in 85 countries. The Asia Pacific region has 7.7 million ha of

FSC-certified forest and more than 5140 chain of custody certificates issued for the tracking of wood and paper products from the certified forest through processing to the point of sale.

China has the largest area under FSC certified forests – 2.7 million ha, accounting for 35% of the certified area in the region.

Speaking at the FSC Australian annual general meeting in Melbourne, FSC Asia-Pacific director Alistair Monument noted the importance of the FSC system in changing poor forestry practices in southeast and east Asia.

He highlighted the significant work FSC is doing in the region, particularly in China, to inform consumers and business about the FSC system. In China alone, FSC chain of custody

Advertising: Tel +61 7 3266 1429 Email: cancon@bigpond.net.au

certificates now number almost 2500; in 2007 there were less than 500.

“With rapid regional growth and wealth generation Asian markets have access to both emergent domestic demand for FSC certified products, as well as greater access to international FSC markets,” he said.

Mr Monument said FSC was also piloting its new online traceability platform in Asia.

“This will allow FSC to more quickly and efficiently validate FSC claims, protect the integrity of the FSC system and lower the risk of falselylabelled products ending up in the hands of consumers.

“The platform will also allow FSC to trace FSC-certified products more efficiently in line with emerging international legislation.”

Mr Monument says that working with partners such as TetraPak, SIG and Kimberly Clark in the Asia Pacific and huge consumer markets such as India and Indonesia will be important for FSC as it develops over the next decade.

“Perhaps encouraging homegrown companies in this region to source FSC-certified products for national and regional markets could be the next step in addition to working with multinational corporations,” he said.

FSC Australia has passed the milestone of 100 certificates in the FSC chain of custody.

Certificate holders are active in the markets for sawn wood, joinery, furniture, flooring, MDF, pulp, paper and printing.

issue 251 | 10.12.12 | Page 15

CELEBRATION

Mountain farewell for retiring ‘bushie’ and long-serving timber personality

VETERAN truss and frame estimator Alf Chapple, 79, has finally called it a day – but says he leaves the trade excited about the capabilities of a new generation of designers who are entering the industry at its most significant stage of development.

Mr Chapple has been part of the timber industry for 46 years, either as an employee or as a business partner in Nerang Frames and Trusses, starting out in 1966 with Wilkinson’s Timber Industries in Brisbane.

“It was all trigonometry back then, working with calculators and set squares but with the arrival of computers the design criteria changed dramatically,” Mr Chapple said.

“Today the industry is at its most challenging phase and the future looks exciting. Recovery in these troubled times may be a little ways off but the design technologies and advantages of timber place the industry at the forefront of remarkable changes in building systems.”

Mr Chapple believes new hightech truss and frame design will play a massive role in the trend to multiple storey dwellings.

But with all his passion for wood, a big chunk of Alf Chapple’s heart still remains

Gathering at Mount Tamborine to wish Alf Chapple well in his retirement are, from left, Joanne and Ron Bell, Beverley and Alf, Lorraine and John Muller, Pieter Verlinden, Terry and Tom Donohue, and Margaret and David McIntyre.

with the people who inhabit the Queensland outback – those who helped him when he arrived from England “as a poor Pommie bastard” in 1949.

He worked as a jackaroo on Tambo Station, was a barrier fence boundary rider on Yeppara Station and a station bookkeeper for the Australian Pastoral Company.

After completing his national service with the RAAF at Archerfield in 1952-53, he took off for the bush – to many parts of Queensland and the Northern Territory for what Mr Chapple described as a rich and varied working life.

This took him to the Warrego,

the Paroo, the Barcoo, the Nebine Rivers and Cooper Creek. He has shot kangaroos and pigs, dined on plains turkey and top knot pigeons, run with wild horses and fought bushfires.

He has crossed flooded creeks and once walked over gibber plains in one full night to reach the nearest homestead at Yeppara Station, midway between Eromanga and Windorah, after his car broke down.

“I have known many wonderful blokes and characters and I’ll never forget them,” Mr Chapple said.

This hearty, sinewy timberman

and former ‘bushie’ along with his wife Beverley enjoyed a retirement lunch on Mount Tamborine recently with some close friends who came to wish both of them well.

Mr Chapple will retain his many connections in the timber industry through his long association with Brisbane Hoo-Hoo Timber Industry Club 218. A committee member for many years and former club president, he is the club’s ‘watchdog’ on industry matters.

With his knowledge of timber and station cattle dogs, Alf’s well equipped for the job.

- JIM BOWDEN

Opportunity: new engineered product Project seeks access to on-going timber resource

ThIs engineered product is manufactured from small diameter treated true round plantation logs that would normally be chipped or destroyed. Resource cost is minimal.

The production system is low capital cost and can be set up in a minimum of time and at a minimum of cost. Compared with current systems such as LVL, sawn timber etc. this product has unrivalled versatility, fire resistance, projected longevity and sustainability.

This product has the ability to lower the costs of floor and wall framing in modern homes, as well as being ideal for low-cost housing The entire buildings can be erected on site using unskilled labour.

The product has undergone comprehensive testing at the engineering faculty of the University of Technology Sydney under the guidance of internationally renowned timber engineer Prof. Keith Crews.

Engineered Timber Products

Loggo products have undergone comprehensive testing at the engineering faculty of the university of Technology Sydney.

Page 16 | issue 251 | 10.12.12

The project is keen to establish a plant near a guaranteed resource.

Contact: (02) 4256 4767 or email pat@loggo.com.au www.loggo.com.au

Advertising: Tel +61 7 3266 1429 Email: cancon@bigpond.net.au

Report claims China remains centre of illegal logging trade

Beijing is ‘exporting deforestation’ as wood demand soars

VORACIOUS demand for wood to feed factories for exports and satisfy wealthier consumers at home has turned China into a magnet for the illegal timber trade, causing other countries to strip their forests as Beijing does little to discourage the practices, according to an environmental group.

Countries as far away as Mozambique in Africa and the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific as well as Myanmar, Laos and other Chinese neighbours are felling rare hardwoods and other trees at unsustainable rates to fulfil Chinese demand, says the report from the Environmental Investigation Agency, a London-based activist group.

In some countries, the EIA found that Chinese buyers were undermining international agreements to stop illegal logging and the exports of rare species by making payoffs and using smuggling networks.

“These investigations reveal how Chinese traders thrive on crime, corruption, the purchase of political patronage and poor forest governance in the producer countries from which they source,” said the report. It later said, “China’s government has done virtually nothing to curb illegal imports, while putting in place policies to ensure supply from some of the worst illegal logging hotspots in the world.”

Chinese government agencies declined initial comment, saying they had not seen the report and asking for questions

Feeding factories .. labourers work at a timber plant in Baokang in central China’s Hubei Province.

be submitted in writing. In the past, the government has responded to criticisms that China is preying on developing nations’ raw materials by saying the trade is mutually beneficial, generating income and jobs for the suppliers.

The report, which relied on undercover investigations and on analysing data from UN and Chinese agencies, adds wood to the list of indicators of how Chinese demand is reshaping the world.

China already consumes most of the world’s iron ore mined annually to make the steel to build its cities. Its factories, cars and coal-burning power plants have turned it into the largest

emitter of the greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.

Likewise, Chinese demand for wood has been driven by the country’s fast-rising prosperity and its emergence as the world’s workshop over the past 15 years. At the same time, to rescue China’s degraded environment, Beijing has imposed tight controls on logging and a massive treeplanting program.

The overall effect, the report said, is that Beijing is “exporting deforestation”. At risk are some of the world’s last reserves of hardwoods, as well as biodiversity, as land cleared of forests is often

Chinese demand for wood has been driven by the country’s fast-rising prosperity and its emergence as the world’s workshop over the past 15 years

Advertising: Tel +61 7 3266 1429 Email: cancon@bigpond.net.au

given over to farming of more common trees or, worse, leads to environmental despoliation.

China is now the biggest importer, consumer and exporter of timber and wood products, the report said.

With less wood supplied domestically, China is turning to other countries to meet the shortfall. In 2011, the report estimates that of all the wood products China imported, illegally logged timber accounted for about 10% – or 18.5 million cub m – a volume worth $3.7 billion and enough to fill Beijing’s Olympic Stadium six times.

A glaring example of China’s role, the report said, is Myanmar, also known as Burma. While forests on the mountainous hillsides on the Chinese side of the border appear ‘relatively intact’, EIA’s investigators found those across the border on the Myanmar side are devastated.

A 2006 agreement to stop the illegal trade by requiring that Myanmar logs and timber be exported by sea to China instead of overland was being widely breached, the report said.

In the city of Kunming, 700 km east of the Myanmar border, the investigators posing as buyers talked with a wood trader who described rapid deforestation in Myanmar. The trader told them that Chinese authorities did not care if imported timber was felled illegally, as long as import duties were paid.

– Associated Press.

issue 251 | 10.12.12 | Page 17

INTERNATIONAL FOCUS

Rosewood – a species to die for

Chinese furniture trade on Asian treasure hunt A THAI force dubbed the ‘Rambo Army’ couldn’t stop the gangs, armed with battlefield weaponry, as they scoured the forests. Neither could a brave activist, gunned down when he came to investigate. Nor, apparently, can governments across southeast Asia.

The root of the conflicts and bloodshed? Rosewood.

The richly hued, brownish hardwood is being illegally ripped from southeast Asian forests, then smuggled by sea and air to be turned into Chinese furniture that can sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some of it also ends up in the finest American guitars, or as billiard cues.

The felling, almost all of it illegal, has increased dramatically in recent years and driven the region’s rosewood to the brink of extinction.

“This is not just an environmental issue. It drives corruption and criminal networks. There is a lot of violence and blood spilled before the rosewood ends up

in someone’s living room,” says Faith Doherty of the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency.

“It’s one of the most expensive woods in the world. That’s why there is a war for it.”

In Koh Kong, a jungle region of southwest Cambodia where most villagers earn less than $2 a day, finding a rosewood

tree is better than winning the lottery. A cubic meter of topgrade rosewood last year could be sold for up to $2700 to middlemen who hover around forests and construction sites of dams and roads in Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

Various species grow in southeast Asia and countries including India, Brazil and

Madagascar. Nearly all source nations have banned felling and export of unprocessed rosewood, allowing harvesting only in special cases such as clearing forests for dam construction.

The volume of rosewood consumed by China alone suggests that most was obtained illegally.

China imported $600 million worth in 2011, according to official Chinese documents made available by James Hewitt, an expert on the illegal timber trade at the London think tank Chatham House. About half came from southeast Asian countries.

The documents also show that China’s appetite is soaring – from just 66,000 cub m in 2005 to 500,000 cub m last year.

Rosewood has long been prized in China, and the dramatic growth of its wealthy class is cited as the main reason for the surge in exploitation.

– Today Online.

crew,” the president of the Western Silviculture Contractors Association John Betts said.

The crisis has been building over the past few years. It has come as a shock to the contractors, who in the past could always rely on a steady supply of university students and experienced planters who came back annually to work the brief four- to six-month planting season.

Industry insiders say demand for silviculture work will continue to grow, which will exacerbate the current labour

shortage. As the US housing market slowly recovers, demand for British Columbia wood is growing. In addition, more reforestation work will likely be needed to combat the impact of the mountain pine beetle infestation.

Despite the availability of work, tree planters “are working harder to earn the same or less money,” says John Betts, noting that according to a survey conducted last year by his association, about half the tree planters reported making around $20 an hour. Factor in inflation, and Betts said the

wages planters are paid has actually declined about 30% since 2000.

With the skyrocketing cost of university tuition, it no longer makes as much sense for young people to spend the spring and summer doing hard physical labour for 10 hours a day.

Tree planters are paid for each tree they plant, a price that varies depending on how challenging the terrain is. That price hasn’t gone up in the past 20 or 30 years, says Chris Akehurst, who started out as a tree planter in 1975.

Worth it’s weight in gold .. workers load Chinese-style furniture made of African rosewood outside a Beijing furniture shop. China is making tentative efforts to import rosewood and other species from legal sources, having established several bodies to regulate the trade.

Canada struggling to find tree planters

INCREASED global lumber demand and fallout from the pine-beetle crisis is creating silviculture job boom, but decades-old pay rates are turning off labourers Reforestation companies in Canada’s timber-rich province of British Columbia are struggling to find enough tree planters, leaving the industry ill-prepared to plan for future demand.

“What some companies began to notice [this season] was that they were about 20% short of what they would have liked to have had for a full complement

COPYRIGHT NOTICE Items provided in this section of Timber & Forestry E news are drawn from a number of sources. The source of the item is quoted, either by publication or organizations in line with the practice of fair reporting.

Page 18 | issue 251 | 10.12.12

Advertising: Tel +61 7 3266 1429 Email: cancon@bigpond.net.au

CLASSIFIEDS

HOPPER FOR SALE

- Filt Air unit – 62 cubic metres, full length hydraulically operated.

- Clam shell doors. 50 HP exhaust fan.

16000 CFM @ 13 inches.

- 110/3.2 filter bags.

Also comes with all switch gear.

Price $25,000 (+gst) Ex Heidelberg West, Victoria

Taswon Timbers editorial inquiries

tel: +61 32661429 Advertising: Tel +61 7 3266 1429 Email: cancon@bigpond.net.au

(a division of Grawend Nominees Pty Ltd) (ABN 39 005 104 021)

3-7 Northern Road, Heidelberg West, 3081 Vic. Tel: (03) 9457 4546. Fax: (03) 9459 4994 Email: taswon@bigpond.com issue 251 | 10.12.12 | Page 19

Timber & Forestry e news is published

by Custom Publishing Group.

Timber & Forestry e news is a full colour e magazine emailed every Monday to Decision Makers within the Australian and New Zealand Timber and Forestry sectors.

Advertising is booked with a minimum 4 week booking with discounts for 12, 24 and 48 week bookings.

RATES

12 week- 7.5% Discount 24 week- 10% Discount 48 week- 15% Discount Classified ads can be booked in a per issue basis.

All advertisements link to customer websites or email address with an option for rich text (flash).

BENEFITS:

DIRECT PENETRATION via email.

WEEKLY opposed to monthly alternatives.

NEWS that is up to date that will ensure readership.

COST EFFECTIVE advertising rates.

S

Display Ads

Display Ads Minimum 4 issue booking

Rate per Issue + GST $380 $210 $210 $165 $138 $83 $203 $90

Full Page Bleed Half Page Vertical Half Page Horizontal Third Page Horizontal Quarter Page Vertical Eighth Page Front Page Third Horizonal Front Page Masthead

Size Specifications Height x Width 303mm x 216mm 254mm x 93mm 125mm x 190mm 73mm x 190mm 125mm x 93mm 60mm x 93mm 73mm x 190mm 33mm x 45mm

Classifieds

Classified Ads per week

Half Page Vertical Quarter Page Vertical Eighth Page Horizontal Full Page Bleed

$182 $120 $72 $330

220mm x 93mm 107mm x 93mm 51mm x 93mm 303mm x 216m

Extras: Video Available Video next to front cover $200 per issue. Within the magazine $165 per issue.

Artwork Specifications: Please supply all artwork as High Resolution (300dpi) Pdf’s or jpegs.

Send artwork to kerri@mycustompublishing.com.au

DISPLAY DEADLINES Booking – Noon Wednesday for Monday edition. Material – Noon Thursday CLASSIFIED DEADLINES Bookings & Material – Noon Friday Terms: Account Clients- 14 days New Accounts: Payment on Booking All Classifieds- Payment on booking (Credit card preferred)

All prices quoted plus GST and based on Art being supplied.

We can create artwork if required – Eighth/Quarter $44 Half $66 which will be billed if complete art is not supplied to our specifications.

Video: Maximum 3 meg swf file.

Due to the regularity of timber & forestry e news and the tight deadlines no customer proofs can be sent.

Advertising Sales

Banner Ads &

T: (07) 3266 1429

Sales

Classified Ad Custom Group Advertising: Tel +61 7 3266 1429 Email: cancon@bigpond.net.au Page 20 | Publishing issue 251 | 10.12.12

Production T: 0439 417Email: 671 203cancon@bigpond.net.au | 12.12.11 | PAGE 15 Advertising: Tel +61 7 3266 1429ISSUE

e: timberandforestenews@bigpond.com e: timberandforestenews@bigpond.com

e: kerri@mycustompublishing.com.au

www.industrye-news.com