Why we must start planting

The total plantation estate in Western Australia peaked in 2009 with 164,000 ha of hardwood and 85,000 ha of softwood plantations.

Since this time the total plantation estate has been in serious decline and unless action is taken this trend is forecast to continue.

Plantations are an important part of the Western Australian Regional Economy

3,400

Direct jobs

11,620

Indirect jobs (haulage, manufacturing etc)

$1,185m

Plantations are worth $1,185 million to the WA economy each year

What are Plantation Fibre used for?

WA housing and construction.
Laminated Veneer Lumber - high strength engineered wood for structural applications.
Particle boards, paper products and timber packaging.

Future Uses for Plantation Fibre

Engineered wood products
Building code allows timber in building up to 8 storeys
Nano Crystalline Celluloses (NCC)
Bio-economy for residue markets

The Popularity of Wood is Growing

* Tackling climate change, by storing the carbon removed from the atmosphere by growing trees.
* Wood has a low carbon footprint.

Without new investment in plantations, the industry anticipates that the total plantation estate will decline by more than 110,000 by 2025.

This comes at a time when demand for timber and fibre products is rapidly increasing. While there are many reasons why demand for timber and fibre products is on the rise, perhaps the most understandable reason is simply because the population in WA is increasing.

A growing population and a declining timber resource means that WA is facing a growing forest and wood products deficit.

Without significant change this trend will only compound into the future, leaving WA increasing reliant on timber imported rather than responsibly supplying our own timber needs trough local sustainably managed plantations.

“So Why Aren't People Planting Trees?”

That was the questions we were asking ourselves!

In 2020 the South West Timber Hub commissioned a report into Private Forestry with the aim of understanding the current situation and developing an engagement strategy with land owners to encourage them to plant trees on their land.

This report was different than previous studies by placing farmers and other private landowners as central to an understanding of the relative interest and likely take-up of farm forestry.

The report cited 8 key objectives for an engagement strategy;

1. Improve information available
2. Improve potential returns
3. Improve transparency of process and offering
4. Educate advisors
5. Raise profile of opportunity
6. Promote opportunity to landholders
7. Support potential new entrants
8. Target resource companies

Decision Tree

The first phase of the farm forestry program, Decision Tree, has now been launched!

The program, including an assessment tool, is a direct result of the Private Forestry plan as outlined above and detailed below.

You can find Decision Tree at

decisiontree.com.au