More than 400 forestry professionals, scientists, land managers and policymakers have converged on Adelaide for Forestry Australia’s four‑day conference to explore how “restoring forests and landscapes” can secure Australia’s future. The conference, which runs until 23 October, marks the Institute of Foresters of Australia’s 90th anniversary and coincides with 150 years of plantation forestry in Australia – a proud history that dates back to Bundaleer in South Australia’s Mid North, where radiata pine was first planted in 1876.
Addressing the conference, Radha Kuppalli, board director of Greening Australia and Accounting for Nature and a member of the Australian Government’s Nature Finance Council, set out five priorities for the sector and urged industry and government to adopt integrated approaches that deliver social, ecological and economic returns. She called for scaled models that combine production with restoration, stronger engagement with communities and governments to secure social licence for reforestation, and the alignment of carbon and biodiversity markets to drive net‑zero and nature‑positive outcomes.
Kuppalli stressed that economic frameworks must change to reflect the value of natural capital and that Australia should position itself to attract long‑term, sustainable investment in land use. As a result, she urged policymakers and investors to back blended‑finance approaches that can unlock large‑scale restoration alongside viable timber supply, and to support market mechanisms that reward multiple landscape benefits rather than single outputs.
Kuppalli, who has more than two decades’ experience in sustainable forestry and natural capital investment, told delegates that Australia must move beyond single‑output forestry to approaches that deliver multiple, complementary returns such as climate mitigation, biodiversity restoration, improved water management and recognition of cultural values: “The future of forestry is not timber or nature; it is timber with nature, integrated for value, resilience and long‑term impact,” she said, illustrating her argument with case studies that reframed trade‑offs as diversified portfolio opportunities.
The conference arrives as the world reaches the midpoint of the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration and aims to shift the discussion from siloed projects to landscape‑scale solutions that balance ecological, cultural and economic outcomes. Organisers say the program is designed to make restoration bankable for investors and landholders by bringing together technical expertise, policymakers and finance providers and to feed discussions into policy recommendations and cross‑sector partnerships.
Please note: Wood Central will have exclusive coverage from delegates at the conference in the coming days.
