Some of Australia’s largest forest managers—backed by Superfunds—could risk running foul of FSC certification after FSC International issued a draft interpretation clarifying that growers who switch out native hardwood plantations—like Blue Gums—for exotic species could be in breach of FSC certification, critical to trading products in global markets.
It comes after Wood Central reported that growers in Australia’s ‘Green Triangle’ were looking to replace short-rotation hardwood plantations destined for pulp with longer-rotation Radiata pine, an exotic species that not only provides much-needed structural timber for housing but also greater carbon benefits.
Wood Central understands that the interpretation concerns the intent of Criterion 10.1 in the FSC National Forest Stewardship Standard of Australia, which requires FSC-certified organisations to regenerate harvested sites using a method that is suitable to recover the overall composition and structure.
According to Diana Hallam, CEO of the Australian Forest Products Association, the draft interpretation signals a regulatory risk to much-needed investment in forestry: “FSC’s position could act as a disincentive for sought-after long-rotation hardwoods, in that once they’re planted, the owners and managers might be concerned they’re locked into keeping particular species, with difficulty to transition.”
“We’re in favour of FSC reviewing its position here on species change and maintaining flexibility for the forestry industry under the FSC pillars.”
Diana Hallam, CEO of the Australian Forest Products Association on the push for FSC International to change it’s drafrt interpretation on 10.1 of the FSC National Forest Stewardship Standard of Australia.
This afternoon, Wood Central spoke to Melanie Robertson, CEO of FSC ANZ, who stressed that it’s important to emphasise that this is a draft interpretation.
According to Robertson, standard setting is a complex process, and it is not uncommon for ambiguities to arise when standards are applied in the field: “To address this, FSC International issues interpretations to provide clarification. One such interpretation regards whether FSC-certified forest growers in Australia may replant native species plantations with exotic species. This interpretation is currently open for public consultation.”
With the consultation running through to July 18, Robertson said it’s not unusual for draft interpretations to change substantially following consultation: “FSC ANZ acknowledges concerns raised by economic, environmental and social stakeholders regarding this draft interpretation. Like all components of the FSC system, the interpretation process is intended to be co-creative, relying on stakeholder feedback to ensure outcomes are reasonable, practical, and auditable,” she said. Robertson encouraged stakeholders to participate in the consultation to ensure FSC gets it right.
Why are forest managers looking to switch out blue gums for pine?
Speaking to the ABC last week, Wendy Norris, the CEO of OneFortyOne, said the decision to convert Blue Gum (which has a 7-year growth cycle) into Radiata pine (with a 30-year growth cycle) stores a lot more carbon in the tree and earns a lot more carbon credits. Then, there is the impact of climate change and drying conditions, which makes Radiata pine much more attractive to forest managers.
“The blue gums are typically quite water-hungry, and some of the sites they were planted on are probably not that suitable for blue gum these days and becoming less suitable as the climate becomes drier,” according to Professor Rob Keenan, a forest ecologist from the University of Melbourne. “The Radiata pine is more tolerant of those dry conditions, so by replacing blue gum with pine, we’re likely to see more resilient plantations to climate change.”
