PFT 2020-21 Annual Report highlights efforts of past 12 months

Posted 28 October 2021

Private Forests Tasmania is proud to release the 2020-21 Annual Report. The annual report was officially tabled in Parliament on October 28, 2021.

The 2020-21 financial year is the third and final year of the 2018-21 Strategic Plan.

The strategy has focussed PFT's efforts on four key goals developed with PFT stakeholders:

Expanding commercial private forestry;
Communicating the benefits of wood;
Improving regulatory efficiency; and
improving management and business systems.

The annual report outlines PFT's achievements in each of these areas in 2020-21.

PFT chairman Evan Rolley said beyond the challenges of COVID-19, PFT has utilised the Tree Alliance initiative to get more trees of the right species in the right location.

"This work has been very positively received," he said.

"However, the scale of the decline in Tasmanian plantation area while concurrently timber supply shortages persist, remains an important focus for the ongoing work program of PFT. The solutions to arresting the decline in plantation area require collaboration throughout the supply chain and new partnerships with landowners and parties seeking the opportunity to contribute to improving environmental and timber supply outcomes."

PFT has invested in projects to improve productivity in the existing forest estates, supporting innovation and value-adding to the existing harvested resource.

"This Annual Report clearly demonstrates the value proposition of PFT's work program and the benefits that are flowing to all private forest owners," Mr Rolley said.

PFT chief executive officer Penny Wells the Tree Alliance marketing campaign, launched in October 2020, has helped form partnerships with a range of private forestry stakeholders across the forestry, agriculture, education, carbon providers, research and development, and natural resource management sectors.

"These, and future partnerships, will greatly assist us in advancing our goals," she said.

A central focus for the year was establishing landscape-scale demonstration sites across seven different enterprises around Tasmania.

"These sites highlight the benefits of integrating commercial tree plantings in different farming systems," Ms Wells said.

The next 12 months will include a second round of grants for farm forestry establishments, the release of the TreeMapper app, a continued focus on strengthening Tree Alliance partnerships as well as establishing new partnerships, and the development of a new three-year strategic plan.

Engagement with all PFT stakeholders will continue as PFT works with the industry to facilitate and expand the development of Tasmania's private forest resource.

Read the annual report here.