Statistics

1. AREA OF FOREST

• woodland (tree crowns cover 20-50 per cent of the land when viewed from above);
  
• open forest (51-80 per cent crown cover); and
  
• closed forest (81-100 per cent crown cover).
  

Native forests can be further classified into forest types according to the dominant species. The area of forest in these broad classes is shown in the following table:

Area of Native Forest in Australia ('000s hectares)

Source: Bureau of Rural Sciences ( www.brs.gov.au/forest/ )

Australia's native forests are distributed around the northern, eastern, south eastern and south western coasts of the mainland and in various regions of Tasmania.

(The BRS web site has a map showing the distribution of closed, open and woodland forests)

About 80% of Australia's forests are eucalypt forests. These forests are unique to Australia and they occur in a wide range of environments.

European settlement has reduced the area of Australia's forests. The total area of closed and open forest has been reduced from about 69 million hectares to 43.5 million hectares while the area of woodland has been reduced from about 157 million hectares to 112 million hectares. The extent of clearing varies considerably between regions and different types of forest vegetation.

The area of forest in each State and Territory and the broad tenure categories of the forest estate is shown in the following tables.

Area of Native Forest for each State and Territory ('000s hectares)

Source: Bureau of Rural Sciences ( www.brs.gov.au/forest/ )

Area of Native Forest by Tenure Category ('000s hectares)

The tables show:

• about half of the total area of closed and open forest is either privately owned or leasehold. These areas are predominantly in Queensland (37%), NT (29%) and NSW (18%) and only a small proportion is managed for sustainable timber production;

• about 22% of closed forests and 19% of open forests are in conservation reserves. The closed forests however, are more highly reserved as much of the rainforest in north Queensland is listed in multiple- use tenure but has full conservation protection under Commonwealth legislation;

  and
  
  
  

• about 25% of open forests are in the multiple use category (managed for wood production on a sustained yield basis and to conserve biological values).

As well as native forests, Australia has an estimated 1,337,283 hectares of plantation (National Forest Inventory March 2000). This area of softwood (coniferous) and hardwood
(broadleaved) plantations in each state and territory is shown in the following table.

Area of Plantation September 1999 for each State and Territory (hectares)

2. FOREST INDUSTRY SECTORS

2.1 Sawntimber

There were 1141 sawmills in Australia (862 hardwood and 279 softwood) in 1999-00 (ABARE 2001).

Consumption of sawn timber in Australia generally varies from about 4 million to 4.5 million cubic metres per annum and is closely linked to the level of building activity. An increase of 14.5% in total dwelling commencements in 1999-2000 drove consumption of sawn timber to almost 4.8 million cubic metres.

Apparent Consumption of Sawn Timber in Australia (000m³)

The major changes in Australia's timber supply over the past five years are as follows:-

• domestic production of plantation softwood has increased by over 20%;
  
  
• imports decreased sharply in 2000-01 in response to decreased house building activity. New Zealand radiata pine now accounts for about 50% of the volume of imports;
  
  
• sawn timber production from native forests has declined from about 1.4 million m³ to 1.3 million m³ per year due to reductions in supply; and
  
  
• exports after declining in 1997 - 98 due to economic uncertainty in Asia recovered strongly in 1999-2000.
  
  

2.2 Pulp and Paper

Six companies currently account for the major part (97%) of pulp and paper production in Australia. Each of the producers specialises in particular products:

• Paperlinx Limited - communications papers and packaging papers
  
  
• Amcor Limited - packaging
  
  
• Norske Skog (Australasia) Pty Ltd - newsprint and related grades
  
  
• Carter Holt Harvey Tissue Australia Limited - tissues
  
  
• Kimberly-Clark Australia Pty Ltd - tissues
  
  
• Visy Paper Pty Ltd - packaging
  
  

The industry is vertically integrated. Some companies have strong links with waste paper collection and are involved in box and carton manufacturing and paper converting.

Recycled fibre comprised about 57% of the raw material used for paper manufacturing in Australia in 2000-01 with the remaining 43% being virgin fibre and additives. About 75% of the virgin fibre used is produced in Australia while the balance is imported.

Apparent consumption of paper products in Australia increased from 3.3 million tonnes in 1996-97 to 3.6 million tonnes in 2000-01.

Imported paper accounts for about 39% by weight of the paper consumed in Australia. In 2000-01 the value of imports ($2792 million) exceeded the value of exports ($654 million) of paper and paperboard by $2138 million ( PPMFA 2001)

Apparent Consumption of Paper in Australia ('000 tonnes)

Source: PPMFA 2001, Canberra, December 2001 see www.ppmfa.com.au