Questions and answers
- What is a NSW Forest Agreement?
- What is a Regional Forest Agreement (RFA)?
- What is the difference between a Regional Forest Agreement and a NSW forest agreement?
- What is an Integrated Forestry Operations Approval (IFOA)?
- Why was there a review of NSW forest agreements and IFOAs?
- Will the Regional Forest Agreements be reviewed as well?
- What was the purpose of the review of NSW forest agreements and IFOAs?
- What milestones were reviewed and where are they?
- What is ecologically sustainable forest management, and its criteria and indicators?
- How are criteria and indicators reviewed?
The Forestry and National Park Estate Act 1998 (NSW) provides for forest agreements, which set out the out the principles and strategic framework for the co-operative management of forests by the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW) and Industry and Investment NSW - Forests NSW
Forest agreements contain provisions for promoting ecologically sustainable forest management, sustainable timber supply, community consultation and Aboriginal involvement in forest management (including Native Title Rights).
There are four NSW forest agreements covering eastern areas of NSW which were signed in 1999 for the Upper North East (UNE), Lower North East (LNE), and Eden regions and signed in 2002 for the Southern Region. The agreements are for 20 years.
Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs) are made between the Commonwealth Government and State Governments and have a term of 20 years.
RFAs are arrived at after a Comprehensive Regional Assessment process. An RFA:
- has regard to the many studies and projects carried out in relation to these values
- identifies areas in the region required for the purposes of a Comprehensive, Adequate and Representative Reserve System
- provides for the conservation of those areas
- provides for the ecologically sustainable management and use of forested areas in the regions, and
- provides for the long-term stability of forests and forest industries.
NSW forest agreements are NSW Government documents setting out agreements between various NSW Ministers under the Forestry and National Park Estate Act 1998. NSW Forest agreements outline various NSW agency obligations, tasks and undertakings, or 'milestones'.
Regional forest agreements (RFAs) are bilateral agreements between the Commonwealth and State governments. RFAs outline Commonwealth and State obligations. The RFAs for NSW are the North East Regional Forest Agreement, Eden Regional Forest Agreement and Southern Regional Forest Agreement.
RFAs also deal with Australian Government legislation and obligations, including exempting native forestry activities in regional forest agreement areas from the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the EPBC Act).
The NSW Forestry and National Park Estate Act 1998 provides for integrated forestry operations approvals (IFOAs), which integrate the regulatory regimes for environmental planning and assessment, for the protection of the environment and for threatened species conservation.
An IFOA describes the forestry operations covered by the approval, including a description of the area of the State to which it applies. The approval sets out the conditions under which forestry operations are to be carried out. The approval may contain the terms of a licence under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997, the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 and the Fisheries Management Act 1994. Enforcement of the licences rests with DECCW or Industry and Investment NSW - Fisheries. The IFOA applies to anyone carrying out forestry operations on State forests and other Crown-timber lands.
There are currently five IFOAs. The UNE, LNE, and Eden IFOAs commenced on the 1 January 2000 and another for the Southern Region commenced on the 13 May 2002. An IFOA for the Brigalow and Nandewar Community Conservation Area commenced on 23 October 2010 and has effect up to and including 31 December 2025.
The Forestry and National Park Estate Act 1998 requires that the NSW forest agreements and integrated forestry operations approvals are periodically reviewed.
Yes, but not as a part of this NSW review process. A review process for RFAs between the Commonwealth and NSW Government has commenced.
7. What was the purpose of the review of forests agreements and IFOAs?
Section 20 (2) of the Forestry and National Park Estate Act 1998 indicates that a review is to be undertaken for the purposes only of assessing:
(a) the implementation of the provisions of the agreement, and
(b) whether integrated forestry operations approvals are effective in achieving the purpose of those approvals.
In determining the implementation of the provisions of the agreement an assessment was undertaken on the progress of milestones contained in each forest agreement.
The review was not intended to revisit previous decisions or involve re-negotiation of outcomes. In particular, the review was not intended to extend to the consideration of issues such as changes to land tenure, modifications of timber volumes or additional reserve design. See also the Terms of Reference of the review (termsref.pdf, 13KB).
Milestones or 'undertakings' are the specific obligations within the NSW forest agreements to which various NSW Ministers have committed to achieving within certain timeframes. The review reported the progress of all milestones specified in the NSW Forest Agreements for the UNE, LNE, Eden and Southern regions, including identifying further work needed and any recommendations resulting from the review.
Milestones are listed in Attachment 9 of the Southern Forest Agreement, Attachment 11 of the Eden Forest Agreement, Attachment 12 of the UNE Forest Agreement and Attachment 12 of the LNE Forest Agreement.
Ecologically sustainable forest management (ESFM) is managing forests so that they are sustained in perpetuity for the benefit of society by ensuring that the values of forests are not lost or degraded for current and future generations. It brings together the environmental, social and economic values of forests.
Principles of ESFM include:
- Maintain or increase the full suite of forest values for present and future generations across the NSW native forest estate.
- Ensure public participation, access to information, accountability and transparency in the delivery of ESFM.
- Ensure legislation, policies, institutional framework, codes, standards and practices related to forest management require and provide incentives for ecologically sustainable management of the native forest estate.
- Apply precautionary principles for prevention of environmental degradation.
- Apply best available knowledge and adaptive management processes.
Monitoring of ESFM occurs through the criteria and indicators specified in each NSW forest agreement.
A review of the criteria and indicators for ecologically sustainable forest management (ESFM) within each forest agreement is being finalised. The review will consider whether indicators are practical, measurable, cost-effective and capable of being implemented at the regional level.
Page last updated: 27 February 2011
