Native
forest reserves would be substantially expanded and areas available to
the timber industry cut back under proposals contained in the Gippsland
Regional Forest Agreement Consultation Paper. Gippsland's native-forest
reserves would be expanded by 265,000 hectares, or 51 per cent, and forest
available to the timber industry would be reduced by 9 per cent, the consultation
paper said.
This would result in reductions in timber mill production and the gross value of production, and would have potential employment and social implications, particularly in the La Trobe Valley. However, the proposed reserve system would provide sustainable levels of wood supply to allow continued investment and diversification in the industry.
It would also give long-term access to forests for other uses including tourism, beekeeping, recreation, forest grazing, mineral exploration and mining.
The paper said 95 per cent of high-quality wilderness was already protected in the existing reserve system across eastern Victoria as a whole, thus satisfying the national reserve criteria for wilderness. "In general, the draft reserve system encompasses many areas, with National Estate values identified in the assessments," the paper said. "Management strategies for threatened flora and fauna, including the spotted tree frog and large forest owls, are incorporated into the proposal."
The Gippsland RFA covers 2.6 million hectares between the Great Dividing Range, Bass Strait, Lakes Entrance and Warragul/Drouin. Public land comprises 1.4 million hectares, or 54 per cent of the area. Current reserves make up 14,000-hectares or 35 per cent, of the public land.
The paper said adoption of the draft CAR reserve would add 265,000 hectares to the existing reserves, an increase of 51 per cent, bringing the total reserved area to 780,000 hectares.
Looking at the timber industry, the paper said that in 1997-98, capital investment in Gippsland mills was estimated at $3.3 million. The most promising products for the industry were flooring, external appearance products, and furniture.
A survey of investment plans had shown that Gippsland sawmillers would lift the proportion of output sold as seasoned timber from 41 per cent in 1997-98, to 48 percent by 2007-08. In 1997-98, seasoned sawn timber was 38 per cent of total sawn-timber sales, but accounted for 62 per cent of gross value of sawn timber sold.
The paper outlined two 10-year scenarios for the industry: the fist looked at how current production would be affected by the cutbacks; the second took into account industry's investment plans, and looked at how subsequent production would be affected by resource cutbacks.
The timber industry in Gippsland employs 601 people, and the gross value of annual production is $107 million. Under the draft CAR reserve system, gross production would fall to $99.1 million and employment to 556. By 2008, with current value-adding plans, baseline production would be worth $108 million. Under the draft CAR reserve system, gross production would fall to $100.7 million and employment to 568.
The paper said changes under the value-adding scenarios were marginal due to the large number of kilns and further processing facilities in Gippsland. A section on social impact of the resource cutbacks estimated La Trobe Valley mills would be hardest hit by job cuts. The consultation paper said much of Gippsland's tourist attractions occurred on forested public land. Visits to state forests contributed between $6.9 million and $17.4 million a year to the regional economy.
Using an estimate of $131 per visitor day, parks in Gippsland could generate up to $129.6 million a year. Tourism and recreation based on public land in Gippsland is estimated to contribute between $136.5 million and $147 million a year to the regional economy.