• The reservation of hardwood timbers harvested through thinning to reduce fuel loads for bushfire mitigation or mine clearing for local value-added processing or manufacturing. The Djarlma Plan provides a robust platform upon which to develop Return to 1826 and already has the support of industry and a range of stakeholders. The expanded sustainability ambitions of Return to 1826 create the basis to transform this document into a publicly endorsed approach for the sector that has the endorsement of key stakeholders, is supported by government and delivers the additional certainty required to attract investment. Work is also ongoing to record local Aboriginal views on the condition of the forest in the Collie area. Demand for all timber (soft and hardwoods) and fibre generally, continues to grow across the world. This suggests a sustainable and prosperous future for the industry and WA’s forestry regions. Approaching the native hardwood transition through the lens of a Return to 1826 enables industry to support change and deliver positive returns. For example: • Thinning around settlements will reduce fuel loads and mitigate the risk of catastrophic bushfires. This offers a transitional resource of local high value wood for processing and manufacturing operations, while plantation hardwoods become established. One-off clearing for new mines delivers product in a similar fashion. • Softwood plantation investments will meet rapidly increasing global demand. • Carbon offsets offer significant additional revenue for plantation investors. 16 • Native hardwood plantations on private land will establish a valuable resource to eventually
He told me the bush was very open when he was a young man in the 1880’s. they could drive a two-wheeled buggy through the bush and easily ride a horse at a good strong canter, whereas in my time the bush was so thick, you rode with difficulty – you certainly couldn’t ride a pushbike through it. So the landscape has changed very dramatically, even in his lifetime. Bunbury B, Bunbury J Many Maps: Charting Two Cultures: First Nations Australians and European Settlers in Western Australia; UWA Publishing, 2020
replace the native timbers from thinning for bushfire mitigation purposes and mine clearance operations. 17
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Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011, Instrument 2022, www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2022L00050/85a77467-7b3b-4dbd-b524-a2d19a413c04 www.awe.gov.au/sites/default/files/sitecollectiondocuments/forestry/publications/2020-report-final.pdf
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30 | WA Investment Prospectus
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