SOUTH WEST

South west forests are managed as national parks, nature & conservation reserves, State forests, water catchment reserves and recreation areas. They are managed to ensure that forests will continue to exist and provide their many benefits, values and compatible uses in perpetuity.

The Forest Products Commission is renowned worldwide for its high standards of sustainable forest management practices, designed to ensure that the forests from which timber is produced are sustained indefinitely and remain available for the use and enjoyment by future generations.

The tall forests can be classed broadly into two distinct types, the drier jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) forest and the moister karri (Eucalyptus diversicolor) forest. These species, along with other trees occurring in association with them, are unique to the south west and do not occur naturally anywhere else in the world.

Today, more than half the southwest forests are reserved for biodiversity conservation.

Regeneration of the forests is a basic requirement, if a sustained level of timber harvest is to be achieved in the long term. It is inherent in the principles of Ecologically Sustainable Forest Management by which the FPC must act.

We use the term silviculture to describe the management of forest vegetation (mainly trees) to achieve particular objectives for a forest area. It is the theory and practice of managed forest establishment, composition, structure and growth to achieve those aims or objectives. Silvicultural activities in our forests are directed towards establishing regeneration after timber harvesting, improving the growth of retained trees by thinning out of others, protecting habitat for wildlife, maintenance of natural beauty, and in some cases controlling water movement.

This forest management supports the maintenance or enhancement of the productive capacity of the forest for timber production in addition to biodiversity conservation, water and amenity objectives.

Timber production operations in the South West forests provide an environmentally sound raw material that is now used predominantly in locally based, high value industries producing world-class furniture, flooring and joinery products. These industries occur throughout the South West, particularly around Manjimup, Pemberton, Nannup and Busselton.

As these timber materials are harvested from areas permitted under the Forest Management Plan, a small quantity of this resource may be identified as low grade timber. Low grade timber consists of trees and parts of trees that are unsuitable for use in value adding industries due to visual appearance or structural faults. This resource is still put to good use in a way which takes into account the best interests of Western Australians, both now and in the future.