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Forestry to account for water use

Posted on June 22, 2009, 6:06pm and updated on June 23, 2009 at 8:59 am

The State Government has introduced legislation to enable the licensing of commercial forestry across the state, including the South East.

Under the proposed legislation, the management options will include water licences, water affecting activity permits, codes of practice and industry agreements.

The framework will be implemented through the South East Natural Resource Management Board’s water allocation plans.

According to key findings released in a new CSIRO report, plantation forests use more water than agricultural land covers such as pasture, cereals and other crops.

South Australian Dairyfarmers’ Association chief executive officer Ken Lyons yesterday welcomed the government’s move, claiming it would give certainty to all users.

“It will make all water users accountable for their water use,” Mr Lyons said.

He claimed the forestry industry was using up to 30pc of the region’s groundwater, but had yet to be made accountable for its impact on the water resource.

“It is pleasing to see the legislation has got to this stage,” said Mr Lyons, who explained it had taken several years for the government to move on the issue in parliament.

He said the underground water resource was “showing signs of stress” and any cuts to irrigation must be felt across all industries that used water.

“If forestry was not made accountable, then any cuts to the dairy industry, Coonawarra vines and other industries which use irrigation would have been more severe,” Mr Lyons said.

“If there has to be cuts, we should all bear the pain of that.”

He said including forestry in the water budget was now a national measure, introduced under the National Water Initiative.

According to the government, the new framework will account for the environmental, social and economic impacts of water allocation decisions.

It also aims to ensure that water-affecting activities are identified and managed within sustainable limits.

“More than ever governments, industry and the community understand water is a vital natural resource that must be managed carefully,” Environment Minister Jay Weatherill said.

“Industries reliant on water are looking for certainty about the future management of the water resources they rely upon, and this framework is designed with that in mind for the forestry industry.”

Meanwhile, Forestry Minister Paul Caica said the framework recognised that plantation forests were a dry land crop.

“As such, they use water differently from irrigated agriculture and other water uses, so we need a system to properly account for, and effectively manage, forest water use,” Mr Caica said.

The ministers said the planning process would ensure extensive community consultation with all interested parties, including the forestry industry.

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