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Water licensing concerns for forestry

Posted on December 12, 2009, 10:10am and updated on December 14, 2009 at 11:24 am

A forestry industry source has claimed the SENRM Board’s proposal to introduce a sweeping permit and water licensing system on the region’s timber industry could wipe $75m in value from the sector.

The board’s draft regional plan — now released for public comment — proposes a permit system for commercial timber plantations for the first time.

According to industry sources, the proposal — which will need to be legislated — will also restrict new rotations of plantations on some current estates.

The proposal also includes introducing water licences for forestry, creating fears it may deter investors from undertaking carbon plantings in the South East because of the added cost.

An industry source, who did not want to be named, described the detail in the draft regional plan and the proposed water allocation plans as “rewriting history” that could have widespread ramifications.

It is believed the proposed rules could slash up to $75m from both the forestry plantation sector and processing facilities such as factories and mills.

SENRM Board general manager Hugo Hopton confirmed a permit system for forestry plantings was being proposed for the first time.

He said the draft regional plan was a “blueprint or roadmap” for the management of natural resources into the future.

Mr Hopton said strategic measures needed to be put in place to secure the water supply in the long term for community, business and the agricultural sector.

He said one of the targets was to ensure the resource remained at least in its current position into the future.

Under the draft plan, Mr Hopton said the blueprint categorised forestry as a water affecting activity.

“We now see it as a bonafide primary industry production,” Mr Hopton said.

He said the board wanted to set clear rules to give the forestry industry certainty into the future.

“The forestry industry is telling us they want certainty,” Mr Hopton said.

Regarding possibilities for growers to plant carbon forests, Mr Hopton said this would occur within the permit system.

Under a proposed emissions trading scheme, farmers could plant forests for carbon trading to large companies such as power businesses who need to offset their usage.

Mr Hopton said a government department would be tasked with issuing the permits.

While acknowledging the importance of the timber industry, he argued the water resources had to be protected for the long term.

“We don’t want one industry to come at the cost of another industry,” Mr Hopton said.

He said the specific details of the changes were found in the water allocation plans, which had yet to be debated by State Parliament.

Parliament is now in recess until after the March 2010 state election.

A public meeting on the board’s draft regional plan will be held in Mount Gambier on Wednesday (December 16) at 7pm at the SENRM Board office.

Submissions on the draft plan close February 2.

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One Response to “Water licensing concerns for forestry”

  1. Robert Stewart on December 12th, 2009 11:28 am 1

    One industry MUST come at the expense of others, Mr. Hopton . Water for food and timber for shelter must have its priorities for water. Without it, the state will produce not enough of either, and one would have thought that on farm water storages and lined surface dams for run off might have been part of the proposal.. If the intention is to cut back both forestry and food for conservation in a period of uncertainty which may well extend into 2011 then put up the detail for intelligent discussion. In the meantime the proponents of legislation to cut forestry development with emphasis on the water needs of replanting should consider that CO2 absorption is strongest in the growth cycle and then slows down at maturity but that seems to be the lesser of the two major problems.. It is not possible to cut the demands on resources. Population growth, expected to increase by one third to 9.8 billion by 2040 (U.N.Figures).is the big challenge to farm and forestry lands into the next decades. One third, Mr. Hopton, one third.

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