THE terms of reference for the independent expert review of the sustained yield of the South West native forests has been announced by WA Environment Minister Cheryl Edwardes.
Mrs Edwardes said the study followed undertakings she gave after the release of the Codd Report which reviewed the issues of difference between the Environmental Protection Authority and the Department of Conservation and Land Management.
It is also in line with decisions the Government has taken in response to the report of the
ministerial advisory group on karri and tingle forest management contained in the Ferguson Report, released in December.
The Minister said, while the EPA acknowledged CALM had complied with the ministerial condition relating to the level of harvest set for the Forest Management Plan, both organisations recognised that the levels were set to allow the forest industries to restructure in the lead up to a new plan from 2004.
Principal terms of reference are to examine the management practices used to implement the principles of ecologically sustainable forest management and their integration with the process for establishing sustainable yields.
The review will also examine the methods and data used in calculating sustainable yields and timber resource estimates relative to the areas available for timber harvesting.
Melbourne University’s Professor Ian Ferguson will chair the six-member panel.
Bureau of Rural Sciences’ Dr Stuart Dave, University of WA’s Mark Adams, CSIRO Forestry and Forest Products’ Dr Bob McCormack and consultants Jack Bradshaw and Dr Joanna Young complete the panel.
