In 1981, I contributed to an editorial in Australian Forestry (Vol. 44(4)) highlighting the role of the Australian forestry profession in international development assistance, and subsequently, in 1987, contributed an article to the journal (Vol. 50(2), 68–70) encouraging a dialogue on Australian foresters' roles and responsibilities in global forestry.
The thrust of these contributions was to acknowledge and encourage Australian participation in development assistance activities and serving the basic needs of rural communities, the critical demands for fuelwood and the international role of Australian trees such as species of Eucalyptus, Acacia and Casuarina. A dedicated band of Australian foresters, members of the Institute, has worked hard since that time with the generous support of donor agencies and NGOs with counterparts in countries as culturally and physically diverse as PNG, China, Vietnam and Nepal. Mostly funded through Australian agencies such as ACIARFootnote 1 and AusAID,Footnote 2 they have been strongly supported by Australian forest research organisations such as CSIRO, our universities and state forest management agencies. What has happened in the 30 years since 1981, and what have been the consequences of this work? An examination suggests that Australian projects in forestry aid have had significant local and international impact and the profession can justifiably celebrate these successes.
An obvious impact has been the extensive network of professional friends and colleagues who were trained at our universities and teaching institutions. Alumni of Australian centres of learning now occupy influential posts in many partner countries, managing large resources, shaping government policies and conducting world-standard research. The recent Australia in the Asian Century White Paper emphasised just how important these friendly and respectful professional relationships can be.
Since 1981, the global population has increased by 2500 million, from 4.5 billion to 7 billion. Meeting the wood needs of more people, providing more land for food production and maintaining and managing areas of forest for water and non-timber forest products has been challenging. In 1981, contemporary issues such as biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration were not commonly discussed among the broader community. In 2013, global demand for wood continues to increase and fuelwood still constitutes over one half of the global wood harvest, supply of which remains essential for many of the world's communities. Globally, wealth has increased and buying patterns and social expectations in the countries of Asia and Africa have changed. Within this changing and evolving landscape and social background, Australian foresters have continued to play valuable roles.
The Nepal–Australia Project had already assumed a focus on communities 30 years ago and became a world leader in assisting communities assume responsibility for managing forests. This project, which operated for almost 40 years, established a working framework for successful community engagement in the management of forests in the sub-Himalaya. It took a concept and made it an operational reality, and trained a cohort of Australian and Nepali professionals who have gone on to achieve significant success. Under an enabling policy framework, local people in Nepal are empowered to manage their local forests to meet their subsistence needs and in some cases generate income from the sale of forest products, much of which is used for community development. Forest condition across the Middle Hills of the country has greatly improved, and large areas of previously degraded forest are now reaching the stage where increased utilisation is possible. This is despite a 130% increase in population since 1990. Community forests now cover 1.2 million hectares (nearly 23% of the national forest estate) and reach over 1.6 million households who are members of 17 600 Community Forest User Groups. The project has been lauded internationally, and the benchmarks in approach and knowledge it established are used as foundations for work elsewhere in the developing world.
The 1981 editorial called for an assessment of the role that our native tree species might have in addressing global wood supply. How have these species fared over 30 years?
The main Australian genera (taking a liberal interpretation of genera which we share with our neighbours in PNG, East Timor and Indonesia) that have a significant role in global wood supply are casuarinas, eucalypts and acacias.
Since 1981, Australian scientists have participated in international breeding programs and have been instrumental in assembling four major international conferences (Australia, Egypt, Vietnam, China) to examine the biology, silviculture and utilisation of casuarinas. There are now over one million hectares of casuarinas planted globally, primarily in coastal India, Vietnam and China where they provide stability to sandy coastal ecosystems and contribute organic matter, nutrients and protection, enabling agriculture to flourish. Casuarina plantations also offer an excellent high-quality furnish for chemical pulp (examples in India) and have provided many opportunities for improving the welfare of local communities.
The global resource of eucalypts continues to expand. In 1981 there were an estimated five million hectares of eucalypts grown globally; this has expanded to over 21 M ha. The large plantations in Brazil and India remain, but it has been in China where the resource has expanded rapidly. Here, the resource has increased from 400 000 ha in 1981 to 600 000 in 1992 to 1.5 M ha in 2002 to 3.5 M ha in 2012, providing the foundation for world-class wood industries, offering employment and improved livelihoods to a great many Chinese. Integral to this has been a series of Australian projects and inputs from Australian foresters. The Dong Men project in southern Guangxi province operated for ten years and provided the foundation for modern eucalypt plantation management in China. A series of Australian projects has supported the China Eucalypt Research Centre and has resulted in the development of skills, and the dissemination of improved knowledge and germplasm, throughout southern China. This longstanding Australian commitment to development of the Chinese forestry sector has not gone unnoticed, with several members of the Institute of Foresters of Australia receiving awards from the Chinese for their contributions (). Most recently, Roger Arnold received The Friendship Award of China, the supreme award that the Chinese government confers on foreign experts who work in China. He enjoyed the honour of a banquet in the Great Hall of the People with Premier Wen Jibao.
1. In November 2012, the Chinese Society of Forestry acknowledged outstanding contributions to China eucalypt development and presented awards to three Chinese scientists and two Australian foresters, Dick Pegg and Stephen Midgley. At the presentations (left to right): Wei Ju (former Manager of Dong Men Forest Farm and counterpart, mentor and friend to many Australian foresters), Qi Shuxiong (the ‘grandfather’ of eucalypts in China, author and founding Director of the China Eucalypt Research Centre), Hu Tianyu (long-term leader of eucalypt introduction to Sichuan) and Stephen Midgley RPF.
Acacia auriculiformis as introduced to Bengal in the late 19th century, and A. mangium to Sabah by Don Nicholson in 1966, but tropical acacias remained relatively unused in plantation forestry in 1981. A. crassicarpa was known to a few taxonomists and the A. mangium × A. auriculiformis hybrid had yet to be developed. There are now over two million hectares of tropical acacia species planted globally, primarily in Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. The CSIRO's Australian Tree Seed Centre's active seed collection program in northern Australia, PNG and Indonesia allowed forest scientists in other countries to fully assess the potential of a suite of tropical acacia species. The commitment and generosity of research partners in PNG and Indonesia enabled this to happen and the results have been impressive. A series of international workshops helped disseminate research information and underpin extensive plantation programs. In the case of Vietnam, there are now over 900 000 ha of tropical acacias planted (mainly A. mangium, A. auriculiformis and A. mangium × A. auriculiformis hybrid), over 70% of which has been planted by smallholders. This represents an estate roughly equivalent to Australia's estate of Pinus radiata in an area 1.5 times the size of Victoria. Vietnam is now the world's largest exporter of hardwood woodchips; some 90% of the 5.4 million bone-dry metric tonnes exported in 2012 was acacia. Growers can sell butt logs to sawmills and the furniture industry, and the top logs to the chip mill, enabling full utilisation of the stem. Stumpages paid to growers were of the order of $400 million for 2012. Vietnam's export furniture industry was worth $3.9 billion in 2012 and acacia wood comprised an estimated 10–15% of these exports. The next time you observe some ‘acacia wood’ outdoor furniture in the market, it could be some Australian acacias coming home! Again, this contribution by Institute members has not gone unnoticed, and the Government of Vietnam has awarded medals for outstanding contributions to a number of Institute members ( ).
2. On 2 November 2012, the Government of Vietnam offered awards to five Australian forest scientists in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the Vietnamese forestry sector. Dr Chris Harwood, Dr Sadanandan Nambiar, Mr Khongsak Pinyopusarerk, Dr Rod Griffin (not present in Hanoi) and Mr Stephen Midgley were presented with medals at a ceremony held in Hanoi. At the presentation (left to right) Dr Ha Huy Thinh (Director, Institute of Forest Tree Improvement and Biotechnology, Vietnam Academy of Forest Sciences), Mr Geoff Morris (ACIAR Country Representative, Hanoi), Dr Trieu Van Hung (President, Vietnam Academy of Forest Sciences), Mr Hugh Borrowman (Australian Ambassador, Hanoi), Mr Khongsak Pinyopusarerk (CSIRO), Dr Sadanandan Nambiar (CSIRO), Dr Chris Harwood (CSIRO), Mr Stephen Midgley (Salwood Asia Pacific Pty Ltd), Prof. Le Dinh Kha (Senior Fellow, Vietnam Academy of Forest Sciences), Dr Luong The Viet (Director, International Relations, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) and Dr Nguyen Hoang Nghia, Director General, Vietnam Academy of Forest Sciences.
Australia responded to many of the social and technical challenges facing forestry in developing countries through the founding and supporting role it played, 20 years ago, in establishing the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) where a number of Australian foresters have served (and continue to serve) with distinction.
These few examples demonstrate that there is much the Australian forestry profession can celebrate from its professional inputs to development assistance over the past 30 years. In 1981 we highlighted issues relating to community, fuelwood and use of Australian species. What then can we expect from the next 30 years?
Community dynamics in developing countries are changing along with their economies. What might be regarded as a developing country today will be an emerging Tiger in 2040, offering opportunities for Australian skills, services and products. Urbanisation, the steady shift of populations from rural areas to cities, has reached a stage where 50% of the world's population now lives in urban areas. In Asia, this involves about 44 million people leaving rural areas and being added to the population of cities every year. Life expectations will grow along with demands for both food and energy. City people use more processed wood products, while rural people use more fuelwood. City dwellers have a legitimate right to access products of the forest such as water and environmental services. Coming to terms with changing demographics and community structures, and serving the expanding wood and non-wood needs of all citizens, will challenge forest managers.
Plantations will become a significant source of sustainably-grown wood fibre and we can expect to see an ongoing role for, and expanded productivity of, Australian species. However, land is a finite asset and a major task will be the maintenance of site productivity under fast-growing regimes through the development of site management practices that maintain or enhance site quality, leaving a well-managed legacy for future generations.
As demand for wood and wood fibre increases and competition for land increases, tree growing will become more financially attractive and more smallholders will engage with plantation-based industries. Commercial supply of wood from many smallholders is not new (take countries as different as Finland and India as examples) but management of smallholdings requires a different approach to silviculture and deployment of improved genetic material, and robust and accurate inventory methods.
In meeting these and many more wide-ranging, forestry challenges over the next 30 years, there will remain an important role for members of our Institute and the skills and resources which Australia can offer.
Midgley Stephen
Canberra
Notes
1 The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research
2 The Australian Agency for International Development