Ecologically sustainable forest management
Sustainability ensures future generations have the same opportunities to meet their needs as our present generation.
The ecologically sustainable management of NSW’s Farm Forests for timber, biodiversity, culture, climate change and ecosystem services is key to ensuring future generations remain productive and sustainable.
The NSW Forest Management Framework establishes a comprehensive system for delivering ecologically sustainable forest management in NSW.
Ecologically sustainable forest management includes dimensions of economic, ecological, social and cultural sustainability:
- Economic sustainability secures the productivity of NSW’s farm forests in the long term.
- Ecological sustainability ensures the effective management of biodiversity, climate change and ecosystem services such as clean water and healthy soils.
- Cultural sustainability encompasses the collective knowledge and practice that we attribute to multiple-use forests and the thousands of years of active forest management and stewardship by Aboriginal peoples.
- Social sustainability means that farmers continue to have access to the economic and environmental benefits we all derive from multiple-use forests.
By considering all of these dimensions in the management of NSW’s Farm Forests, we can help maintain and manage multiple forest values and ensure farm forests continue to be a source of prosperity and well-being for future generations.
Local Land Services delivers practical advice and support services to help promote sustainable farm forestry.
NSW Forest Stewardship Pilot
The NSW Forest Stewardship Pilot combines expert advice and incentives to support landholders to actively manage their Farm Forests, to help restore forest productivity and improve environmental outcomes.
The Pilot will help landholders design their own plan for long-term forest stewardship that is matched with advice and incentives to help meet their needs.
Find out more about the Forest Stewardship Pilot.
Farm Forestry Certification Pilot
The certification of forests is a voluntary, market-driven system to verify compliance with forest management that goes beyond legal and regulatory requirements.
Certification programs provide independent assurance that forest management is ecologically, socially and economically sustainable, improving community confidence in forestry activities and providing access to new market opportunities for certified timber products.
To help farmers certify their forests, Local Land Services has developed a Certification Pathway with Responsible Wood, helping landholders to meet the Australian Standard for Sustainable Forest Management (AS 4708) under the Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification standards.
Find out more about the Forest Certification Pilot.
Local Land Services is working closely with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) to include the FSC Australia Forest Stewardship Standard in the certification program to pilot in the near future.