Richard Harper

Following the introduction, Chapter 2 provides an overview of mitigation in the forest sector, addressing the handling of forests under UNFCCC. Chapters 3 to 5 focus on forest-based mitigation options – afforestation, reforestation, REDD+ and forest management – and Chapters 6 and 7 focus on wood-product based options – wood energy and green building and furnishing. The publication describes these activities in the context of UNFCCC rules, assessing their mitigation potential and economic attrac tiveness as well as opportunities and challenges for implementation. Chapter 8 discusses the different considerations involved in choosing the right mix of options as well as some of the instruments and means for implementation. Chapter 8 also highlights the co-benefits generated by forest-based mitigation and emphasizes that economic assessment of mitigation options needs to take these benefits into account. The concluding chapter assesses national commitments under UNFCCC involving forest miti gation and summarizes the challenges and opportunities.

Both the current Government and Opposition are relying on agriculture and forestry to bear much of the burden of Australia’s emission reduction. But are they building their hopes on sand? The way we manage the land can reduce emissions from existing carbon stocks and other greenhouse gases, increase carbon stocks in soils and vegetation or replace fossil fuel emissions by burning biomass or by replacing energy intensive materials with timber. The land sector enabled Australia to meet its recent Kyoto Protocol emission target despite significant underlying growth in greenhouse emissions from other economic sectors. This was achieved by reducing land clearing and by large-scale reforestation of farmland through Managed Investment Schemes. However, land clearing is likely to recommence in Queensland, and possibly one-third of the investment scheme plantations will be converted back to farmland.

In Western Australia, food production was gradually declined because of salinity problem. This salinity caused by ascending ground water table, which was caused by conversion from forest to farmland in wheat belt area over two centuries. To avoid salinity problem in this area, agro-forestry is one of the choice for improving this situation. When agro-forestry will be applied, trees will be planted in some part of farmland, and these trees will uptake ground water, which decline water table. At the same time, these trees will stock carbons inside their body from atmospheric CO2. So agro-forestry is good method for countermeasure to salinity problem and green house effect, but no one has criteria how large area will be converted to forest from farmland. Thus, in this study, based on water balance analysis, we aimed to establish water balance estimation model for designing agro-forestry for farmland of Western Australia.

The Forest Products Commission brings what is probably a unique positioning to this enquiry. Not only has it initiated major reforestation1 schemes on farmland and developed State policies related to reforestation for salinity control, the State has also been directly responsible for the establishment of 75,000 ha of plantations on farmland since the late 1980’s, and uses, commissions and undertakes science relevant to this task. This reforestation has included significant activity (15,000 ha of Pinus pinaster establishment) in lower rainfall areas, not normally favoured for forestry, by developing a mix of products (wood, carbon sequestration and salinity amelioration).