Socio-economic costs and benefits of commercial forestry

Background

As part of the Communities project, the Australian National University is studying the socio-economic costs and benefits of commercial forestry, focusing in particular on plantation forestry. The research is being undertaken primarily in Tasmania and Western Australia, and consists of the following related studies:

The Forest Industry Survey, a biennial survey of the forest industries of Tasmania and Western Australia to identify the employment and spending generated by the industry, and where it is located
Socio-economic impacts of plantations, a study in which the links between the plantation industry and socio-economic change in local regions of Tasmania and Western Australia are examined.

Forest Industy Survey

The Forest Industry Survey is a large-scale survey of the forest industry in Tasmania and Western Australia. The goal of the survey is to gather improved data on employment and spending by the industry. Results of the 2006 survey were released in 2008, and a second survey has been undertaken with results currently being analysed.

The Forest Industry Survey is necessary because currently available data on employment and spending by Australia’s forest industries is limited, and often not available at a small scale or for particular industry sectors. The survey produces in-depth information data on the extent and spatial distribution of employment and spending generated by different parts of the forest industry that is not available elsewhere.

The 2006 Tasmanian Forest Industry Survey results were released in June 2008 and the results of the 2006 Western Australia Forest Industry Survey results were released in November 2008. To view the results of the 2006 Tasmanian and Western Australia Forest Industry Surveys, please click on the links below.

Tasmanian Forest Industry Survey

On 27 June 2008 the CRC for Forestry released the results of the Tasmanian Forest Industry Survey 2005-2006. The following resources are available for downloading:

Download the summary report (16 pages).

Download the media release (two pages).

Download the presentation.

Download the audio from ABC Local Radio.

Technical Report 184: Schirmer, J (2008) Forestry, jobs and spending: forest industry employment and expenditure in Tasmania, 2005-2006. 107 pp. Download the full report (107 pp).

Western Australian Forest Industry Survey

On 14 November 2008 the CRC for Forestry released the results of the Western Australia Forest Industry Survey 2005-2006. The following resources are available for downloading:

Download the summary report (High resolution):

Western Australia Forest Industry Survey (16pp) [5.25 MB]

Download the summary report (Low resolution):

Western Australia Forest Industry Survey - Part 1 (8 pp) [3.05MB]
Western Australia Forest Industry Survey - Part 2 (9 pp) [2.59MB]

Technical Report 189: Schirmer, J (2008) Forestry, jobs and spending: forest industry employment and expenditure in Western Australia, 2005-2006. 115 pp. Download the full report (115 pp).

Download the media release (two pages)

Socio-economic impacts of plantations

The ‘socio-economic impacts’ study uses data from a range of sources – including the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the Bureau of Rural Sciences (BRS), the Forest Industry Survey and State government agencies – to analyse the socio-economic impacts of the plantation industry in Tasmania and Western Australia. Statistical data are analysed to identify the extent to which changes in the plantation industry are likely to be associated with socio-economic change in rural and regional areas of Tasmania and Western Australia. This study is unique in that a participatory approach is used to analysing the statistical data, with group discussions in local regions used to help interpret statistics about that region, and also to help evaluate whether the statistics are accurate.

The group discussions and discussion with local experts involve researchers presenting ‘what the statistics say’ about a local region to a group of local residents with in-depth knowledge of their local region. These residents then help interpret the data. For example, in previous uses of this approach, we have been able to show local residents information indicating how employment in rural industries such as sheep and cattle farming, cropping, and viticulture have changed over time, and ask them to identify the different factors likely to be causing these changes, and whether and how forestry-related activities have been a factor. Based on this information, the researchers can further analyse the data to look for data that support or reject the different theories generated in the discussion groups.

The first report, focusing on Western Australia, has now been released and you can access the results here. A second report focusing on Tasmania will be released in July 2009.