Environmental advocates say Victoria could end native-forest logging now by turning to viable industry alternatives – slashing carbon pollution in the process.

Victorian Forest Alliance fundraising and events co-ordinator Alana Mountain said solutions such as pine plantations and small-scale agroforestry mean Victoria could end native-forest logging today.

“There are solutions out there that [Victoria] could be taking advantage of, and we could begin to value all the incredible ecosystems and outdoor opportunities that our forests have to offer us,” Ms Mountain said.

A 2030 ban of native-forest logging was enacted by the Victorian Government in 2019, but environmental groups are calling to move the ban forward.

A 2021 report published by Environment Victoria found native-forest logging is causing harm through loss of biodiversity, less extraction of carbon emissions from the atmosphere, and increased risk of fire in Victoria’s forests.

The report found the consequences of native-forest logging are “long-term and cumulative”, given the impact of permanent forest loss and challenges of forest regeneration.

Ms Mountain said the Victorian Forest Alliance believes an immediate end to native-forest logging could significantly reduce carbon pollution, which contributes to the climate crisis.

“Every single year, logging Victoria’s forests contributes over 3 million tonnes of carbon," Ms Mountain said.

"If we can end native-forest logging right now, tens of millions of tonnes of carbon could be stopped by that 2030 date,” she said.

“However, in terms of solving the issue of what native forests are being primarily used for, which is pulp for cardboard and paper products, we think that quota of pulp can be met by the pine plantation industry.”

Pine plantations are purpose-grown for commercial timber, while agroforestry involves adding productive trees onto farmland to be later harvested for timber.

CERES Fair Wood is a Melbourne-based social enterprise using an agroforestry model to supply farm-forested and salvaged timber to the market.

Manager Hayden Cronin said CERES Fair Wood wants the market to transition away from native-forest logging, and provides a business model for more sustainable practices.

“Timber is going to come from somewhere regardless of a ban, whether that is Victoria or overseas,” Mr Cronin said.

“We are trying to be a model to show more sustainable timber access is possible. We are hoping that more people pick it up, to see it grow to a much bigger scale."

CERES Fair Wood encourages farmers to plant trees on their farms "with the intention that they then harvest those logs in time, so they are purpose-planted for timber," he said. Once the trees reach maturity for harvesting, the company helps farmers harvest the timber and distributes it to the market. 

“[This social enterprise] is trying to promote very-well-sourced new timber and it is better that people are putting more trees in the ground than not at all, but those trees still need to get harvested at some point.” 

The timber can be used for a variety of purposes such as building materials, furniture, landscaping and fencing.

But the demand for more sustainable practices in the industry needs to come from the timber market, Mr Cronin said. There were signs that was already the case.

“People are asking their builders for more sustainable timber options and the builders are coming to find us. I am seeing it snowball,” he said.

“I hope customers go to other timber yards and start demanding more information about the timber they are purchasing and then forcing [other timber yards] to start asking questions of their suppliers, to put pressure on the industry to become more sustainable.”

Agroforestry is already used overseas to redevelop land and provide an alternative to native-forest logging. For instance, it was used to restore 370,000 hectares of land in Shinyanga, in northern Tanzania, and create income streams through the sale of timber and agricultural feed.

A 2019 report published by the World Agroforestry Asia Regional Program noted that the Shinyanga project showed how agroforestry can be used in collaboration with traditional land-use practices to create climate-smart landscapes and help achieve UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Mr Cronin wants to see more agroforestry projects in Australia too.

“As long as a tree can grow well and there is space to do it, I think [agroforestry] can be done anywhere if people want to buy that timber,” he said.

But he stressed the first step to making that happen was for consumers to start asking more about the timber they buy.

“Ask more questions when you go and see a piece of furniture that is cheap. Go and ask them where the timber came from. I just want more people to ask that question. In the long term, it is going to put more pressure on the industry to become better.”

Ms Mountain said small-scale agroforestry can be a part of the solution in Victoria – together with pine plantations – if more work is done to transition away from native-forest logging.

“Small-scale agroforestry is a solution, but not for the thing that is the biggest threat coming out of native-forest logging – because the amount of timber coming out of the forest isn’t actually allocated for what agroforestry would be filling the gap with,” Ms Mountain said.

She believed native-forest logging has lost its social licence.

“There has been so much controversy and scandal and we just know [native-forest logging] is an industry that everyone wants to see left in the past and evolve beyond,” she said. "It is time to transition to better solutions.”