Developing Indigenous commercial forestry in northern Australia

ABSTRACT

Indigenous communities in northern Australia own and manage around 46 million ha of forest. Some of these forests currently support a small and socioeconomically important Indigenous commercial forestry and forest products industry. There is much unrealised potential for the further development of this culturally appropriate industry for remote northern Australian Indigenous communities. This study presents new and existing data on forests and forestry in regions across northern Australia and uses a literature review and stakeholder consultations to explore the growth potential of Indigenous commercial forestry in these regions. Relevant literature was mapped to identify trends, biases and gaps; three regional forums were held; and case studies were prepared for three Indigenous commercial forestry enterprises—one in western Cape York Peninsula in Queensland and one each in east Arnhem Land and the Tiwi Islands in the Northern Territory. These three regions have substantial Indigenous commercial forestry growth potential. The case studies and subsequent discussions point to key opportunities, challenges and needs for the further development of the Indigenous commercial forestry industry in northern Australia. The discussion centres around four emergent themes—commercial native forests, plantation forestry, mine rehabilitation and capacity building. Policy, investment and other priority research and development needs are outlined. These include native forest inventory, silvicultural trials and long-term monitoring; new plantation forestry trials; pre-mining forest salvage harvesting and integrated product utilisation; the processing of local timbers in community sawmills for local applications; multiple-use community forestry in mine rehabilitation; locally designed, field-based ‘forest ranger’ training programs; technical and tertiary professional forestry education pathways; and business development support, including mentoring. The findings can inform decision-making by regional development researchers, policymakers and investors to support local Indigenous commercial forestry initiatives for community, environmental and livelihood benefits in northern Australia and elsewhere.

KEYWORDS:

• agroforestry
• commercial forestry
• community sawmill
• Indigenous forestry enterprise
• industry development
• mine rehabilitation

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the supportive inputs of Mick Stephens and Clarissa Brandt of Timber Queensland; Claire Howell of the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES); the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries; the Northern Territory Department of Primary Industry and Resources; the Forest Products Commission of Western Australia; all participants in the regional forums; the case-study enterprises Wik Timber, Gumatj Sawmill and Tiwi Plantations Corporation; and Dr Jing Hu. We also thank two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions that informed revisions of the paper.

Disclosure statement

The authors have no financial interests and/or benefits to arise from direct application of the research results.

Notes

¹ Forest is defined as an area dominated by trees having usually a single stem and a mature stand height >2 m and with existing or potential crown cover of overstorey strata >20%. Includes both native forests and plantations (MIG & NFISC 2018).

² Includes areas mapped as potentially ‘available’ (i.e. on suitable tenures—not legally restricted from wood harvesting) and ‘suitable’ (i.e. having a commerciality rating of very low or higher) for commercial sawlog (or veneer log or high-value equivalents) production. ‘Commerciality’ is derived from a combination of merchantability and productivity.

³ In the Australian Aboriginal context, ‘country’ encompasses all the land, waterway and marine resources and the sacred sites, stories, rights and cultural obligations connected to a location. This can include traditional ceremonies, stories, dances, songs and art. The term ‘caring for country’ refers to the obligation for physical and cultural maintenance of the landscape and to a deep spiritual attachment to the land, creation beings, plants and animals, and the source of rules for living (see Weir et al. 2011).

⁴ Taan Forest https://www.taanforest.com/and other Indigenous forestry enterprises in Canada https://ca.fsc.org/en-ca/newsroom/id/580; Nez Perce Forestry (ID, USA) https://nezperceforestryandfire.com/forestry/, Yurok Tribe Forestry (CA, USA) https://www.yuroktribe.org/departments/forestry/

⁵ This multipartner research for industry development project identified and described key challenges and opportunities faced by the northern Australian forestry and forest products industry. It explored potential policy, investment and other solutions to challenges, assessed sector-wide research priorities, and identified the most strategic research projects for further investment. The project’s final report is available at https://crcna.com.au/sites/default/files/2020-04/FINAL_CRCNA%20NA%20Forestry%20SA_April%202020-%20amended.pdf

⁶ Only two research journals had more than one publication—Australian Forestry (5) and Australian Geographer (2). There were 29 other journals across the forestry, geography, ecology and society, forest policy/economics, rural development, and environmental management disciplines.

⁷ Jurisdiction—‘northern QLD’, ‘Northern Territory’, ‘northern WA’ or ‘northern Australia/non-specific’. Region—individual or aggregated IBRA bioregions (see footnote to Table 1) or ‘non-specific’.

⁸ ‘rainforest’, ‘woodland’, ‘sandalwood’ (incorporating native & plantation); ‘plantation’ (incorporating agroforestry and all species except sandalwood); ‘all forests/non-specific’.

⁹ A thematic analysis of the publication. For details, see Publication themes and focal topics and footnotes 10–14.

¹⁰ Incorporating the following topics: resource assessment; economic analysis; financial analysis; strategic planning; agroforestry; Indigenous community consultation; Indigenous community development; Indigenous community sawmill; sustainable forest management; regulatory framework; Indigenous business; Indigenous training and employment; Indigenous livelihoods; bioenergy; partnerships; infrastructure; water usage; impact assessment; nursery; seed production; tree breeding; silviculture; irrigation trials; property rights; and market development.

¹¹ Incorporating the following topics: woodcarving industry; Indigenous livelihoods; supply chain; certification; resource sustainability; didgeridoo; timber qualities; Indigenous community sawmill; Indigenous beliefs and values; salvage harvest; exports; and silviculture.

¹² Incorporating the following topics: resource assessment; Indigenous usage and values; Indigenous forest estate; Indigenous business; Indigenous employment; Indigenous training and employment; Indigenous community sawmill; partnerships; socioeconomic benefits; bibliography; and nursery.

¹³ Incorporating the following topics: integrating Indigenous knowledge; cultural heritage preservation; Indigenous participation in forestry industries; Indigenous land-use agreements; Indigenous community consultation; partnerships; Indigenous business; Indigenous training and employment; and Indigenous governance.

¹⁴ Incorporating the following topics: Indigenous community development; Indigenous community consultation; Indigenous livelihoods; salvage harvest; and agroforestry.

¹⁵ See https://advance.qld.gov.au/innovation-partnerships-funding-recipients

¹⁶ See https://mailchi.mp/fwpa.com.au/indigenous-communities-in-the-nt-supported-to-create-a-successful-sustainable-forestry-industry-940358?e=8a2233b0eb

Additional information

Funding

This work was in part funded through the Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia (CRCNA) project Situational analysis of the northern forestry and forest products industry.