NSW FOREST AGREEMENTS AND INTEGRATED FORESTRY OPERATIONS APPROVALS NSW Forest Agreements Implementation Report 2003/2004 Upper North East Lower North East Eden Southern regions NEW SOUTH WALES GOVERNMENT Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Water NSW FOREST AGREEMENTS AND INTEGRATED FORESTRY OPERATIONS APPROVALS NSW Forest Agreements Implementation Report Fifth annual report on the implementation of the NSW forest agreements and integrated forestry operations approvals 2003/2004 Upper North East Lower North East Eden Southern regions NEW SOUTH WALES GOVERNMENT Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Water INFORMATION This report was coordinated by the Resource and Conservation Unit of the Department of Environment and Climate Change (formerly both the Forestry and Rural Industry Policy within the Department of Natural Resources and the Resource and Conservation Division of the Department of Planning) © Crown 2007 NSW Government ISBN 1 74029 226 X Preferred way to cite this publication: New South Wales Government 2007, NSW Forest Agreements Implementation Report 2003/2004: Upper North East, Lower North East, Eden and Southern Regions 2003/2004. A report prepared by the Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Water as part of the implementation of the NSW forest agreements and integrated forestry operations approvals. Resource and Conservation Unit, Department of Environment and Climate Change, Sydney. For more information and access to data, contact: Resource and Conservation Unit, Department of Environment of Climate Change GPO Box 5341 SYDNEY NSW 2001 Phone: 02 9228 5461 Fax: 02 9228 3956 Email: [email protected] Disclaimer This report is compiled with key contributions from the Department of Environment and Climate Change [ Parks and Wildlife Division] and the Department of Primary Industries [ Forests NSW and Fisheries]. While every reasonable effort has been made to ensure that this document is correct at the time of printing, the State of New South Wales, its agents and employees, do not assume any responsibility and shall have no liability, consequential or otherwise, of any kind, arising from the use of or reliance on any of the information contained in this document. NSW FOREST AGREEMENTS IMPLEMENTATION REPORT 2003/2004 Foreword The Hon Peter Primrose MLC President of the Legislative Council Parliament House Macquarie Street Sydney NSW 2000 The Hon Richard Torbay MP Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Parliament House Macquarie Street Sydney NSW 2000 Dear Mr Primrose and Mr Torbay I am pleased to present the fifth annual implementation report on the NSW forest agreements and integrated forestry operations approvals. The report has been prepared in accordance with section 21(1) and 21(2) of the Forestry and National Park Estate Act 1998, and tracks progress in the regions for the period 1 July 2003 to 30 June 2004 on: the achievement of milestones defined in the NSW forest agreements for the Upper North East, Lower North East, Eden and Southern regions; monitoring the ecologically sustainable forest management (ESFM) criteria and indicators by Forests NSW and the Parks and Wildlife Division of the then Department of Environment and Conservation; and compliance with the integrated forestry operations approvals for the Upper North East, Lower North East, Eden and Southern regions. The report demonstrates further improvements in managing NSW forests sustainably. Carmel Tebbutt MP Deputy Premier Minister for Climate Change and the Environment NSW FOREST AGREEMENTS AND INTEGRATED FORESTRY OPERATIONS APPROVALS NSW FOREST AGREEMENTS IMPLEMENTATION REPORT 2003/2004 Executive summary This is the fifth annual report on the implementation of the NSW forest agreements and integrated forestry operations approvals (IFOAs). It has been prepared in accordance with section 21 of the Forestry and National Park Estate Act 1998, which requires that progress on the implementation of the agreements and approvals be reported each year. There are four forest agreements and IFOAs currently in place, covering the Upper North East (UNE), Lower North East (LNE), Eden and Southern regions. The agreements and approvals for the UNE, LNE and Eden regions were put in place in 1999, followed by those for the Southern region in 2002. These agreements and approvals provide a strategic and operational framework for the management of public forests in New South Wales, with the overall objective of achieving ecologically sustainable forest management (ESFM). Progress towards meeting this objective is partially achieved by regular reporting of the: n achievement of a range of undertakings or ‘milestones’, defined in each of the NSW forest agreements; n results of monitoring of the ESFM criteria and indicators; n compliance of harvesting activities on State forests and other Crown timber lands with the IFOAs. The implementation of the agreements and approvals is a cooperative undertaking between key land management agencies: National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and Environment Protection Authority (EPA) of the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC), State Forests of NSW (SFNSW), and NSW Fisheries and Resource and Conservation Division (RACD) of the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and National Resources (DIPNR). This report details activity related to the implementation of the NSW forest agreements and IFOAs for the UNE, LNE, Eden and Southern regions during 2003/2004. Additions to the reserve system A significant outcome in 2003/2004 was the commencement of the National Park Estate (Reservations) Act 2003 in July 2003. The Act provided for the protection of about 65 000 hectares of priority conservation areas in north east New South Wales. The inclusion of these areas into the reserve system ensures the long-term protection of remaining old growth forest on public lands in the north of the State. Significantly, the Act allowed for the creation of a new national park and nine new state conservation areas, as well as various additions to existing reserves. NSW FOREST AGREEMENTS AND INTEGRATED FORESTRY OPERATIONS APPROVALS I These additions, and those made in 2002/2003, have also increased the extent of forest ecosystem types on the NPWS estate. Land transfers to the NPWS estate during the year resulted in the protection of over 4 700 hectares of high conservation value old growth forest in the UNE and LNE regions, and over 1 660 hectares of candidate old growth forest in the Southern region. Land available for timber and volumes harvested These land transfers to the NPWS estate during 2002 and 2003, resulted in corresponding decreases in the size of the SFNSW estate. The SFNSW native forest estate now covers approximately 1.3 million hectares, of this about 61% was available for harvest this year, with the remaining 39% protected within SFNSW’ Forest Management Zoning (FMZ) system. Timber volumes harvested by SFNSW have remained stable, and have not exceeded those permitted under the terms of the NSW forest agreements and IFOAs. A total of 342 665m3 of High Quality Large and Veneer sawlogs (quota sawlogs) were harvested from SFNSW native forest and/or hardwood plantation in the UNE, LNE, Eden and Southern regions. A further 411 879m3 of non-quota sawlogs were also harvested from SFNSW native forest and/or hardwood plantation across the four regions. Integrated forestry operations approvals The operational framework for the carrying out of forestry activities in State forests and other Crown timber lands is contained in the IFOAs for each region. SFNSW is required to comply with the terms and conditions of the approvals when undertaking forestry activities in native forests. Its compliance with the terms and conditions of the IFOAs is regularly monitored and audited by the DEC (NPWS and EPA), NSW Fisheries and DIPNR. Comprehensive auditing programs implemented in previous years ensure regular and consistent audits are undertaken by regulatory agencies. In 2003/2004, 14 operational and planning audits of the Environment Protection Licence were undertaken across the four regions, identifying 198 non- compliances. SFNSW were subsequently issued 10 warning letters outlining the non-compliance and were required to undertake remedial work at 68 sites. Seven field audits were undertaken in relation to the Threatened Species Licence, which resulted in the identification of three non-compliances. Fourteen public complaints were also investigated by DEC in relation to apparent non-compliances with the Threatened Species Licence. Only two non-compliances resulted from these investigations, both in the LNE region. NSW Fisheries have yet to identify any non-compliance of the Fisheries Licence by SFNSW. The IFOAs were also amended during the year, commencing at the end of May 2004: amendment no. 3 for the UNE, LNE and Eden IFOAs and amendment no. 1 for the IFOA for the Southern region. The amendments to the UNE, LNE and Eden IFOAs included changes to provisions contained in the non-licence terms (administered by DIPNR) in relation to planning documentation requirements. This aligns requirements to those contained in the IFOA for the Southern region. Other minor amendments to the Environment Protection Licence and Threatened Species Licence were also made, related to electronic transfer of documents, filter strip and operational zones to make consistent with the IFOA for the Southern region, and prescription for the Hastings River mouse (Pseudomys oralis) (UNE region). 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