NSW’s forest sector is this week celebrating timber - the ultimate renewable product.

Tuesday, August 20 marks National Forestry Day recognising Australia’s forest sector while celebrating the natural advantages of wood and the contribution timber makes to reducing the effects of climate change.

Timeless in its building appeal and universal in its application, timber produced from our sustainably managed forests is a strong pillar of the national economy driving employment.

Forestry Corporation Chief Executive Officer Anshul Chaudhary said forests also store carbon from the atmosphere for life and create the essential and sustainable products Australians love, need and use every day.

“In producing sustainable timber products, forests are nature’s carbon store meaning the forestry sector is hugely important as a climate change solution,” Mr Chaudhary said.

“Quality of life in Australia is improved by timber products, from housing frames, furnishings, timber flooring and decking, to the electricity poles powering our homes and the climate-friendly packaging, paper and cardboard products that we cannot live without.

“Timber products are also evident in public infrastructure from the stunning timber interior of the Sydney Opera House to the marine piers around Darling Harbour and the historic Pyrmont bridge - that’s the lasting contribution the NSW timber industry makes to our state,” he said.

Forestry Corporation, as the manager of 2-million hectares of NSW state forests, has joined with the Australian Forest Products Association to also highlight the importance of timber to the national economy.

“As a land manager we oversee the industry’s sustainable harvest of timber in NSW,” Mr Chaudhary said.

“Our staff manage wood products from the planting phase right through to timber harvests operating under the world’s strictest forestry laws and guided by 100-year timber supply projections.

“Forestry Corporation’s nurseries each year grow around 11-million hardwood and softwood seedlings, which are replanted in state forests,” Mr Chaudhary said.

“It’s a cycle where every tree harvested is replanted.

“In an average year state forests produce enough timber to build a quarter of all new home constructions across Australia.

“Sustainable wood comes from biodiverse forests, which are environmentally managed with the future in mind,” he said.

Forestry is Australia’s sixth largest manufacturing sector, providing 80,000 highly skilled and direct jobs across Australia’s workforce, along with another 100,000 indirect jobs, many of which are based in rural and regional areas.

The sector contributes $24 billion to the national economy, and there are forecasts that timber and wood fibre demand will quadruple by 2050.

To find out more about Forestry Corporation’s operations visit www.forestrycorporation.com.au