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International Forestry
Australia is involved in international efforts to foster the sustainable management of forests globally. DAFF's goal is to assist our forest industry to grow, improve and capitalise on international opportunities while protecting the environment and contributing to the prosperity and quality of life in rural and regional Australia. To achieve this, DAFF is engaged in a number of high-level initiatives and fora that deal with issues related to illegal logging, forest certification, public procurement policies for forest products, sustainable forest management and market access.
The International Forest Policy Section is coordinating the Australian Government’s Asia Pacific Forestry Skills and Capacity Building Program. This $15.8 million program will assist countries in the Asia Pacific region to increase their forest management expertise and improve the carbon sequestration performance of their forests.
This program is part of the International Forest Carbon Initiative, which is a key component of Australia's international leadership on reducing emissions from deforestation.
The Government is strongly opposed to illegal logging and the importation of illegally sourced timber products. Illegal logging presents a serious challenge to the sustainable management of forests and creates substantial economic and social costs to those countries where it occurs. The Australian Government is committed to ensuring that timber imported into Australia is from legal and sustainably managed sources and that Australian timber producers are viewed as global leaders in international markets.
DAFF has overall responsibility to represent Australia's interests in a range of international fora where forestry is an issue. These include:
- United Nations Forum on Forests
- Food and Agriculture Organization
- Montreal Process
- International Tropical Timber Organization
DAFF also contributes to other fora and activities which are the prime responsibility of other Australian Government agencies, such as Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade including AusAID, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, CSIRO, and the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. These include:
- The Convention on Biological Diversity
- Trade fora such as the World Trade Organization
- Commission on Sustainable Development
- The World Conservation Union (The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources)
- Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
As well as regional fora, such as: