Leading private forest management company SFM Forest Products (SFM) has received certification for Sustainable Forest Management (AS-4708) under the Australian Forest Certification Scheme (AFS).
This achievement means SFM is able to offer cost effective certification of private forests to landowners in Tasmania.
SFM Director David Wise said the certification is a great benefit for Tasmanian landowners who can be confident their forests are managed according to the principles of AFS.
“The certification is a great achievement for us as a company, it’s a great opportunity for private land owners in Tasmania to make the most of their resource and maintain its value into the future,” Mr Wise said.
“We’ve been working really hard to deliver the best possible outcomes for our clients and it’s terrific to have gained certification for our practices as a forest management team.”
“The most important thing for us as a business is to see maximum value reached for our landowner’s forests and to ensure the forests are productive for the next generation,” Mr Wise said.
Buyers of timber are increasingly interested and informed on where the product comes from and how it’s grown which means certification under agreed international standards is a significant advantage to any forest grower.
Tom Fisk, CEO of Private Forests Tasmania said SFM’s certification will open up opportunities for private forest owners to access markets.
“Sustainable forest use is all about balancing environmental, economic and social demands, but this is only possible if private forest owners are able to meet the costs of sustainable forest management. Access to premium markets is the key to generating the returns necessary to ensure private forest owners can fund the sustainable management of their forests,” Mr Fisk said.
Mr Wise said the recent accreditation is a testament to the SFM team who strive to uphold values of sound forestry management practices using scientific methods, attention to detail and a focus on community relationships.
“We are proud to be a leader of forest management practices in Tasmania, with selective harvesting, high levels of product segregation and maximised local downstream processing we believe that we have a model for a sustainable private forest industry in Tasmania. AFS certification is another big step in the right direction for us.”
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