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Otway Ranges Environment Network | Otway Forest Issues | Otway Native Forest Logging | Otway Campaign/s | Other

Woodchip Driven Logging in the Otways: An Economic Analysis

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Logging in the Otways native forest is unequivocally woodchip driven and in breach of State Government Policy.

According to State Government Policy, logging in Victoria's State Forests must be sawlog driven, and that woodchps can only be a by-product of sawmill-based logging. However no criteria has been established by the State Government to define what "sawlog driven" actually means.

Three criteria, or benchmarks, have been analysed to determine whether it is the woodchipping industry that is driving logging operations in the Otways, or the sawmilling industry.

(1) Hardwood Resource Usage 1997/98 through to 1999/2000

Nearly 90% of all Hardwood Volume taken from the Otways ends up as residual (mostly woodchip, some sawdust) when sawmill offcuts are included.

Volume of trees taken from forest: 70% residual log (woodchipped) - 30% taken for sawlog.

Only six out of a hundred trees cut down are value added.

In 2000/2001 there was almost four trucks of chiplogs to every truck of sawlogs comming out of the Otways.

The majority of coupes (areas of logged forest) are not 'sawlog economic' as defined by a 1982 Interdepartmental Task Force.

(2) Contributions to Total Departmental Logging Revenue 1999/2000

Woodchips provide the majority (60%) of Departmental revenue from logging operations in the Otways.

65% of the area avaliabel for logging is not sawlog driven by the Commonwealth governments own regulations.

(3) Financial Returns to Hardwood Industries

Sawn Timber operations using Otway Forest make a financial loss

Woodchipping the Otways is highly profitable.




Woodchip Driven Logging in the Otways: An Economic Analysis
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