There is a critical link between markets for particular wood products and forest management, silvicultural regimes and wood processing arrangements. A major part of contemporary political conflict over native forests results from particular product and processing configurations and site related forest resourcing.

Forests provided for pulpwood and export woodchipping represent both regional resource monopolies for major corporate woodchip interests and sites for much of the bitter and prolonged battles with environmental interests. Thus Australia's long and continuing conflict, which is as much political/socio-cultural as it is ecologically based, over native forest use, has clouded the exact definitions of the long term resource base for a timber industry. The mixture and type of native forest and plantation resources is still waiting political and commercial decision.

Within this conflict an immense volume of wood, both solid and fibre, is currently wasted. Wasted because it is converted to export woodchips or burnt in situ or in rudimentary disposal units; burnt for a negative value. New products and markets based on this wasted resource have not been developed.

This poster presentation will outline a conceptual wood processing complex and associated new wood products that would be central to alternative use of native forest wood resources and timber industry residues than is currently in place in the major hardwood wood production regions in Australia. Such a processing complex would also be pivotal to a sustainable and transitional strategy with substantial business, silvicultural and conservation impacts.

The strategy is aimed at the commercial use of high defect logs and wood waste from native forests, forests which are currently used and potentially usable for wood production. Though the strategy is based on East Gippsland it has other regional applications. It can assist in achieving economic viability for currently low sawlog yielding forest stands, and play a crucial role in rehabilitation of logged over and fire damaged forests. It provides a buffer in employment terms, allowing planned trade-off's in future conservation land declarations, thus avoiding job blackmailing or electorally green induced land management tinkering.

The strategy is transitional in the following ways: it can be implemented in existing hardwood logging regions that are awaiting decisions on pulp and paper mill development. It allows for the cessation of current export woodchipping. It allows for a continuing wood production industry in regions where high quality wood may be withdrawn and placed in new National parks and wilderness areas. It can bring into production currently non-economic sawlog only forests stands until regrowth becomes available for sawlog harvesting and it can be transferred to plantation forestry/processing centres.

The poster presents in summary the key elements of this strategy, which is based on the commercial utilitisation of this wasted resource. Based on timber industry residues and an approach to solid wood product processing that uses predominantly the traditionally defined low quality wood production forests, much of which are degraded (from past selective and rampant early sawlog only logging or fire damage) or of low productivity (productivity defined often simply in terms of wood fibre production).

This resource requires the configuration of a new integrated wood processing complex. Such a complex would feature new log breakdowm sawing systems, log section classification and marketing for further value adding after initial breakdown, replacing bush log grading, a wood fired co-generation unit for electricity and process heat production (for plant use and sale), a fibre drying and briquetting plant for domestic heating fuels, and a solid wood drying plant and sawing technology for high value speciality wood component products.

Technical and preliminary feasibility data from an existing sawmill will be provided to indicate the business, silvicultural and conservation prospects of this strategy. Further technical details are available from the author.

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