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Thursday 9th July 2009
1-2pm, in Fenner School FORESTRY LECTURE THEATRE
Australian's plantation industry: social impacts of expanding
wood & carbon plantations on rural land (and what happens when
plantation companies collapse)
Presenters: Dr Jacki Schirmer (Fenner School), Dr Kathryn Williams (School of Resource Management, University of Melbourne)
Abstract
The last two decades have seen a rapid increase in the area of
tree plantations established on rural land in Australia, following
widespread encouragement of a shift to utilising plantations to supply
Australia's wood and paper needs. This expansion has been accompanied by
concerns and disputes in many rural areas, with concerns raised about
the social, economic and environmental impacts of plantations on the
rural communities in which they are being established. Advocates of
plantations argue they will bring new jobs, people and economic activity
to rural areas; critics raise concerns that they may provide fewer jobs
than other land uses, reduce agricultural production, and lead to rural
population decline. In recent months, the collapse of two large
plantation companies had added to community debate over these issues.
This presentation explores community attitudes to plantations in rural
areas, and the evidence about their socioeconomic impacts, drawing on
recent research undertaken for the 'Communties' project of the CRC for
Forestry. Common debates over the impacts of plantations will be
discussed, and independent evidence presented aiming to better
understand the impacts of plantations in rural areas.
Bio
| Dr Jacki Schirmer is Research Fellow
CRC for Forestry at
Fenner School of Environment and Society,
Australian National University. |
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| Dr Kathryn Williams is Senior Lecturer, Human Dimensions of Natural Resource Management, at School of Resource Management, University of Melbourne. |
The Fenner School Seminar Series is held in the Forestry Lecture Theatre, Forestry Building 48, Linnaeus Way (comes off Daley Road), ANU (Acton) campus, ACT
The seminar will start at 13:00 and finish at 14:00
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