FARM FORESTRY -- HOW THINGS STAND

摘要

Natural resource managers in Australia are turning to farm forestry for its potential to address important environmental, economic and social issues at regional and national levels. However, the adoption of farm forestry as a farming enterprise remains low with less than 3 per cent of commercial farmers establishing trees for commercial timber production, which represents less than 5 per cent of Australia's plantation area. In this paper, the authors draw upon their experience in farm forestry andnatural resource management (including a recent evaluation of the DPIE - Farm Forestry Program) and upon a literature review, to provide a critical review of farm forestry in Australia. An overview is presented of the potential for farm forestry, currentlevels of adoption, government approaches to farm forestry, and in particular, a discussion of the socio-economic factors affecting farm forestry adoption. The authors conclude with a review of approaches likely to enhance the development of viable regional farm forestry industries.