Labelling Of Forest Products

Media ReleasesThe Hon Wilson Tuckey MPMinister for Forestry and Conservation

Tuckey Overseas For Talks On International Certification And Labelling Of Forest Products

International cooperation on certification and labelling of forest products will be the focus of a visit to four countries by the Minister for Forestry and Conservation, Wilson Tuckey. Mr Tuckey left this weekend on a two-week visit to Finland, the Netherlands, Canada and the United States.

"The world community is increasingly interested in forest conservation, and consumers want to be sure that the products they buy come from forests that are sustainably managed," Mr Tuckey said.

"Forest certification schemes have been developed, or are being developed, in a number of countries to label products from certified forests.

"But while the need for international cooperation on certification and labelling of forest products has been recognised for some time, Australia believes we now need to take action and work together to make certification work."

Mr Tuckey said he was looking forward to sharing experiences with countries such as Finland and Canada, which are both major exporters of forest products and have been key players in certification and labelling activities.

He will meet with a range of leading government and industry representatives in each country, including the Finnish Minister for Agriculture and Forestry, Dr Kalevi Hemilä and the Hon David Zirnhelt, the Minister for Forests for British Columbia, Canada.

"I am proposing to the countries I visit that any broad-based multilateral initiative to establish international arrangements for forest certification and labelling includes both government and stakeholders," Mr Tuckey said.
"Australia already achieves international standards in ecologically sustainable forest management, and I will be promoting our own management practices and outlining action Australia will be taking with stakeholders to develop an Australian Forestry Standard.

"I will also be discussing how Australia can best develop new export markets and help turn around our $1.5 billion a year trade deficit in forest products."

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