Under the NFPS, governments have agreed to a framework for the CRAs which will result in RFAs. These will ultimately determine the use and management of Australia's forests.
The IAP, which precedes the longer and more detailed comprehensive assessment in NSW, is a scientific assessment being conducted by the Resource and Conservation Assessment Council (RACAC) for the NSW Government. The Council, which advises the Government on broad-based decision-making on land use in NSW, is made up of government, industry, union, conservation, Aboriginal and scientific representatives.
Given the long-standing conflicts between stakeholders, it was clear that the success of the IAP depended upon genuine consensus about goals, methods and results.
RACAC's approach to the IAP has therefore rested on active participation of major stakeholders. This has occurred through their representation on the Council and working groups, through their participation in the negotiation phase of the IAP and through consultation and information sessions with communities in the main forest regions of eastern NSW.
The aim of the IAP is to:
identify on a regional basis those forests that may need to be set aside from logging for inclusion in a Comprehensive, Adequate and Representative (CAR) reserve system.
This will be achieved by refining and developing the Deferred Forest Areas by:
Chapter 2 discusses in detail the framework, schedule and methodology for the IAP.
Logging will continue according to the current Deferred Forest Agreement which is described in Section 1.4.1 (and includes a publicly exhibited list of compartments) until the new Deferred Forest Agreement now being developed is determined and arrangements for implementation approved.
Building on the work of the IAP, options for the more effective management of environmental values and timber harvesting and production activities are currently being developed by State Forests in partnership with regulatory agencies such as National Parks and Wildlife Service, Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning. It is expected that the options, including the role State Forests could play in off-reserve management, will provide stakeholders with information and analyses to assess whether forests are managed in an environmentally, socially and economically accountable manner so as to meet public expectations for biodiversity, water, soil, cultural and other values.