“The people of NSW can rest assured that their State’s forest estate, which includes more than 1000 native hardwood and pine plantation forests, are sustainably managed to meet our timber needs.

“This is in addition to their key environmental, cultural and recreational values,” Ms Hodgkinson said.

“It has been this way since poet Henry Kendall was appointed the first forest commissioner in the 1880s when forests were recognised as an essential public resource which needed to be actively managed by scientifically trained specialists.

“World Forestry Day is a great opportunity to express the NSW Government’s support for this vital regionally-based sustainable industry - which is worth about $1 billion a year to the State’s economy.”

Ms Hodgkinson said that in Australia forest managers have the option of certifying their forest management practices under either the recognised Australian Forest Certification Scheme (AFS) or the Forests Stewardship Council (FSC). Forests NSW plantations and native forests are certified under AFS.

There are more than nine million hectares of native and plantation forests in Australia which have obtained forest management certification, mostly certified to AFS, and two million hectares of that is in NSW.

Ms Hodgkinson said Forests NSW practices are endorsed through certification audits.

“Forests NSW passed its most recent surveillance audit in late 2011 and is now preparing for the re-certification audit due in September.

“This cycle of continuous improvement ensures that forest management practices in NSW are of a world-class standard and that this renewable resource is managed effectively well into the future,” Ms Hodgkinson said.