Legislation

The Carbon Rights Legislation Amendment Act, 1998 provides the basis on which Forests NSW was able to develop a new business area trading in carbon sequestration rights. The Act amends the Conveyancing Act, 1916 to recognise rights associated with carbon sequestrated by trees and forests from the atmosphere as type of forestry right.

It also amends the Forestry Act, 1916 to enable the Forestry Commission to acquire and trade in such rights as well as to procure land and manage it for investors in such rights.

The Natural Resources Legislation Amendment (Rural Environmental Services) Act, 1999 provides a recognition of Forests NSW' mandate in these new business areas and provides a driver for the use of planted forests in mine site management, carbon sequestration and biomass energy. The Act amends the Electricity Supply Act, 1995 to recognise carbon sequestration as a means by which electricity retailers can meet their environmental licence conditions.

It also amends the Forestry Act, 1916 to clarify the powers of the Forestry Commission to provide environmental services in relation to rural and other areas and amends the Mining Act, 1992 to encourage the afforestation and reforestation of rural and other areas that are damaged by mining.

In 1999, the NSW Government introduced the Plantations and Reafforestation Act, 1999 (PRA Act). The aim of the legislation was to attract significant private sector investment in tree planting activities in NSW with consequent environmental, economic and employment benefits for rural NSW by providing a one-stop-shop for plantation approvals. The Act integrates the Local Government consent process, requirement for consent under the Native Vegetation Conservation Act and a range of other approval requirements for plantations into a single consent process administered by the Department of Natural Resources.

The PRA Act includes comprehensive provisions to ensure the maintenance of existing standards of environmental protection. A key feature of the legislation is the provision for the development of a comprehensive Code of Practice to provide development standards for all plantation operations.

The Plantations and Reafforestation (Code) Regulation 2001 sets out standards for the establishment, management and harvesting of plantations and for reafforestation and includes procedures for: