Forest industries climate change research fund

The Australian Government has committed $5 million to the Forest Industries Climate Change Research Fund, a new grants program to address major knowledge gaps about the impact of climate change on forestry and forest industries in Australia.

The fund will assist the industry to better understand the implications of climate change and build industry capacity to adapt to predicted scenarios and capitalise on emerging mitigation opportunities.

Climate change has significant implications for Australia’s forests and forest industries, and it is important that Australia’s forest industries are prepared to meet future challenges.

The Australian Government is committed to ensuring that Australia can meet its responsibilities in facing the global challenge of climate change.

Industry, scientific and government organisations across Australia were encouraged to apply for funding for research projects that help to address knowledge gaps about the impact of climate change on forestry and forest industries.

Projects were to be principally focused on generating information for industry in the following areas of activity:

• Adaptation – enabling industry to adapt to new circumstances
• Mitigation – enabling industry to contribute to the national climate change mitigation effort
• Bioenergy – to promote the development of sustainable forest-based bioenergy on a commercial scale
• Inventory and data – to fill data gaps so that quantitative analyses on climate change responses can be undertaken in the future.

As a general rule, grants from the Australian Government under this fund could receive a maximum of $500,000, although higher grants were to be considered in special circumstances where collaborative and integrated projects seek outcomes that will apply across the whole industry.

The Forest Industries Climate Change Research Fund is a merit-based, competitive grants program. Applicants had to address eligibility and merit criteria outlined in the fund guidelines. Funds were limited and therefore meeting eligibility did not guarantee funding. The fund supported projects that focused on the objectives of the program.

Fund Guidelines

Fund Guidelines were released on 11 July 2009.

• Fund guidelines

Funding

Expressions of interest closed on Thursday, 20 August 2009.

Assessment Panel

The then Australian Government Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Mr Tony Burke MP, appointed a four-member Assessment Panel to assess the expressions of interest and to provide advice to him on project eligibility and merit. The committee included relevant experts from industry, scientific and government sectors.

The committee members were:

• Ms Mandy Wallace, Principal Policy Adviser, Primary Industries and Resources South Australia.
• Dr Glen Kile, retired CEO of Forest and Wood Products Australia.
• Mr Warwick Ragg, CEO of Australian Forest Growers.
• Mr Andrew Wilson, Manager, Domestic Forest Policy, Forestry Branch, Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

Contact us

All correspondence concerning the Forest Industries Climate Change Research Fund must come through the Secretariat.

The Fund Secretariat can be contacted for further information:

• Email
  Forest Industries Climate Change Research Fund
  
  
• Post
  Program Manager
  Forest Industries Climate Change Research Fund
  Forestry Branch
  Climate Change Division
  Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
  GPO Box 858
  CANBERRA ACT 2601
  
  
• Phone
  02 6272 5079 during business hours

The Forest Industries Climate Change Research Fund grant program is administered by the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.