Forestry Minister Terry Redman has released a plan for the oil mallee industry that will see it capitalise on opportunities presented by the future carbon pollution reduction scheme.
Mr Redman said the Oil Mallee Industry Development Plan was a road map to ensure the industry reached its full potential.
The Industry Development Plan (IDP) is a joint project between the Forest Products Commission the Oil Mallee Association of WA, funded by through the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality.
It was launched by Mr Redman yesterday in a small ceremony at Parliament House.
Mr Redman said the IDP set out a clear plan for the industry to expand through involvement in the emerging carbon and renewable energy markets and by maximising returns from value-added processing of mallee plantings.
“Oil mallees are a hardy species, well adapted to our agricultural landscapes,” he said.
“They offer sustainable solutions to issues associated with salinity, water-logging and wind erosion.
“Mallees are an important source of feedstock for bioenergy projects producing electricity in regional locations. Research has also shown the potential mallees have to produce products such as densified wood pellets, transport fuels, pharmaceuticals, industrial solvents and biochar, all on a sustainable basis.”
Mr Redman said a key strategy of the plan was to develop diverse industries based on mallee plantings in areas where it was possible to match suitable biophysical characteristics with available infrastructure.
He said the oil mallee industry would gain momentum by leveraging off the interest which resource and energy-intensive industries now have in planting tree crops as carbon offsets.
Over the past 15 years, more than 14,000ha of mallees have been planted across the WA wheatbelt landscape, mostly in belts integrated with existing farming activities.
The IDP is available from the Forest Products Commission website.
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