Portland Treefarm Project

The Portland Treefarm Project (PTP) is in the business of growing Eucalyptus globulus to produce woodchips that are then exported through the Port of Portland to Tokyo to produce high quality paper.  The PTP is made up of Mitsui Plantation Development (Australia) Pty Ltd, Nippon Paper Treefarm Australia Pty Ltd, MCA Afforestation, and Australian Afforestation Pty Ltd – Toyota.  PTP owns 15 properties in the Green Triangle Region, totalling approximately 1600 hectares.  ForestrySA is currently contracted to manage these sites which include 2001, 2002 and 2003 bluegum plantations.

The PTP is certified to ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems, and the Australian Forestry Standard (AS 4708).  The PTP is committed to establishing, growing and harvesting an ecological sustainable forest resource.

Click here to view the PTP Forest Management Policy (pdf 294kb)

The PTP operate under a Forest Management System.  This system addresses all the components required for certification under standards ISO14001 and AS 4708.  The system includes an assessment of activities and their potential effects on environmental, cultural & heritage values; the company’s objectives and targets and the resulting Forest Management Plan; Forest Operation Guidelines; Contractor Management System, and a register explaining relevant legislation, codes of practice, strategies and guidelines.

The PTP recently undertook a 3 day Certification Audit by SAI Global to assess their Forest Management System against the requirements of the Australian Forestry Standard (AFS).  The external Auditor found that the management sytem had been further developed and implemented since the pre audit conducted in December 2005.  Records generated from activities including firebreak maintenance and woody weed control demonstated that the system has been used and is effective.  All requirements of certification were met, no non-conformances were raised, and PTP received certification to AS4708 (Int):2003 in April 2006.  A copy of the Audit Report is available from ForestrySA via the PTP Site Manager.

In October 2005, the PTP had a Biodiversity Assessment undertaken across all of their sites.  The resulting PTP Biodiversity Management Plan provides a statement of purpose for the area based upon assessment of natural features, management philosophies and improvements to the current biological assets.  Contained within the plan are priority tasks for each property which have been fed back into the system, incorporated as targets in the Forest Management Plan.  Significant biological diversity values (SBDVs) have been identified, as have areas of cultural and heritage significance.

For more detail, contact the PTP Site Manager (see details below).

The PTP now have a Fire Management Plan.  This Fire Management Plan outlines the PTP’s legal responsibilities, fire protection objectives, fire hazards and actions to manage these fire hazards (including prevention, preparedness, suppression and recovery).  It contains information about the PTP contracted fire brigade, as well as detailed maps identifying water and access points, plantation breaks, tracks, native vegetation & special features.

Further enquiries

All enquiries should be directed to the PTP Site Manager on (08) 8724 2811 or by email: winkley.neil@forestrysa.sa.gov.au