Melissa Gordon

Adoption of Community Engagement in Australian Plantation Forest Companies

Melissa Gordon
Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural Research, University of Tasmania, Tasmania

Abstract:
Community engagement is an important component of sustainable forest management (SFM). This paper proposes that there is a need to improve the way community engagement activities are reported. Currently, community engagement (CE) activities conducted by forest organisations at the operational level tend to occur on an ad hoc basis and with limited recording of processes, which limits learning and information exchange within companies. A structured recording procedure for CE activities can improve information exchange – between managers and employees working at the forest operations level. In addition, companies may find that a quantitative approach to reporting CE enhances their ability to both demonstrate accountability to stakeholders and meet requirements of forest certification. This paper highlights where there is room for improvement regarding CE reporting in the forest plantation industry in Australia. The paper reviews the value and role of quantifying CE, reveals gaps in current literature and
practice, and considers how CE quantification may help meet SFM outcomes. Further research is needed to develop an effective quantitative approach to CE and to understand how this approach can be adopted and utilised by the forest plantation industry.

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