Eight Tasmanian research projects covering the "whole supply chain of the forestry industry" have been funded, Minister for Forestry Sarah Courtney said on April 6.
The grants are the result of the second round of the Launceston centre of the National Institute for Forest Products Innovation, jointly funded by the state and federal governments, and industry.
They include a project 'applying the Internet of Things to landscape scale wedge-tailed eagle management', implementing eucalypt genome selection, and exploring the feasibility of a pellet-based industry in Tasmania.
"We know that the forestry industry in Tasmania supports about 5,700 people, and many of them are in regional areas," Ms Courtney said.
"The value-adding of lower grade forest resources into products such as bio-fuel pellets could lead to major private investment and job creation in Tasmania."
Tasmanian senator and Federal Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources Richard Colbeck said the projects added up to $4.2 million.
"This will have a transformational effect on many aspects of Australia's forest industry," he said.
The federal government aims to plant a billion plantation trees for forestry purposes by 2030, he said, to meet the World Bank's prediction that global demand for timber will quadruple by 2050.
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Frances Vinall
Frances Vinall is a journalist at The Examiner, Launceston. Contact her at frances.vinall@examiner.com.au
Frances Vinall is a journalist at The Examiner, Launceston. Contact her at frances.vinall@examiner.com.au
