NEW WEBINAR SERIES (free): We are pleased to invite you to the inaugural webinar in the Australian Forest and Wood Innovations (AFWI) Centres Seminar Series, with the first one hosted by the AFWI Centre for Climate-Smart Forestry.
Date: Wednesday 10 June 2026
Time: 12:30–1:30 pm (AEST)
Location: Online
Register to attend here: https://uscsurveys.syd1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6WE1LzAAfvgiQ6i
The Conservation Paradox:
Reduced Native Forest Harvest Policy in Australia Drives Leakage to Illegal Harvesting Hotspots
Presenter: Dr Tyron Venn
Senior Research Fellow in Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics, The University of Queensland
While reducing native forest timber harvesting is a key domestic strategy for climate risk mitigation and biodiversity conservation, it can inadvertently trigger market leakage — displacing environmental impacts to other jurisdictions.
In this seminar, Dr Tyron Venn will present findings from the first multi-decade analysis of international timber harvest leakage associated with the progressive closure of Australia’s public native forest estate between 1996 and 2023. Using a Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) and the Global Illegal Logging and Associated Trade (ILAT) Risk Tool, the study identifies reduced domestic native forest harvesting as a major driver of Australia’s growing import dependency.
The research found that 81.3% of reduced domestic harvest was offset by increased imports, with 86.8% of displaced demand supplied by countries with elevated risks of illegal logging, particularly in Southeast Asia and the Congo Basin. The findings highlight the complex carbon, biodiversity and socio-economic trade-offs that can arise when environmental impacts are shifted beyond national borders.
About the presenter
Dr Tyron Venn is a natural resource economist and forester with more than 25 years of research experience in the design and evaluation of natural resource management and policy. His interdisciplinary research examines domestic and international socio-economic, carbon and biodiversity trade-offs associated with environmental policy, with applications spanning forest and wood product value chains, Indigenous agribusiness, wildfire risk mitigation, invasive species management, and silvopastoral systems.
This joint seminar series brings together the three Australian Forest and Wood Innovations (AFWI) Research Centres:
• AFWI Centre for Sustainable Futures (University of the Sunshine Coast)
• AFWI Centre for Climate-Smart Forestry (University of Melbourne)
• AFWI Centre for Sustainable Resource and Product Solutions (University of Tasmania)
The series aims to provide timely and relevant insights into pressing issues facing Australia's forestry sector through presentations from leading researchers and industry experts.
We hope you can join us for this first seminar in the series.
