Dr. Eugene Hendrick:

When forests are planted it takes labour to establish the plantation. The plantation then needs to be maintained to control vegetation and so on. That also takes labour inputs and so on, usually locally. The other point is that depending on the rate of growth, the plantation can start to be thinned after 14 or 15 years. It can then be thinned at three or four-year cycles thereafter. Again that all generates employment from harvesting, transporting of material etc. It also generates employment in the processing sector. There are some great examples of sawmills and board mills giving good employment in rural places where there can be low levels of employment.

The level of production will increase substantially with a doubling of output. A typical forest plantation from the time it is established to the time it reaches what we call the end of the rotation can last 25, 30 or 35 years depending on the growth rate. There is actually considerable activity in those forests with a lot of wood coming out of the forests and generating local employment.