Taxpayers are being asked to subsidise logging in four ecologically sensitive state conservation areas in northern NSW, according to the recommendations of a draft report of the Natural Resources Commission. Source: Sydney Morning Herald

Private Forests Tasmania’s annual Farm Forestry Seminars will be held in Burnie and Launceston during August. The first will be in Burnie on 13 August followed by a seminar in Launceston on 14 August. Source: Timberbiz

Australian Forestry Standard has announced that the revised Australian Standard for Chain of Custody for forest products has been published. Source: Architecture & Design

Timaru District Council in New Zealand has agreed to divert timber out of landfill, reducing waste by 18%. Sources: The Timaru Herald, Stuff NZ

Timber companies in Sarawak, Malaysia, have reported strong exports of logs and plywood this year due to a spike in demand for new houses in Japan. Source: Lesprom

Trees purify the air and give us oxygen the most important gas that life depends on. Urban trees are estimated to remove 711,000 tons of pollution in the US. Source: International Business Times

The total value of China’s wood working machinery exports in 2013 was US$2319 million, a year-on-year increase of 3%, ITTO reported. Source: Lesprom

Tenon whose locally produced wood mouldings are sold in the US, will expand its business across the Tasman, supplying the Woolworths and Lowe's Home Improvement joint venture Masters Home Improvement stores. Source: The National Business Review

The forestry industry is lobbying the Federal Government and the CSIRO to retain its forestry scientists and invest in the sector. Source: ABC Rural