Australia's State of the Forests Report (SOFR) is the national report on the status of all of Australia's forests. It reports on biophysical, conservation, social, cultural and economic aspects of forests.
The National Forest Policy Statement, agreed by the Australian, state and territory governments, commits Australia's governments to prepare a national 'state of the forests' review every five years. SOFR meets this requirement and also meets certain reporting requirements of the Commonwealth Regional Forest Agreements Act 2002. SOFR will be delivered via a new approach for 2023 and beyond.
Australia's State of the Forests Report 2018 is the fifth and latest report in the series of five-yearly SOFRs delivered since the first in 1998:
- SOFR 1998 was Australia's first national report on forests.
- SOFR 2003 was the first SOFR to be structured with a formal framework of criteria and indicators.
- SOFR 2008, SOFR 2013, and SOFR 2018 use the same seven criteria as used in SOFR 2003.
- An updated set of 44 indicators was used for SOFR 2008, SOFR 2013, and SOFR 2018, after a major review carried out in 2006.
SOFR is a key source of comprehensive information on Australia's forests, and is used extensively across industry, state, territory and Australian governments, and research and educational institutions. It is a key source of data and information for many other publications, and for international reporting. Forest-related data for SOFR are collected from state and territory forest management agencies and Australian Government departments.
The National Forest Policy Statement, the Regional Forest Agreements Act 2002, and agreements in individual Regional Forest Agreements constitute the key mandates and drivers for producing the SOFR series, and for reporting using criteria and indicators developed under the international Montréal Process. Reporting in this way leads to known Benefits of producing Australia's State of the Forests Reports.
