MEDIA RELEASE
Adelaide | Monday 20 October 2025

Forestry Australia Conference 2025 Kicks Off in Adelaide

Forestry Australia’s 2025 Conference commences today, Monday, 20 October, bringing together 400 attendees to explore the theme Restoring forests and landscapes and securing Australia’s future.

Held in Adelaide from 20 to 23 October, the conference marks the 90-year anniversary of The Institute of Foresters of Australia, trading as Forestry Australia, and coincides with the 150th anniversary of plantation forestry in Australia.

As the world reaches the halfway point of the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration, this landmark event unites scientists, experts, researchers, forestry professionals, farmers and rangers, to discuss how innovative forest management and landscape restoration can shape a sustainable future for Australia.

The conference will explore solutions that balance ecological, social, cultural, and economic outcomes, addressing critical challenges like climate change, biodiversity, and sustainable land use.

Day 1 Highlights

  • Keynote Address by Radha Kuppalli: Radha Kuppalli, Board Director of Greening Australia and Accounting for Nature, will deliver a keynote address titled Redefining Forest Success: Multiple Returns, One Landscape. Radha will explore how Australia’s forests can move beyond single-output focus  to deliver holistic multiple benefits, including climate mitigation, biodiversity restoration, water management, and cultural values. She will outline five essential considerations  for forestry leaders:
    • Scaling integrated production and restoration models.
    • Engaging communities and government to secure social license for reforestation.
    • Linking carbon and biodiversity markets to achieve net zero and nature-positive outcomes.
    • Adopting economic models that value natural capital.
    • Positioning Australia as a global investment destination for sustainable land use.

With 25 years of experience in sustainable forestry and natural capital investment, Kuppalli will share practical case studies demonstrating how trade-offs can be reframed as portfolio opportunities, delivering ecological, social, and financial returns. As a global advisor and member of the Australian Government’s Nature Finance Council, her work has driven innovative investments in carbon, biodiversity, and blended finance across Australia and beyond. Kuppalli’s vision emphasises that the future of forestry is “not timber or nature—it is timber with nature, integrated for value, resilience, and long-term impact.”

Media Contact:
Jenna Hammond – 0448 424 899
For more information, visit: https://www.forestryconference.com.au/speakers/

ABOUT FORESTRY AUSTRALIA
Forestry Australia is an independent, not-for-profit professional association of more than 1,100 forest scientists, managers and growers who work in native forests, plantations and provision of environmental services. Its members are committed to the principles of sustainable forest management and applying these principles to generate environmental, social and economic outcomes in all types of forests and land tenures.