Fiona Evans, POLICY MANAGER, FIANT
It’s been a busy time for forestry in the NT and this year in particular has seen some great achievements.
Until two years ago, the local forestry industry didn’t have a representative body to advocate on its behalf or to promote its continued development. So, in 2020 the industry formed the Forestry Industry Association of the Northern Territory (FIANT) to be a community minded, innovative, and professional voice of forestry in the NT.
In the beginning, the association didn’t employ any dedicated staff members – it was all the work of hard-working volunteers! But this year in June, among many exciting things, FIANT achieved a significant milestone and employed its first staff member!
I’m Fiona Evans, and I was thrilled to come on board as the policy manager and first employee, at this exciting time. It’s a real privilege and while the scope of work required is large, my work is primarily focused on identifying pathways and opportunities for the industry to grow. First off, collaboratively with industry and other stakeholders, we’re examining the supply chain infrastructure, current and emerging workforce requirements, and the role governments play, to identify gaps and areas of opportunity for this growth to occur. It’s essential work for the industry and we’re excited for its potential to provide benefit for all Territorians.
That’s not all though. We’ve also been busy in other areas too. Looking to grow connectivity and capacity to meaningful share knowledge and showcase our resources, the FIANT website under construction. Currently we’re working through the final draft edits to ensure high-quality content and relevant information before officially launching the site (coming soon!). It’s part of a wider plan to build capacity and a platform for us to engage consistently and relevantly with our audience and members. Also, that provides timely access to a calendar of content and opportunity throughout the year. It’s an integral part of our vision—along with taking practical action like developing models and tools to assist decision making and forest management—to positively contribute to our community and enterprise and environments, and the achievement of our goals and mission.
Believing strongly in the value of community, FIANT continues to maintain its commitment to sustainability, stewardship, and shared knowledge. We aim to ensure best practice in all areas of our industry and work and are iterative in our approach, continuing to grow and develop ourselves too.
We nurture collaborative, high-quality relationships with all stakeholders, industry, and government sectors. We learn continuously from our own challenges and successes, also from those around us.
We’ve achieved some significant milestones this year and we’re proud of how far we’ve come in a short amount of time. We’re also excited for the year ahead and to have you with us—bring on 2023!