It’s cold now, but the debate over how to deal with higher bushfire risk is heating up. Firefighters and farmers around Australia are calling for more hazard reduction burns to reduce the risk of future fires, but the evidence isn’t in that this is the best approach. Tasmania had a hot, chaotic fire season, and …
You are walking through the bush when you see an enormous tree trunk, tens of metres long, lying across the forest floor. Imagine you and several dozen friends lifting it by hand. Now you’ve literally grasped the significance of trees and forests when it comes to carbon sequestration – trees are heavy, and carbon accounts …
How’s this little gem from the state budget – “The Government will provide $7 million over two years to remove trees destroyed by previous bushfires and help improve the safety for people who access public land. This program will focus on the Alpine and Mountain Ash forest areas in eastern Victoria.” This has never …
Another creatively written Annual Report for VicForests (2012-13) was presented to parliament in mid-October and it verges more towards fantasy than a serious commercial look at their performance. Steve Meacher from Healesville Environment Watch has done an analysis of the report and also compared it with their stated Corporate Plan in 2011, with the actual …
VicForests has racked up a loss of $22 million since it was formed – that means it costs us $1.50 for every cubic metre of wood it has logged. VicForests righteously claims a net profit of $11.6 million over eight years. But it has also received gifts of $24.75 million – a net cost to …
The same weeks as Kevin Rudd was returned as PM, Victoria’s Napthine government passed two anti-environment bills through parliament. The amendment to the logging Act (SFTA) gives a free-for-all to the logging mafia; everything it wants for as long as it wants with bugger-all scrutiny. All underwritten by us taxpayers for hundreds of millions if …
For several decades, the alternative commercial and economic uses and management of Australia’s native forests have generated considerable debate. In the past five years, this debate has sharpened as the native forest sector has contracted in response to increased competition in international and domestic wood product markets. New carbon markets are also emerging that could …
Destruction of the planet’s above ground carbon stocks (as in forests) is a significant source of atmospheric CO2. The report below summarize current understanding about human influences on the global carbon cycle. It shows we need to protect and regrow these land-based carbon storage ‘stocks’ to help mitigate climate change AS WELL AS reduce our …
We have commenced proceedings in the Supreme Court (21/5/2013) to sue the Department of Environment and Primary Industries for years of failure to protect Victoria’s threatened wildlife. We are alleging in Court that the State Government has violated the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act by not preparing protection plans called Action Statements for four threatened …
The owner of the Eden woodchip mill has announced it will not be renewing its contract to purchase timber from state forests in East Gippsland, when the current agreement expires at the end of 2014. South East Fibre Exports general manager Peter Mitchell says international market pressures are the major reason behind the decision, and …
