An environment group has accused VicForests of illegally logging rainforest in East Gippsland. The Goongerah Environment Centre alleged the state-owned timber company had logged about one hectare of rainforest on the Errindura Plateau. The group’s spokesman, Ed Hill, said according to the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act, any rainforest areas bigger than 0.1 of a …
If you haven’t been paying attention, I don’t blame you for at first not believing this. After all, companies go to great lengths to greenwash their image and present themselves as progressive and environmentally responsible, even while they turn your land to deserts and your oceans into dead zones. Unfortunately, as Mark Twain once famously said: …
A NEW method of fuel reduction, physically removing trees, shrubs and undergrowth on public land, will be trialled across Victoria as part of bushfire prevention. “Mechanical fuel reduction” is widely used in the US and Canada as a move away from solely relying on burning off during winter. Prime Minister Tony Abb¬≠ott last week announced …
For almost two decades, the management of forests in parts of Western Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales has been underpinned by state and federal Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs), defined as “20-year plans for the conservation and sustainable management of Australia’s native forests”. The broad aim of RFAs is to “provide certainty for forest-based …
The future of the Renewable Energy Target remains in the balance, with no hint of a final compromise. But a long running argument over burning waste and residues from Australia’s native forests threatens to undermine the prospects for any peace deal on the RET. In addition, Prime Minister Tony Abbott has backed trials for another …
Fire profoundly influences human health, the economy and wildlife. In Victoria, for instance, bushfires have burned more than one million hectares since 2009, claiming 178 lives and more than 2,300 homes, and causing more than A$4 billion in social, economic and environmental costs. Reducing fire risk is a global issue, as highlighted by recent devastating …
Land at low risk of bushfires has been set alight to fulfil the target of a state program while high-risk areas have been missed, expert says. In a submission to the Andrews government’s review of the state’s program, La Trobe University professor Mike Clarke said the current “blanket” approach to burning 5 per cent of …
Soil plays a big role in the global carbon cycle, but how much or how quickly forest soil carbon pools decline after logging is poorly understood. This may have serious implications for how carbon emissions from deforestation are accounted for. The U.S. Forest Service, for example, currently operates under the assumption that forest soil carbon …
Naturalist Tim Low says Australian birds are noisier, more aggressive and more intelligent than any other birds in the world. Tim is a biologist, environmentalist and prize-winning writer, and co-editor of Wildlife Australia magazine. His latest book reveals some startling facts about the unique nature of Australian birds – they are distinctive and powerful, and …
Victoria’s forests have an unlikely fire warden: the superb lyrebird. “Lyrebirds are reducing the chance of fires occurring in the areas where they forage … and unburnt patches within large wildfires are really important sites for animals to survive.” New research has revealed the iconic songbird reduces the risk of bushfire by spreading dry leaf …
