Here’s a quick summary of the Brown Mountain saga so far: This controversial area of National Estate forest has been in the limelight since 1989. Small but viable stands of ancient forest remain after years of butchery. A 20 ha stand of old growth was clearfelled on Brown Mountain over summer 08-09. VicForests lied …
Wild untouched forests store three times more carbon dioxide than previously estimated and three times more than plantation forests. A world-first study of “green carbon” by scientists from the Australian National University (ANU) looked at natural forests’ role in climate change. They say our forests have been underestimated as a solution against global warming.Despite this …
It’s now official – the Gippsland coast faces the double whammy of sea level rise and coastal subsidence.In July, the Gippsland Coastal Board released a report detailing these problems, saying the coast is highly erodible, making it very vulnerable to sea level rise and storm surges. This could damage estuaries, rivers, bays and inlets, erode …
The main pulp/paper producing region in Europe is Scandinavia, and up to a third of the raw wood used to make paper there has come from Russia. Since 2006, Russia has increased the export tax on its raw log exports to €15 per cubic meter from €2.50. But on January 1st, this tax is set …
In April 2008, Peter Campbell from EEG attended a ‘Stakeholder Reference Group’ meeting, as part of the government’s “Wood and Water Sustainability Assessment Project”. It was as we expected – a poorly devised process to maintain the status quo. The group is to look at options to address water loss due to logging in catchments. …
What a spectacle we had during the 2008 Gippsland by-election campaign. All candidates (except the Greens) were grovelling in front of the logging and coal industries. Michael O’Connor (CFMEU) huffed and puffed on radio for one 30 second news grab and the next day pollies were buckling at the knees pledging their loyal devotion to …
Sponsored and praised by logging unions and supporter groups like VAFI, Australia’s State of the Forests Report 2008 was launched at Bairnsdale’s Auswest sawmill in late May – a pertinent location. Intended to be ‘an essential reference for policy makers and the wider community,’ the five-yearly forest audit reads more like a marketing brochure pitching …
After the 2006 state election, John Thwaites and Steve Bracks promised to protect East Gippsland’s old growth while not reducing what was there for loggers to cut – an impossible task. John Thwaites put a couple of industry supporters in charge of this little job. Meanwhile, other logging lobbyists were demanding more areas of old …
Out of the blue came an announcement at the end of June that three endangered species will gain some protection in Gippsland and the North East by 75,000 ha of reserves. Despite other enviro groups singing the government’s praises we were a little more careful (being hardened sceptics). When we looked into this we found …
This global list features some of Gippsland’s very own threatened mammals. The Zoological Society of London calls them EDGE species – Evolutionary Distinct and Globally Endangered mammals. Coming in at 28 is our Mountain Pygmy Possum – on the edge of its melting alpine habitat. Then there’s the Central Highland’s Leadbeater’s Possum at no. 54, …
