NSW native forests worth more if left standing: Australia Institute report

An economic analysis by The Australia Institute claims that native forest logging in NSW lost $79 million over the last seven years, but could be making a $40 million yearly profit if left standing and allowed access to the Federal Government’s Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF). The Nature Conservation Council (NCC) and the National Parks Association …

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Just who should be certified?

AUTHOR Jared Diamond, in his groundbreaking 2005 book Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive, has a small seven or eight-page section on the creation and development of the Forest Stewardship Council in the early 1990s, and its progress to 2003-2004. He concludes that: “The effectiveness of the Forest Stewardship Council has received the …

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Researcher examines biochar use in forests

A U.S. Forest Service researcher is studying the use of biochar in forests. Research is underway that could lead to more uses for waste wood, a U.S. Forest Service researcher says. Instead of thinning stands to boost productivity and burning the resulting slashpiles, researchers believe turning it into biochar, a supplement made of charred biological …

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Stripping Tasmania of ancient forests and endangered species habitat fails to gain FSC for Forestry Tasmania

The Bob Brown Foundation will continue to call for secure protection for endangered species and native forests in the wake of Forestry Tasmania’s comprehensive failure to gain Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification. “Forestry Tasmania has failed to gain FSC certification due to their woefully destructive logging practices. These include an ongoing clearfell and burn regime …

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Domestic cat movements in NSW bushland to go under spotlight

There are hopes a tracking program involving up to 100 domestic cats in the New South Wales central tablelands will help protect some of the region’s native species. The Central Tablelands Local Land Services project will kick off in March at Lithgow and will involve attaching GPS devices on cats for up to 11 days. …

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How Forest Loss Is Leading To a Rise in Human Disease

A growing body of scientific evidence shows that the felling of tropical forests creates optimal conditions for the spread of mosquito-borne scourges, including malaria and dengue. Primates and other animals are also spreading disease from cleared forests to people. by jim robbins In Borneo, an island shared by Indonesia and Malaysia, some of the world’s …

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Talking Point: Burning forests for electricity makes no sense whatsoever

THEY call it “dead koala power” in NSW, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation say it is highly unlikely to meet their sustainability criteria for investment citing terrible impacts overseas affecting biodiversity, and even the president of the Institute of Foresters admits burning wood for electricity emits carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Welcome to the forest …

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