Victoria's forests are in a state of crisis!

In 1998 a Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) was signed by the Federal and State Governments, the purpose being to decide and agree on land usage of state forests for the next 20 years. The RFA was supposed to guarantee 'resource security' for the logging industry and 'end conflict' on forest use issues. The RFA can also be seen as an instrument to soften the voice of people with environmental concerns, as only four official reviews will be made to the RFA during the 20 year period that it is in force. A problem here is that the reserve system created under the RFA is not legislated. Designated reserved areas could have their classification changed, and then be logged at any time to meet timber volume commitments of the DNRE. And a major fault with the RFA is that it specified only guaranteed volumes of graded sawlogs to be made available to sawmills. Hence, 'residual logs' (which end up as woodchips) are not taken into account in the volumes of timber that may be logged under the RFA!

Examination of the 'harvesting schedules' published by the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) for forestry blocks in the Central Highlands shows quite clearly that expected volumes of residual logs (for wood-chipping) exceed expected volumes of graded sawlogs by a factor of approximately three to one (3:1). For example, in the Dandenong Forest Management Area (where the 350 Upper Bunyip block lies), the 11 coupes listed for logging in the 2003/04 schedule (next summer) are expected to yield a total of 33,962 cubic metres of graded sawlogs. The corresponding figure for residual logs is 94,591 cubic metres - almost three times the volume of sawlogs! Is it any wonder that harvesting of 'residual logs' for wood-chipping is the real driving force behind the logging industry in the Central Highlands?

It has been argued in the past by the old-NRE that a sustainable quota of 500,000 tonnes of timber per annum can be extracted from the forests by clear-felling, for the next 20 years. These 'sustainability' figures are highly misleading, because

• they do not take into account the 70-80 per cent of the total logs removed that end up as woodchips;
• they rely on an assumption that there will be 100% regeneration of the volumes that are logged. That is, they project the myth that nothing will be lost by clear-fell logging, in terms of regenerated timber volumes. This is a myth, because studies by the DNRE have shown that re-growth generates between only 30% and 60% of the original volumes in the next re-growth cycle!

And - of greater importance - the forest that 'regenerates' bears little ecological resemblance to the original forest that is destroyed in the process! Thus, there is a vast difference between ecological sustainability and 'resource' sustainability, as a result of clear-felling. (See The Awful Effects of Clear-Felling. Environmentalists do not accept the 'sustainability' arguments of the DSE, and this is one reason for the ongoing conflict between the DSE and environmental activists.

Another major reason for the ongoing conflict is that, for reasons unexplained, logging has been allowed to proceed in previous years at unacceptably high levels! Obviously, this createds enormous pressure to try to fill current logging quotas from an already depleted resource. This over-logging was acknowledged by the Victorian Government (on 21 February, 2002) in an announcement that drastic cutbacks would be imposed on the future logging of our native eucalypt forests.

The DSE is responsible for managing the timber resource, and the DSE has failed in the past in its duty to ensure that loggers have not encroached upon areas that are not to be logged.

So... why is there conflict in our forests?
Environmentalists know why!
Others seeking answers should direct this question to the relevant land resource manager - the Department of Sustainability and Environment!!!

JOIN THE UPPER BUNYIP ACTION GROUP, and begin writing letters NOW to your local papers and MPs to protect the 350 Upper Bunyip Forestry Block from any further devastation.

No Forests Safe From Logging!

Return to Top

Download detail as a PDF document