logging – Page 11 – National Parks Association of NSW

Reversing declines of Australian forests should be a national priority

Posted by NPA NSWon March 21, 2017March 21, 2017in Media Releases, Native Forest LoggingLeave a comment

High rates of forest clearing in Queensland and Western Australia—with NSW set to follow—act in concert with intense native forest logging as an all-out assault on Australian forest environments says the National Parks Association of NSW (NPA).

It’s easy to become blasé about forests when living on the eastern seaboard of Australia, because most settlements (including the large urban areas of Sydney and Brisbane) are fringed by forests and daily life puts millions in contact with forests and forest animals like king parrots and kookaburras.

A Better Future for Public Native Forests

Posted by NPA NSWon February 27, 2017February 28, 2017in Autumn 2017, Native Forest LoggingLeave a comment

It’s possible with diverse community support

^{Dr Oisín Sweeney, Senior Ecologist, National Parks Association of NSW}

Last year the National Parks Association NSW (NPA) released a report that showed how, despite being a noble attempt to marry some pretty uncomfortable bedfellows (logging, conservation and recreation), the Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs) have failed in all of their high level aims. From protecting the environment to maintaining long-term economic stability and jobs in forest industries, the RFAs have not worked. A new approach is desperately needed writes Oisín Sweeney.

Expiry of first Regional Forest Agreement offers opportunity to end the forest wars

Posted by NPA NSWon February 16, 2017March 2, 2017in Media ReleasesLeave a comment

Wednesday the 3rd February is a milestone in the long and chequered history of native forest management in Australia. The first Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) expires in East Gippsland following 20 years of destructive logging. Instead of just extending them, prolonging conflict and driving species towards the edge, now is the time to chart a new course says the National Parks Association of NSW (NPA).

Regional Forest Agreements are 20-year deals between the state and federal governments that permit the logging of public native forests. Across Australia, almost 7 million hectares of native eucalyptus forests are logged under 10 RFAs[1]. The RFAs were an attempt to marry conservation, logging and recreation to bring an end to the ‘forest wars’ that pitted conservationists against the logging industry. They haven’t worked.

Ecosystem accounting – helping make an informed decision on the future of logging

Posted by NPA NSWon December 2, 2016February 28, 2017in Summer 2016Leave a comment

^{Dr Oisín Sweeney, Senior Ecologist, National Parks Association of NSW}

A case study on the Victorian Central Highlands

Back in June, scientists and economists from the Australian National University produced a ground-breaking piece of work. They published a set of experimental ‘ecosystem accounts’ for the Central Highlands region of Victoria. NPA Senior Ecologist, Dr Oisín Sweeney, explains the relevance of this approach.

Koalas ‘under siege’ from policy changes set to destroy habitat, report finds | Environment | The Guardian

Posted by NPA NSWon November 7, 2016March 16, 2017in NPA in the NewsLeave a comment

New South Wales government is failing to protect koalas by allowing further land clearing, logging and habitat destruction, National Parks Association says.

Source: Koalas ‘under siege’ from policy changes set to destroy habitat, report finds | Environment | The Guardian

Iconic Status Won’t Be Enough to Save Koalas Unless Baird Changes Tack

Posted by NPA NSWon November 7, 2016March 2, 2017in Media ReleasesLeave a comment

What does it mean to be an icon in NSW? Not much apparently. Unless the Baird government has a complete rethink of its environment policy the iconic koala faces a bleak future says the National Parks Association of NSW.

Koalas are one of just six of the 1000-odd threatened species put on an ‘iconic’ pedestal in the NSW government’s Saving our Species (SOS) programme. According to the government, “iconic species are important socially, culturally and economically, and the community expects them to be effectively managed and protected”1.