A PICTORIAL OF NATIVE FOREST LOGGING
UNDER THE REGIONAL FOREST AGREEMENT’S (RFA’s)
Compiled by the Dunns Creek Resident Action Group
Dear Beagle Editor,
The Regional Forest Agreements (RFA’s) are regulations that control Native Forest Logging.
These agreements are binding for an alarming period of 20 years regardless of changes in biodiversity and environmental science discoveries.
The current RFA’s are now due to expire across NSW.
SO WHATS WRONG WITH LOGGING??
Aside from destroying the beautiful places we love to visit, that provide us with fresh air, cool our environment and generally just make us feel good to be alive, modern day logging is so non-selective and aggressive that it destroys the entire eco-system and infra-structure of where ever it occurs.
A spokesperson for The Dunns Creek Resident Action Group states “The preamble on page 7 of the EPA’s Terms of the Threatened Species Licence for the South Coast Sub-region of the Southern region gives just one example of what’s wrong with logging”
It states;
APPENDIX B - SOUTH COAST
Preamble
Authorisation
This licence is issued to the Forestry Commission of New South Wales and any person carrying out forestry operations defined in the Integrated Forestry Operation Approval (IFOA) under Part 4 of the Forestry and National Parks Estate Act 1998 of which this licence is Annexure B.
This licence authorises the conduct of forestry operations on SFNSW estate within the South Coast Sub-region of the Southern Region (as shown on Map 1 of the NSW Southern Region Forest Agreement) that are likely to result in:
Harm to a threatened species (being an animal) or protected fauna;
The picking of a threatened species (being a plant) or a protected plant; or
Damage to the habitat of a threatened species.
“If our State Government signs up for another 20 years of mass destruction in our already decimated forests, it would be the biggest environmental mistake of our generation. It is draconian and unnecessary, in this day and age, to be tearing our forests down for timber. There are so many other options for timber and pulp production, all providing jobs for personnel employed within the timber industry.”The Dunns Creek Resident Action Group spokesperson said.
NSW Greens MP, Dawn Walker has branded the Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs) a ‘failure’ and called for them to be scrapped as part of the current review process.
“The RFAs have been a manifest failure by allowing over-logging in our precious forests, polluting waterways and destroying vital habitat for threatened species” said Dawn Walker, MP.
“The RFAs were supposed to end the ‘forest wars’ between communities, Governments and loggers when they were signed approximately 20 years ago, but they have resulted in intensified logging and an alarming crash in koala populations by 50% in parts of NSW.
“Part of the problem is that the current RFAs only value of forests in a very narrow way and there have been continued breaches of regulations that were supposed to protect native species, often with zero consequence for loggers. Many of these breaches have only been documented and uncovered because of the work of conservationists.
“It is time to move away from this outdated model of forest management and recognise our forests as more than a timber resource to log.”Said Dawn
Above: Native Forest Logging as seen from satellite
Above: This area was transformed from thick forest to barren ground in one day
If you are one of the very few people left in NSW who haven’t been personally devastated by the carnage that is modern day native forest logging, you can see why entire communities are so upset by viewing the full article.
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