7 July, 2014
Conservation groups withdraw from Baird Government’s flawed consultation on forestry operations
Forest conservation groups are threatening to withdraw from the Baird Government’s review of logging operations in the state’s coastal forests, claiming the consultation process is deeply flawed and the government has failed to engage as promised. [1]
The Nature Conservation Council (NCC), South East Region Conservation Alliance (SERCA), the North East Forest Alliance (NEFA), and the North Coast Environment Council (NCEC) wrote to Environment Minister Robert Stokes yesterday advising him they were withdrawing from the government’s review of Coastal Integrated Forestry Operations Approvals (IFOAs), vital controls that reduce impacts on soil, streams and threatened species during logging operations.
The government had agreed the conservation movement and the industry could appoint scientific experts to work on a draft Coastal IFOA with the Environment Protection Authority and the NSW Forestry Corporation. However, the EPA and NSW Forestry Corporation have been working alone on the draft, and the government has strictly limited the involvement of independent experts until after the agencies have decided what to do.
NCC Chief Executive Officer Kate Smolski said environment groups were now considering whether to boycott the entire process. “We are prepared to work with the government to ensure vital protections for soil, streams and threatened species are maintained, but we will not put our name to proposals that come out of a flawed process,” Ms Smolski said.
North East Forest Alliance spokesperson Dailan Pugh said: “It is essential that prescriptions intended to limit logging impacts on threatened species streams are based on the best available science and are subject to independent peer review rather than being decided in secret backroom political deals. The process has become a farce. It is now up to the government to demonstrate it is genuine about seeking and incorporating our input.”
South East Region Conservation Alliance spokesperson Heather Kenway said: “SERCA considers that the government’s promise of maintaining wood supply and its claims that it will ensure environment protection are incompatible. We need new forest and forestry policies that take account of the degraded state of the forests, the economics of the plantation and native forest industries, and global and domestic market circumstances.”
North Coast Environment Council spokesperson Ashley Love said: “We do not believe the government will be possible to fix this and establish an open and transparent scientific process by mid-year, as is currently proposed. Unless we perceive a genuine commitment for an open and transparent process aimed at resolving the serious conflict between environment protections and maintaining wood supplies that is at the heart of the IFOA remake, we shall consider withdrawal from the whole remake process.”
REFERENCES
[1] NSW logging review a farce, green groups say, http://www.smh.com.au/environment/nsw-logging-review-a-farce-green-groups-say-20140706-zsvko.html
MEDIA CONTACTS
Nature Conservation Council James Tremain, 0419 272 254
North East Forest Alliance Dailan Pugh, 6680 7063
South East Region Conservation Alliance Heather Kenway, 6493 3047
North Coast Environment Council Ashley Love, 0488 669 339
Tags
Forests and wildlife
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