3 August, 2016
Governments sits idle in the face of rampant illegal land clearing, new figures show
Almost 60% of all the land clearing that occurred in NSW over a three-year period was “unexplained”, latest government figures reveal. [1]
The NSW Report on Native Vegetation 2013-2014, released by the Office of Environment and Heritage today shows 13,500ha of woody vegetation that was cleared for crops, pastures or thinning over the three years to 2013 was “unexplained”, and probably illegal.
The figures also showed “unexplained” clearing occurred on more than 4,400 properties, yet government agencies launched and completed only 818 compliance and enforcement actions in the same period.
Summary of results
|
Year
|
Woody veg loss (ha)
Crops, pasture, thinning*
|
Unexplained clearing (hectares and % of total woody veg loss)^
|
Unexplained clearing (properties involved) +
|
Compliance and enforcement actions
|
|
2010-2011
|
5,400
|
3,695 (68%)
|
675
|
339
|
|
2011-2012
|
8,500
|
4,269 (50%)
|
958
|
273
|
|
2012-2013
|
9,100
|
5,615 (62%)
|
1,151
|
206
|
|
Total
|
23,000
|
13,579 (59%)
|
4,417
|
818
|
*Table 3, p13, NSW Report on Native Vegetation 2013-2014
^Tab 11, Associated Data, NSW Report on Native Vegetation 2013-2014
+ Table 5, p19, NSW Report on Native Vegetation 2013-2014
“This report shows that the Baird government is soft on illegal land clearing,” Nature Conservation Council CEO Kate Smolski. “We fear it is just a glimpse of what’s to come if the government introduces its new land-clearing laws with weaker environmental protections to parliament later this year.
“These figures show that the Baird government is not giving Local Land Services and other agencies the resources they need to monitor land clearing and to enforce the laws that are supposed to protect our soils, water resources and wildlife habitat.
“The area of woodland and wildlife habitat that has been illegally cleared is more than twice the size of Sydney Harbour, and would have provided habitat for thousands of native mammals.
“We in NSW are in the middle of an extinction crisis – we cannot afford to keep losing wildlife habitat at this rate or we will lose species like the koala forever. It’s a disgrace that the government continues to allow this to happen.”
Ms Smolski said the report also raised concerns about the ability of environmental agencies to detect and report on losses of bushland in a timely manner.
“It is troubling that the government is taking so long to collate data that the most up-to-date information in for some part of this report are from 2013. We are concerned that it will take years to detect the harm that its new laws will cause, and by then it will be too late to act.”
Tags
Forests and wildlife
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