News Alert:

October 2008: Logging in Bermagui

Logging began in Compartments 2004 and 2005 of Bermagui State Forest on Monday 27 October. Formerly the home-range of a ‘radio-collared’ koala named ‘Allen’ and most likely other koalas. According to the Harvesting Plan "No evidence of kolas (sic) was located in Compartment 2005." although this is not true. FNSW take this one step further by stating "No other Schedule 1 or 2 species that require specific prescription for the proposed operation were detected during pre-harvest surveys or from existing records within the planning unit." the inference being there have never been 'kolas' in Bermagui SF.

Logging being undertaken in Cpt 2005 is across the whole compartment, rather than 'alternate coupes' to disperse the negative impacts, particularly in this case the thousands of tonnes of logging debris perched on the north-west boundary of Bermagui that will be a massive fire threat over summer.

“Soils are as anticipated misrepresented, five "Forest Types' have disappeared from Cpt 2005 since Forestry research in the 1990's particularly Forest Type 86 Woollybutt, now "Forest type mapping indicates that woollybutt dominated stands are not present in this compartment." but loggers are required to keep a lookout for it.

“Also as anticipated timber estimates are based on 'basal area sweeps' rather than the superior data collected during the RGBSAT surveys, this action continues the collaboration between the DECC, FNSW and the Catchment Management Authority to suppress all this information, again reflecting their total inability to follow acceptable community consultation procedures.

“Under 'performance measures' the Ecological Koala management framework states "Representation to the Scientific Committee be made by DEC within one year." Clearly while the DECCs performance falls below acceptable levels koalas, forests and catchments will all cop it.

“Friends of the Five Forests spokesperson Robert Bertram stated that “these logging proposals for Mumbulla State Forest demonstrate that the whole NSW Government process for koalas over the past 3 years has been a farce.”

Forest review finds big problems
A community conducted review of the Eden Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) between the Commonwealth and NSW State Governments has found that forests in the southeast are being exploited at rate that far exceeds the limits of ecological sustainability and those of the relevant legislation.
Community representative on the Forest Resources and Management Systems Committee for the Eden assessment process and review author Mr Robert Bertram believes that the RFA has failed to achieve the legislated ecological milestones and this failure has negative implications at local, regional and global levels.

“ The review analyses Annual reports from the NSW Forestry Commission that indicate dramatically reduced timber yields of 60% for sawlogs and 40% for pulp logs and a massive escalation in areas being logged, such that over the past five years nearly 50% of all State forests in the Eden region have been scheduled for logging.

“These outcomes confirm that extensive canopy dieback and the associated death of millions of trees in the southeast is having a significant impact on the native forest logging industry. It is apparent that some 50,000 hectares of additional forests have been covertly handed over to ensure wood supplies.

“These additional forests include areas that the Forestry Commission failed to declare during the Eden assessment and vast tracts of forests on the tablelands, that have similarly not been assessed. It is apparent that these Crown forests are being logged with the assistance of significant public subsidies and at a rate that greatly exceeds the requirements of the RFA.

However, of greatest concern is that the RFAs are designed to ignore the science that explains the decline of eucalyptus forests and it’s relationship to timber supplies, species extinction, catchment degradation and climate change. It seems that Government departments and other publicly funded organizations are either threatened or ‘paid off’ to ignore or suppress relevant information. The success of the RFA has been to demonstrate that ignorance and greed has overcome credible science, accountability and intergenerational equity.”

The review titled ‘The effects of deforestation on timber volumes, areas logged and associated climate change issues: A community review of the Eden Regional Forest Agreement” can be downloaded at the Friends of the Five Forests website: http://www.fiveforests.net/resources

Be alert, alarmed and ready to act!!!

Forests NSW has compartment 2002 in the Bermagui State Forest on its worklist. We will advise if logging begins or seems imminent! Be ready to act!

Friends of Five Forests and their supporters will have to mount yet another campaign to have the logging stopped if Black Lagoon and Meads Bay are to be protected in accordance with the sanctuary zone classification they have been given as part of the Batemans Marine Park, and if the very few remaining koalas are to have any chance of survival.

This large compartment of predominantly spotted gums is a significant part of the catchment for Narira Creek and Black Lagoon, which link into Meads Bay.

The Batemans Marine Park provides for the highest level of protection of Black Lagoon and Meads Bay as sanctuary Zones. Logging can be expected to lead to further serious siltation of the Creek, and to damage plant and fish life in both the Lagoon and Meads Bay.

The Park zone plan does not come into operation until June 2007.

Pre-emptive action by Forests NSW to log compartment 2002 in the interim would make a mockery of the Marine Park zoning.

The compartment contains areas of significant koala habitat. It is also next to part of the Kooraban National Park that contains the only koalas in this immediate region. Both this area and compartment 2002 are occupied by the Five Forests koala population, which was nominated as endangered some years ago.

NSW Government release of a report by consultants on a Koala Management Plan for the region is now well overdue.

Recent Events

On Sunday March 20 2005 more than 150 people from many areas of the Bega Valley Shire and beyond, attended a meeting at the Murrah Hall to hear about logging operations being implemented by non-adaptive land managers in the coastal forests around Bermagui.

The meeting was unanimous in calling for an immediate halt to all logging operations in the Five Forests .

In late May 2005 the NSW Forestry Commission breached the conditions of the Regional Forest Agreements and their Threatened Species licence when they started to log critical Koala habitat in Cuttagee catchment part of Murrah State Forest.

As a result of community actions the logging crew pulled the operation four days after it started and after FNSW arrested two people.

Several actions are being planned and implemented that are aimed at stopping the further destruction of our flora, fauna and degradation coastal catchments and implementing sustainable forest management.

See Towards Adaptive Forest Management in the Bateman Bioregion - a draft research paper for public comment.

The second stage has been the production of management and research proposals that take a holistic approach to natural resource management. The management and research proposals blend appropriate restoration forestry with world's best practise and public accountability.

See Five Forests Management and Research Proposals - draft management and research proposals for public comment. (395KB Word Doc.)

As a result of the communities efforts and after failing to find anyone in DEC prepared to accept the mission, the NSW State Government has recently employed consultants to gather community opinions for possible input into a Koala Management Framework.

Sign our petition supporting best practise forest management

Download and sign our new petition to end woodchip logging and introduce accountability and credible science to assist in restoring the Five Forests. Please post your signed petition to PO Box 161, Bermagui, NSW 2546.