C/- National Parks Association Tel 9299 0000 fax 9290 2525 email npansw@bigpond.com

CONSERVATION MOVEMENT POSITION ON SOUTHERN FOREST REGIONAL ASSESSMENT

prepared by the SOUTH EAST FOREST ALLIANCE - 27 January 2000

The NSW and Commonwealth Governments have released a report titled ‘ A proposal for a regional forest agreement for southern NSW" for a period of public consultation from 27 January to 25 February 2000. The region is divided into two sub-regions - the South Coast and Tumut.

After this consultation the Governments will jointly decide which forests will be protected in new national parks, which will be protected in so called ‘informal’ reserves and which will continue to be production forests. The Governments will also decide the future logging practices for the region - options include selective logging or intensive logging and clearfelling for woodchips and biomass burning - the latter is the announced position of the NSW logging industry and the logging union.

The Commonwealth Government is only involved as it wishes to free itself from any future responsibility to regulate clearfelling and export woodchipping by carrying out a series of regional forest assessments. The NSW Government is receiving some $15-20 million from the Commonwealth towards the cost of carrying out the regional assessments in this State as well as $60 million, matched by the State, for industry structural adjustment funding following new reserve decisions.

If you wish to help make sure that old growth and wilderness forests are protected in new national parks and that the South Coast and Tumut forests are WOODCHIP FREE ZONES please refer to our ACTION section.

This site is being progressively updated and maps will be provided as soon as possible. Further information, maps and supporting documents may be obtained by contacting SEFA through

National Parks Association of NSW Tel 9299 0000 fax 9290 2525 email npansw@bigpond.com OR

Nature Conservation Council of NSW Tel 9279 2855 fax 9279 2499 email forests@nccnsw.org.au

South East Forest Alliance

SEFA comprises more than 20 State and regional conservation groups representing over 100,000 people. SEFA was initially formed in 1985 to fight for the protection of the Eden Region forests, the famous South East Forests, where woodchipping and clearfelling began in Australia and are still a blight on our country today. SEFA and other conservation groups have managed to constrain the operations to some degree and to extend the national parks system in the region.

For the last three years we have also focussed on the Southern Forest Region. We have monitored the ongoing Comprehensive Reserve Assessment process in the region as well as preventing logging within the boundaries of our Community Reserve Proposals.

Objectives

SEFA has an ongoing commitment to conservation and its current objectives for the Southern Region Forests are to:

protect :

• all community reserve proposals as national parks
• all remaining old growth, wilderness, rainforest and other important biodiversity areas
• all forests in the coastal zone and their catchments

end clear-felling and other intensive logging of native forests

make the region a woodchip free zone

maximise the transition of the native logging industry to a plantation base

It should be noted that these objectives underpin the SEFA Community Reserve Proposals for the South Coast.

SOUTH COAST - Nowra to Narooma

The Governments have released five options providing varying timber supplies, from 32,000 m3 of quota quality sawlogs per year to 65,000 m3. The 32,000m3 option adopts the Community Reserve Proposal boundaries sought by the conservation movement for a regional national parks reserve system on the South Coast. However, it does not reflect the conservation movement’s position on the conservation and logging industry implications of these boundaries.

32,000m3 is the lowest timber supply option produced by the Governments and this is equal to the current long term sawlog supply contracts. In addition to sawlogs, the South Coast forests supply some 60-70,000 tonnes per year of timber to the Eden Woodchip Mill, largely sourced from intensive logging operations which are effectively clearfells.

No Government option adequately protects the high conservation values of the South Coast forests and the reserve outcomes diminish rapidly as sawlog supply increases. This culminates in the minimal new parks associated with a supply of 65,000 m3 pa, the position supported by the logging industry after withdrawing an initial demand for 75,000m3 pa.

Key differences in our position to the Governments’ options are:

1. our option does not merely represent a 32,000 m3 timber supply option . It is a well balanced and robust regional reserve system which deals with issues of adequacy and representativeness. These issues largely have been excluded from the regional forest assessment process - see B. MACKEY PhD ‘Regional Forest Agreements - Business as usual in the Southern Region?’ published in the National Parks Journal of December 1999.
2. our option avoids the logging of any old growth by incorporating most significant stands of old growth in our proposed new national parks and prohibiting logging of any of the scattered remnants in State forests through harvesting prescriptions - in contrast to agency options which assume the logging of significant amounts of old growth forest outside any formal reserves.
3. our option in fact provides a supply of at least 37,000m3 of quota sawlogs in the first 20 years if the NSW Government adopts the more realistic sawlog specifications used in all other States for long term contracts of native forest sawlogs. SEFA has commissioned an independent expert report which examines the sawlog specifications across the States and concludes that "the current standards in NSW are not realistic minima for sawlogs".
4. our option protects critical headwaters of the Tuross, Deua, Shoalhaven and Clyde Rivers and the catchments of many of the best remaining coastal lakes with their complex marine and aquatic ecosystems. These ecosystems and the health of the rivers are not directly or adequately addressed by the forest assessment process although it is crucial to the environmental protection of these areas and their economic values for water supply, fishing, oyster growing and tourism.

The Governments refused to prepare an option which showed the extent of reserves necessary to protect old growth and wilderness forest and endangered species habitat in accordance with their own agreed scientific criteria,

Accordingly, SEFA has prepared such an option independently. It shows that native forest logging would have to cease on the South Coast if the Governments’ own criteria (known as the JANIS criteria) under the joint Commonwealth/State National Forest Policy Statement were to be met.

Please select SEFA COMMUNITY RESERVE PROPOSALS for details of the proposed new South Coast national parks and a summary of employment and economic issues associated with our option.

TUMUT - Bombala to Tumut

The Governments have published only one option for Tumut and this provides 48,000 m3 of quota quality sawlogs per annum.

Despite the fact that this level of supply represents nearly double the current long term timber supply contracts for the Tumut region, the Governments have refused to publish an option which reflects the conservation movement’s regional reserve proposal although it is still well under the current long term supply level.

Our regional parks system includes new national parks for Yellowin, Maragle and Macdonalds Creek/Buccleuch which are longstanding conservation icons and were identified as having World Heritage values in a 1987 report for the peak conservation groups. These areas are either wholly or partially omitted from proposed new national parks under the Governments’ option.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service has identified our Buccleuch proposal area as wilderness.

In addition, a number of significant, high conservation value, remnant State Forests adjoining SF pine plantations should be transferred as Nature Reserves or National Parks rather than left under the control of SF, even as Flora Reserves. In particular, these are our Murraguldrie, West Carabost and North Mundaroo CRP’s.

These areas are each well over 2000 ha and comprise between 50% and 95% old growth. They are core habitat for nationally and state endangered species including Square Tailed Kite, Hooded Robin, Spotted Quail Thrush, Booroolong Frog, Turquoise Parrot and Regent Honeyeater.

These areas have extraordinary conservation values and must be managed as National Parks or Nature Reserves by NSW’s lead conservation agency, the NPWS. SF as a manager will inevitably manage them for fire control, including grazing, and will never have an operational or economic reason to devote the necessary resources and focus to their biodiversity management .

We consider that the ecological values of these areas are so high that fire breaks should be created within the current plantation area to improve fire safety for both plantations and forest ecosystems. This is not necessarily a significant economic cost as parts of the appropriate buffer areas have been harvested and others may be bought forward on the harvesting schedule. The cost of losing the biodiversity inherent in these substantial remnants is incalculable.

Also unreserved is the last small remnant of Buccleuch SF on the northern edge of a major pine area. This remnant area of only 671 ha holds the headwaters of McPhersons Swamp Creek and is nearly 90% old growth.

Reservation of this remnant would allow an effective link to SEFA’s Black Andrew proposal, agreed for reservation between the NPWS and SFagencies, and also to Brindabella/Goodradigbee National Parks through later acquisition by agreement of limited, forested private land holdings. The remnant is the pivotal area to permit and facilitate an extended north/south and east/west conservation corridor. This corridor would also almost completely protect the catchment of McPhersons Swamp Creek which flows into Lake Burrinjuck.

As a result of objections by the Department of Mineral Resources, our Tumut proposal is not fully protected in at least a Crown Reserve under the control of the NPWS, pending resolution of mineral exploration. Again this is an area of extraordinary biodiversity value which should not be left with an unmotivated or inappropriate manager. SF does not want the area as it is uncommercial timber but it is almost entirely old growth forest, some 5300ha, in close proximity to the township of Tumut.

The eastern part of Bungongo SF (our East Bungongo proposal) is not proposed for reservation by the Governments. It is clear that while it is desirable to reserve the western section, there are very considerable conservation values in the eastern section. These include more than 100 ha of an old growth forest type of which less than 900 ha exists. We understand this area to be marginal for timber production, particularly when considering the large surplus of available timber over current supply commitments.

SEFA South Coast Community Reserve Proposals

SEFA's Community Reserve Proposals are the base for a comprehensive, adequate and representative reserve system of national parks for the South Coast which emphasises good reserve design, protects coastal catchments and their sensitive coastal lakes and ensures connectivity of the reserve system both north-south along the Great Escarpment with east-west links between the escarpment and the coast.

The 15 new national parks proposals by SEFA released in august 1999 are Moreton Wilderness Extensions, Parma (Jervis Bay Links), Parma Extension, Greater Conjola, Croobyar, Flat Rock, Five Lakes, Bimberamala (Upper Clyde),Greater Murramarang, Monga-Buckenbowra, Greater Deua, Kianga, Wandella (Peak Alone), Dignams Creek, Badja and Tallaganda. During the course of negotiations with Government agencies in November 1999, SEFA added two dedicated wildlife corridors and substantial additions of non-timber producing Crown land as biodiversity additions.

The SEFA Community Reserve Proposals for the NSW South Coast forests would, combined with the just established South East Forests National Park in the Eden Region, create a continuous protected forest area along the NSW escarpment of some 350 km, stretching from the Victorian border to north of Nowra. The new parks would also protect at least seven coastal lakes and their immediate forested catchments.

The South Coast is home to 400 animal species - an amazing one fifth of the animal species in Australia but at least 60 of these species are threatened The South Coast is dominated by native forests - it is the most heavily forested area on the entire NSW coast.

The SEFA Community Reserve Proposals at this stage see 200,000 ha of State Forest transferred and protected as national park, leaving an area of over 170,000 ha remaining as State Forests in the South Coast region. In addition, an area of some 60,000 ha of Vacant Crown land is added to the national parks system.

A further 57,000 ha of the Clyde River catchment, the last unregulated river in an almost totally forested catchment on the NSW coast, is given special protection as a major catchment area in any further logging operations. This is particularly important in light of proposals by the logging industry and State Forests to intensify logging practices, including the removal or reduction of stream filter strips.

The Community Reserve Proposals seek to protect all Aboriginal relics and cultural items and significant cultural values, where known to us, from the destruction or degradation inevitable from intensive forestry operations driven by short term expediency. All the proposals were made available to Aboriginal representatives for comment and feedback before they were released.

The South Coast, stretching from north of Nowra to south of Narooma, and inland almost to Canberra, covers two of the major tourist destinations in the State , the Shoalhaven Shire and the "Eurobodalla Nature Coast" (the Eurobodalla Shire) - both critically reliant on the natural environment for tourism. Present visitor numbers to the Eurobodalla coastal area alone are at least 800,000 per annum

Tourists are drawn to the South Coast because of its intrinsic beauty, clean water, magnificent forests and lakes and a chance for each generation to better understand their magnificent inheritance in this region. Continued extensive industrial logging and woodchipping will seriously threaten the massive tourism industry as well as water supplies to rural communities and industries. Tourism (reliant primarily on natural features in an area where the predominant natural feature is forests and coastal lakes) is worth over $500 million to the region.

Eurobodalla Shire - 1996/8 ( from Eurobodalla Shire Council Plan Of Management 1998 and Centre For Agricultural and Research Economics 1996)

tourism expenditure $183 million (Moore D 1997)

tourism related employment 1998 2656 people

est. value of timber products logged $1.5 million or less

sawmill employment 92 people

Shoalhaven Shire - 1996/7 (from Shoalhaven Council Profile and Statement of Economic Impact 1996/7 pub. Feb 1998)

tourism expenditure $348 million

tourism related employment 3900 people

value of timber products logged $1.5 million

all forestry employment 32 people

We are confident that there is sufficient wood volume outside our Community Reserve Proposals and additions to support a viable saw log industry on the South Coast and a period of transition to plantations for those operations which are economically or environmentally unsustainable..

However, we oppose any allocations of pulp wood or so called forest waste from the Southern Forests Region for the Eden Woodchip Mill or any other woodchip operation. We also oppose native forest timber being used for such purposes as fuel for power generation plants, as proposed by the Forest Products Association on behalf of the logging and woodchipping industry, an operation currently under trial by State Forests at Liddell Power Station.

SEFA has worked hard with local communities to compile the reserve proposals protecting community icons and vital conservation values. These Community Reserve Proposals reflect a great deal of previous information and research gathered for the South Coast forests including the preliminary regional forest assessment of 1996 together with the personal experience and knowledge of conservationists, naturalists, bushwalkers, landholders and many other community sources over many decades.

SEFA is not surprised that most of the recent new data on environmental and heritage values correlates highly to our proposed reserve boundaries. This includes data layers on old growth, wilderness, rainforests, many key fauna models and national estate values. Major input from conservation and community groups is based on observed as well as modelled data; in short the values contained in our reserve boundaries are real.

The South Coast Forests cover the NSW South Coast from north of Nowra to south of Narooma, and inland almost to Queanbeyan and Canberra.

Most of the natural, terrestrial habitats in the South Coast are part of wider ecosystems dominated by forests. These forest-dominated ecosystems cover 793,102 ha of public land in the South Coast region. Of this area, 372,796 ha are State Forest, 338,083 ha are National Park and 82,223 ha are vacant Crown Land.

The tall wet old-growth forests are majestic, with trees over 50 metres high (equivalent to a 12 story building) and 10 metres in girth. Old-growth forests have been identified under the NSW Government’s Interim Assessment Process to be likely to cover almost 60,000 hectares on State Forest estate, or over 16% by area of State Forests in the South Coast region.

Extracts from Economic and Social Reports from the Resource and Conservation Division of the Depart. of Urban Affairs and Planning 1999

WOOD SUPPLY

Term and Wood Supply Agreements

For the Southern RFA the following data is relevant:

EMPLOYMENT AND TIMBER VALUE

Employment in the timber industry is difficult to disaggregate from the E&S commissioned reports but the following statistics attempt to deal with employment as it relates to the:

harvesting

haulage and

milling

of timber from hardwood and softwood plantations.

There was a total employment of 1250 people in the Region of which 174 are located in hardwood mills. Of these 174, 29 persons are employed in mills which draw timber from private property whilst the remainder work in the now remaining 5 mills which utilise, to a greater or lesser extent, wood supply from State Forests.

Interestingly enough the E&S reports provide projections for employment in the timber industry through to 2010 and forecast that under maximum wood flow conditions that hardwood timber employment would increase from 174 to 211; under minimum flow conditions employment would reduce slightly by 5%. In the Plantation Industry employment is expected to increase from 1076 to 1505 or 40%.

Notes: Above figures based on ‘current commitments" and value to region figures includes ‘flow-on expenditure’. LGA figures for Shoalhaven and Eurobodalla put the direct effect of economy for the two Shires at $3m

TOURISM AND EMPLOYMENT

The information used in this part of the presentation defines the Southern Region comprising:

Cooma-Monaro

Eurobodalla

Kiama

Queanbeyan

Shoalhaven

Tallaganda

Yarrowlumla

The total population for this region was 173,579 in 1996 with an average population growth of some 11% since 1991. Yarrowlumla, then Shoalhaven and Eurobodalla had the highest growth rates of 15% and 12 % respectively.

In 1996 the total employment in the region was 71,888 representing a 29% increase since 1991 when the figure was 66,689.

The following table highlights the impact of tourism for the region. The statistics relate to the 96/97 period.

Notes: All expenditure figures include flow-on calculations.

LGA figures are calculated by the respective Shires as opposed to estimates by the NSW Tourism Board

 

 

The following table provides a summary of statistics associated with tourism as it relates to the national parks and State Forest in the region

PARK/FOREST VISITOR STATISTICS

Read on to our South Coast Forests COMMUNITY RESERVE PROPOSALS

If you would like to further assist the campaign to protect the South Coast forests please contact the South East Forest Alliance c/- National Parks Association tel 9299 0000 or

email npansw@bigpond.com

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27/01/00 21:28:29