TASMANIA’S divisive forestry debate was reignited yesterday after a Japanese paper mill announced it had stopped buying woodchips sourced from old-growth forests.

Mitsubishi Paper Mills is a joint-venture partner of Gunns Ltd in Tamar tree farms. It said its policy was to buy wood sourced from plantations or second-growth forests of environmentally benign and reclaimed wood.

The row comes after the Howard and Lennon governments jointly announced the reservation of an extra 148,000ha of old-growth forest in the Tasmanian Community Forest Agreement.

Forestry Industries Association of Tasmania chief executive Terry Edwards yesterday angrily labelled Greenpeace and the Wilderness Society “treacherous”.

“The Japanese firm has been influenced by the economic vandalism and treachery of extremist environmentalist groups,” he said.

etc, etc.

The rest: Japanese woodchip pledge

What Greenpeace said:

Victory as new Mitsubishi buying policy rejects Tasmanian old-growth forest destruction

© Murayama Yoshiaki

Greenpeace today applauded Mitsubishi Paper Mill’s new wood-chip buying policy which rules out sources from old growth Tasmanian forests.

Responding to Greenpeace Japan’s demands not to buy Tasmanian old growth woodchips, Mitsubishi Paper mills stated to Greenpeace in 2004 that they “will transit to purchase only from plantation or second forestry as soon as possible.” In June 2005, Mitsubishi Paper mills has informed Greenpeace that its new policy is to buy only woodchips “sourced from plantations or second growth forests of environmentally benign, and reclaimed wood.”

This is a major victory for anyone who doesn’t want Tasmania’s magnificent, ancient forests reduced to woodchips and pulp.

Thank you for sending your voice. More than 18,000 messages has been sent to the companies!

Mitsubishi Paper Mills’ move follows a sustained campaign by Greenpeace and other NGOs to save Tasmania’s old growth forests. This included a 5 month tree sit, called Global Rescue Station, in a huge gum tree that was slated for logging.

Most old growth timber from large-scale clearfelling in Tasmania is converted to woodchips, largely for export to Japan. The Japanese firm Mitsubishi, along with Oji paper and Nippon, is a major international buyer of forest products from Gunns.

Gunns, which receives the overwhelming majority of Tasmanian logs destined for sawmills and woodchip mills, is the driving force behind Tasmanian old growth forest destruction. Gunns still has its legal case pending against many local environmental NGOs and selected individuals in Tasmania. This case has been brought by Gunns who are accusing NGOs of damaging their business interests through their campaign work against them. This could set a very dangerous precedent and Greenpeace, whilst not being specifically named in this case, is watching the development of this very carefully.

Please send your message to the companies if you haven’t acted yet! Act now!

What the Greens reckon:

Peg Putt MHA
GREENS OPPOSITION LEADER

Tuesday, 28 JUNE 2005

NO MORE OLD GROWTH WOODCHIP!
Mitsubishi Paper Mills Stand for Conservation Outdoes Tasmania and Australian Governments
The Tasmanian Greens today welcomed the decision by Mitsubishi Paper Mill, a Japanese customer of Tasmanian woodchip exports, to rule out use of woodchips sourced from old growth forests saying this was a significant development for forest conservation which may put market pressure on other Japanese consumers of Tasmanian old growth woodchip to follow suit.
Greens Opposition Leader and Forests spokesperson Peg Putt MHA said that Mitsubishi Paper Mills’ policy on forest conservation was more enlightened than the Howard- Lennon forests agreement which allows continued logging destruction of old growth forests.
“Whoever thought that Japanese woodchip customers would prove more enlightened about forest conservation than the Tasmanian and Australian governments, but to their credit Mitsubishi Paper Mills will no longer take woodchips sourced from Tasmania’s old growth forests and they are to be applauded for recognising that our outstanding, unprotected forests should not be trashed for woodchips,” Ms Putt said.
“This decision by Mitsubishi Paper Mills shows how poor the Howard-Lennon forests agreement is in its failure to stop logging destruction of our old growth forests, and demonstrates that at least on the other side of the world there is an environmental conscience and willingness to act.”
“It is entirely feasible to substitute regrowth and plantation woodchip for old growth, and with five million tonnes a year of plantation grown eucalypts pulp wood coming on line from trees already in the ground there is no need for further plantation expansion to make this transition.”
“There will now be market pressure on the other Japanese woodchip customers who take old growth wood from Tasmanian’s magnificent forests to follow the lead of Mitsubishi Paper Mills and adopt more enlightened purchasing policies.”