My three biggest fears

Bob Loone
THERE are three aspects of the takeover of our farmland by corporations open to foreign takeover, and converting them to pulp wood plantations, which appear to be overlooked.
1. Economic Loss. It will cause economic disaster for rural communities, and diminish the income for those who rely on rural sales in the cities. Many farms have already gone causing thousands of jobs to disappear and huge economic losses to our communities.

2. Unsustainability. Plantation forestry as practised in Tasmania is unsustainable. The high nutrient requirement results in the soil becoming depleted of its fertility. The so-called crop becomes unsustainable and unviable.

3. Toxic Contamination of Air and Water. Plantations and their probability of chemical and smoke contamination of air and water from toxic spray residues and burning of green wood is an ongoing health risk for human, animal, bird, and marine life.

Even at the present rate of harvesting these three factors are very evident. To try and double the harvest simply compounds our economic, environmental and soil fertility losses.

Bob Loone
Chudleigh
President
Western Rivers Preservation Trust