BirdLife Australia CEO Paul Sullivan and BirdLife Tasmania Convenor Dr Eric
Woehler today described the Tasmanian Government’s push to open existing
forest reserves for logging as a “Lose, Lose, Lose” scenario for Tasmania.

“Some of Tasmania’s most threatened species such as Swift Parrots, Masked
Owls and Wedge-tailed Eagles lose more of their habitats to forestry
operations, Forestry Tasmania will lose any hope of FSC accreditation, and
Tasmania loses any realistic claim to being ‘clean and green’ Mr Sullivan told
the Tasmanian MLCs this morning during an invited briefing.

“Habitat loss from forestry operations in Tasmania have been identified as the
single greatest threat to the survival of Swift Parrots, and here we have a
government determined to log Swift Parrot habitat and push the species
towards extinction”, Dr Woehler said today.

“Logging Swift Parrot habitat also increases the predation of Swift Parrot
adults and nestlings by the introduced Sugar Glider, accelerating the loss and
magnifying the impacts of forestry operations in Tasmania” Mr Sullivan noted.
“Tasmania’s future is in tourism, and especially eco-tourism” Mr Sullivan
added, “eco-tourism globally is increasing dramatically and Tasmania is well
placed to be a global destination for its remarkable birds “.

Much of southeast Tasmania, including Bruny Island was identified to be of
international conservation significance in 2009, when international criteria
were applied to identify Important Bird Areas globally. These Areas, now
known as Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) are critical for the conservation of
global biodiversity.

“Southeast Tasmania is a KBA – recognised internationally for its significant
contribution to global biodiversity” Mr Sullivan said, adding that, “any impacts
to the Southeast Tasmania and Bruny Island KBAs will have national and
international impacts on global conservation efforts” Mr Sullivan said.

The Swift Parrot and the Orange-bellied Parrot are the only species of
migratory parrots in the world, and both are listed as Critically Endangered.
“It beggars belief that a government would deliberately destroy the habitat of
a Critically Endangered species in the 21st Century” Dr Woehler concluded.
Paul Sullivan, CEO BirdLife Australia, Dr Eric Woehler, Convenor BirdLife Tasmania