The Tasmanian Government’s Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and the Environment (DPIPWE) has recently published updated figures on the Tasmanian Reserve Estate that prove forestry Minister Guy Barnett is completely wrong when he tries to argue that the 356,000 ha of high conservation value forests in Future Potential Production Forest (FPPF) tenure are ‘not reserves’.
This data, updated at the end of last financial year, confirms that over 50% of Tasmania is in some kind of reserve tenure aimed at protecting conservation values – see table here from the DPIPWE website here. The FPPF forests Mr Barnett wants to log include the takayna/Tarkine, Bruny Island, Douglas-Apsley and Ben Lomond and are officially listed as Informal Reserves and part of the Tasmanian Reserve Estate.
‘Tasmania is renowned for its conservation reserves and the story of community campaigns to have them protected,’ said Vica Bayley, spokesperson for the Wilderness Society.
‘This data demonstrates that the high conservation value forests Premier Will Hodgman wants to log are indeed reserves, are part of the official Tasmanian Reserve Estate and part of the 50% of Tasmania that is celebrated as being protested.
‘Above all, this data demonstrates Minister Guy Barnett does not understand the status of the forests he has sought to log and has misled the public and the Parliament in the debate over his divisive legislation.
‘Logging reserved forests like the takayna/Tarkine, Blue Tier or Wielangta would be a backward step for Tasmania and a black stain on our brand. It would damage the image of both our tourism and timber industries and lead to ongoing conflict and contention in the community and timber markets.
‘While the fact that Tasmania has 50% of its land area protected is celebrated as a major conservation achievement and it underpins our international identity and brand, it must be remembered that the Hodgman Government is seeking to allow rainforest logging in Regional Reserves and Conservation Areas, as well as the FPPF land.
‘These areas need to be upgraded to a tenure that precludes logging and mining and creates new conservation icons across regional Tasmania. National parks are delivering immense benefits for Tasmania and upgrading the reserve status of these threatened areas to national park will build on this base.
Note: While this table identifies 392,000 ha of informally reserved FPPF forests, Government is seeking to undo reserve status 356,000 ha for logging. This is because 36,000 ha are World Heritage listed or adjacent to the Three Capes Track and not proposed for logging.
Download …
tas_reserve_class_areas_30th_june_2016.pdf
Vica Bayley Tasmanian Campaign Manager The Wilderness Society (Tasmania) Inc.
