Environmental organisation Friends of the Earth today announced that the organisation was extremely concerned about revelations that Shining Gum (Eucalyptus nitens) plantations in Tasmania have been leaching a mysterious toxin into waterways on the east coast of Tasmania. Friends of the Earth spokesperson Anthony Amis said “for many years our organisation has held grave concerns about tree plantations, particularly their impact on waterways”.
The revelations were first aired on ABC Televisions’ Australian Story on February 22 2010. It was suggested that ‘genetically improved’ Shining Gum were the source of a mysterious toxin associated with a rise in cancers in the small coastal town of St Helens, the death of thousands of oysters near the Georges River, which is also St Helen’s water supply, and the possible start of facial tumours that have been wreaking havoc with Tasmanian Devil populations since the late 1990’s. Testing of plantation trees showed that the leaves of the trees were indeed toxic.
(http://www.abc.net.au/austory/content/2007/s2827178.htm)
Friends of the Earth Land Use Researcher Anthony Amis said, “This could be our worst nightmare. Many thousands of hectares of Shining Gum have been planted in Tasmania, many in the headwaters of domestic water supplies other than St Helens. If St Helens has been reporting these problems, what about other towns that have Nitens plantations growing in their water supplies?”
“Friends of the Earth is also concerned about the expansion of Shining Gum plantations in Victoria. We know that thousands of hectares of Shining Gum has been planted in the higher elevations of the
Strzelecki Ranges and East Gippsland over the past decade. We also know that Shining Gum have been aerially seeded throughout vast forest areas in East Gippsland for some decades.”
In terms of plantation trees, Hancock Victorian Plantations and Nippon Paper have invested heavily in planting these trees in Victoria and New South Wales, particularly over the past decade, which coincides with the time that the plantation nitens have also been established in Tasmania. Domestic water supplies which could be impacted in Victoria include; Seaspray, Yarram, Noojee, Meeniyan, Dumbalk, Alberton, Port Albert, Orbost, Newmerella, Marlo and possibly Cann River. There may also be a host of people who pump directly from waterways which have Shining Gum plantations located in them.
We ask that Hancock and Nippon Paper publicly state whether their Shining Gum plantations have been ‘genetically improved’ and whether the trees that they are growing are similar to the trees that are currently causing the problems in the north east of Tasmania? We also call on the Victorian State Government to start testing domestic water supplies downstream of Shining Gum plantations for the toxin that has been linked to these worrying developments in Tasmania.
Friends of the Earth
