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January 2, 2004
I've been hunting for photographs of the ecological devastation of Tasmania's old growth native forests without much luck. Few photographs of the recently clear-felled Tasmanian forest coupe exist.
Andrew Dyson
Large-scale woodchipping continues in Tasmania. The old growth native forests are regarded by the forest industry as a natural resource. The industry's only conception of value-adding is composting a greenie.
The current battle ground is the clear-felling by the corporatised Forestry Tasmania of the mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) that grow in the Styx valley. Some of Australia's, and the world's, oldest hardwood trees, are being clearfelled for the sake of woodchips, sold chiefly to Japan. No other state in Australia clear-fells old-growth forests the way Tasmania does: wholesale destruction for the expansion of the plantation estate.
As Christopher Bantick observes:
"Currently, old-growth logging in Tasmania employs fewer than 350 people. It is difficult to imagine that these people could not be absorbed into the harvesting of soft wood and related milling activities. It has not even been tried....Forestry Tasmania points to the loss of jobs if logging old-growth forests were to cease immediately. The Bacon State Government, under mounting community pressure, has asked Forestry Tasmania to phase out old-growth harvesting by 2010, but without job losses. Should the present logging rate continue it is unlikely there will be many old-growth coupes left by then.
Christopher suggests that tourists to Tasmania should visit the Styx and photograph and distribute widely images of the continuing destruction of old-growth areas.
Good idea. The self-regulating Forest Industry is so negligent in its responsibilites to the environment that it has been exempted from all environmental, planning and land management legislation by the Tasmanian Government. Even stream side reserves are clearfelled and planted with plantations. The forest industry's understanding of world's best practice is to maximize the area to be clearfelled and the volume of woodchips.
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I can understand why you hate my pals in the logging industry: smelly feet, Unfashionable blue singlets, snotty nosed kids.
How these uncouth chaps must disturb your chardonnay sipping when you come to visit these forests. I mean, YOUR forests. And I'm sure their chainsaw sounds give you a headache.