New PNF Codes fail threatened species
MEDIA RELEASE 3 May 2022
NEFA considers that that the new Private Native Forestry Code of Practice released on Monday is a step backwards, and will increase the extinction risk of our most imperilled species of plants and animals.
In general they are allowing increased logging intensity, reduced retention of old hollow bearing trees essential for the survival of a plethora of hollow-dependent species, and reducing protections for most threatened species, NEFA spokesperson Dailan Pugh said.
“Under this code most threatened species of plants and animals will get no real protection what-so-ever.
“The only improvement is an increase in the exclusions around headwater streams, though at 10m this is still dramatically less than the 30m identified as necessary in numerous reviews.
Media - North East Forest Alliance
Time to revoke Forestry Corporation’s Licence to Kill
Posted by Dailan Pugh · August 04, 2022 1:13 PM
MEDIA RELEASE: It's time! End native forest logging!
Posted by Zianna Fuad · August 01, 2022 9:15 AM · 1 reaction
Enough is enough, logging of public forests has to stop.
Posted by Sean O'Shannessy · July 12, 2022 3:14 PM
Forest News
Forest Media 5 August 2022
New South Wales
The petition to end native forest logging has passed the 20,000 signatures mark which forces a debate in the lower house of the NSW Parliament, scheduled for 15 September, unfortunately we cannot expect the Government to act on it, never-the-less it gives us an opportunity to capitalise on it. Labor seems to be sitting on the fence, but won’t support the petition. If Parliament won’t maybe Council will, Eurobodalla Shire Councillor Alison Worthington has given notice that she will move that Council supports an end to native forest logging in Eurobodalla Shire.
Friends of Karangi Forest are objecting to imminent logging of compartment 11 in Orara East State Forest, just 5 km from the centre of Coffs Harbour, citing the presence of Koalas and asking for a comprehensive ecological assessment. News of the Area also covered last Friday’s celebration at Cloud’s Creek.
Gaagal Wanggaan National Park on the NSW mid-north coast has been expanded with the addition of the 212 hectare Bald Hill private property, a site of significant cultural importance to Gumbaynggirr people.
Ballina Council has voted to pursue environmental zoning for a controversial property adjoining Burns Point Ferry Road and River Street in West Ballina proposed for 150-300 houses, since the court declared it ‘unsuitable for urban development because of endangered ecological communities’.
“Cultural burns” are booming across the Gunnedah region with multiple agencies getting on board with the newly founded Gomeroi Cultural Burn Network.
Local Land Services and Ethical Fields have launched an Environmental Markets Leadership Program, to help landholders identify, market and benefit from their natural assets. Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) have released a new Trees Near Me NSW app designed to help people identify which native species naturally occur in their vicinity for tree planting – though it may have other uses.
The Forestry Corporation is tipped to spend close to $200 million buying about 19,000 of freehold land from Hume Forests, with a net pine plantation area of about 14,000 hectares, located between the Tumut-Tumbarumba and Bathurst-Oberon regions of NSW. 150 Forestry Corporation staff were awarded the National Emergency Medal for their efforts in fighting the 2019-20 wildfires.
A draft management plan to guide tourism growth in Orange, Blayney and Cabonne that touts a skyway and redevelopment of the Canobolas summit, a Mount Canobolas Aboriginal heritage centre, walking and cycling trails, water-based activities and a destination playground, has raised the ire of some residents. 4x4 Australia has an in-depth article describing the attractions of Bundjalung National Park that laments the tracks and beach north from Iluka to Black Rock can’t be driven.
Australia
More of the same as feds try to wash their hands of responsibility for threatened species. In response to environmentalists accusing state agency VicForests of logging an area identified as greater glider habitat near Orbost in East Gippsland, less than a month after federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek declared it endangered, she has said it is a state responsibility.
While Government forestry agencies haemorrhage public money on their native forestry operations, run down carbon and biodiversity, and leaving behind vast swathes of degraded lands, it’s reassuring to know that at least the loggers make lots of money. At least demonstrators will have to pay, Victorian Labour’s act to increase penalties for forest protestors up to 12 months jail and more than $21,000 fines has been passed, despite opposition by the Maritime Union of Australia, the United Workers Union and Australian Services Union labelling it as an undemocratic bill that will lead to further erosion of workers’ rights. And it will make loggers safe from violent greenies.
Species
A new study assessed whether five highway underpasses under the Oxley Highway at Port Macquarie and seven under the Pacific Highway south of Grafton. help animals safely cross roads, finding they are well used and that predation at entrances may not be a major problem.
A new petition started by Save Sydney’s Koalas calls on NSW Legislative Assembly to 1. Declare an Upper Georges River Koala National Park, 2. Stop the rezoning of Stage 2 of the Gilead development and review the approval of Stage 1 , 3. Build five effective Koala crossings on Appin Road and 4. Implement minimum 450m wide Koala corridors across the rivers and creeks of Macarthur.
Professor Timms was recently made a Queensland Great for his development of a vaccine against chlamydia in koalas, which he now wants to develop into a vaccine available to all vets. The Tweed Coast Koala Research Hub in Pottsville has been officially opened, with the aim to vaccinate as many kolas as possible as part of a chlamydia vaccine research program. Port Stephens Examiner has an article about the local demise of Koalas and the willingness of the Port Stephens Koala Hospital to help injured Koalas. As part of its Koalaways program the Gloucester Environment Group (GEG) is holding a public forum at Barrington Hall about partnering with local landholders to plant koala friendly trees.
A study used expert elicitation to model the effectiveness of 6 management actions on the future of Koalas in three regional landscapes – Coastal, Hinterland, and Riverine – in the Ballina, Lismore, Byron and Tweed LGAs, finding that if nothing is done Koalas will continue to decline in the 3 landscapes, most dramatically in riverine areas, identifying that neither habitat protection nor habitat restoration alone were sufficient to redress decline and additional actions were required with varying effectiveness in each landscape.
As extensive Victorian Blue Gum plantations established in the 1990s mature, there are concerns that mass clearfelling will result in mass starvation and mass culling of the Koalas who now live in them.
The Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority has received almost $250,000 from the Federal Government to expand the abundance of nectar resources for Swift Parrots by revegetating sites with locally Indigenous trees and shrubs – meanwhile mature nectar trees in logging areas continue to be felled.
Citizen scientists are being asked to record their platypus observations in September. If you haven’t already you can RSVP to the online launch of the month of action on Thursday 1 September at 6.30pm AEST.
A world map of ant diversity has been published, not unsurprisingly it identifies our east coast forests as being world centres of ant diversity and rare ants.
A disgruntled member of the WIRES board has resigned in frustration claiming it failed to properly deploy the record $100 million in donations it received in the wake of the Black Summer bushfires.
Who would have thought it, as mice make a comeback, CSIRO found doubling the dose of zinc phosphide in mouse baits kills more mice, so we can expect more of everything to be killed. Wedge-tailed eagles and other protected species are at risk of being paralysed by lead poisoning in Victoria, with humans also at risk, as lead levels in ducks were found to be "well above" food safety standards at four Victorian duck-hunting waterways, meanwhile illegal lead ammunition is still being used to shoot ducks.
Tweed and Byron shires are alarmed as sightings of feral deer increase, calling on people to report any they see, while elsewhere in the state other burgeoning feral populations are of more concern, with farmers most concerned with pigs and dingoes/dogs – and I understand that ground mammals and birds are particularly concerned about foxes and the booming cat populations eating them. ABC Nightlife has a recording of a 48m segment on feral animals in response to the State of Environment Report. Amidst threats and intimidation, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service removed 334 horses from Kosciuszko National Park between February and June this year, which is well below their breeding rate.
The Deteriorating Problem
There is no flood relief in sight, with our current wet phase set to continue into next year, as we experience our second negative Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) as well as La Niña event in a row, the same weather pattern as occurred last year.
While the West Antarctic ice sheet is known to be melting and contributing to sea-level rise, researchers have found that waters around the East Antarctic ice sheet are similarly warming, threatening accelerating sea-level rises and survival of krill.
Fires are breaking out across the drought ravaged western USA states of California, Montana, and Idaho, killing people, burning homes and threatening towns. Meanwhile further east in Kentucky at least 37 people have died as houses were washed away and residents stranded on roofs, in what the governor called "one of the worst, most devastating flooding events in Kentucky's history.", and now it’s going to get excessively hot and humid.
The Sydney Morning Herald’s economics editor Ross Gittins has an article highlighting warnings from the State of Environment Report that we will have an unlivable economy if environmental action isn’t taken.
New research found world wide forest declined by 81.7 million hectares since 1960, though only because most loss was offset by regrowth, with population growth resulting in a 60% decrease in forest area per capita.
Turning it Around
Forest loss accounts for 20% of all the world's carbon dioxide emissions, now forest and carbon loss can be monitored in real time from the International Space Station, enabling timely responses to illegal logging.
California’s multi-billion-dollar carbon offset program allows polluters to purchase ‘carbon credits’ from forest owners to offset their emissions, as offsets need to be maintained for 100 years a “buffer pool” is built into the system to account for carbon losses due to droughts, fires, and disease over the next 100 years, regrettably after just 10 years almost all the buffer pool has been used, meaning that any losses over the next 90 years will directly release the offset carbon.
A study assessed visitors psychological experiences and responses from a visit to Mount Barney Lodge in Queensland’s Scenic Rim region, finding 78% of respondents experienced sadness, anger, anxiety and other grieving emotions in response to current pressures on the Earth’s life supporting systems, though found their immersion in nature healing.
Dailan Pugh
NEW SOUTH WALES
The petition to end native forest logging has passed the 20,000 signatures mark which forces a debate in the lower house of the NSW Parliament, scheduled for 15 September, unfortunately we cannot expect the Government to act on it, never-the-less it gives us an opportunity to capitalise on it.
The petition calls for:
- Develop a plan to transition the native forestry industry to 100% sustainable plantations by 2024.
- In the interim, place a moratorium on public native forest logging until the regulatory framework reflects the recommendations of the leaked NRC report.
- Immediately protect high-conservation value forests through gazettal in the National Parks estate.
- Ban use of native forest materials as biomass fuel.
Organiser Takesa Frank said that after an eleventh-hour surge in signatories, which nearly doubled in a week, she was confident the petition would receive support when it’s put before parliament by South Coast member Shelley Hancock on September 15.
NCC forest campaign manager Wilson Harris was less optimistic of the petition’s chances of generating policy change once it’s tabled, but said it would nonetheless start meaningful debate among politicians and the public.
[Brooman State Forest Conservation Group, Takesa Frank] "I am a proud Aboriginal woman living on Yuin country on the South Coast. In my culture we have deep care and respect for our environment from our oceans and lakes to our forests. Under current NSW policies, we are destroying our country and environment, especially our native forests," she said.
Labor won’t support
Labor seems to be sitting on the fence, but won’t support the petition.
State Labor MP for Bega Michael Holland said it was unlikely the ALP would have an official position on phasing out the native forest logging industry before the state election in March 2023.
Dr Holland said Labor was still waiting on the release of the full report that was leaked from the state government's Natural Resources Commission (NRC).
"There is a role for timber production in forests.
"[What is required is] the determination of what we do with our native forests.
"Whatever forest resources are used has to be managed on environmentally sound and sustainable yield, and for multiple uses."
If Parliament won’t maybe Council will:
Eurobodalla Shire Councillor Alison Worthington has given notice that she will move that Council supports an end to native forest logging in Eurobodalla Shire.
FKF objects to logging:
Friends of Karangi Forest are objecting to imminent logging of compartment 11 in Orara East State Forest, just 5 km from the centre of Coffs Harbour, citing the presence of Koalas and asking for a comprehensive ecological assessment.
https://www.newsofthearea.com.au/coffs-coast-news-of-the-area-5-august-2022-98006
A Cloud over logging:
News of the Area covered last Friday’s celebration at Cloud’s Creek.
An alliance of almost 50 local residents, concerned ecologists, forest lovers and advocates for the protection of the North Coast’s globally significant biodiversity gathered last week to celebrate the amazing Greater Glider and the Dunggirr (koala) in Clouds Creek State Forest.
Mr Graham said, “We are demanding the protection of these globally significant tall Eucalypt forests and demand that the EPA issue stop-work orders to stop the ongoing and escalating crimes being committed by FCNSW”.
Mr Graham said, “We’re going to meet this with music, dance and love”.
https://www.newsofthearea.com.au/celebration-of-forests-to-prevent-logging-at-clouds-creek-97989
https://www.newsofthearea.com.au/coffs-coast-news-of-the-area-5-august-2022-98006
Gaagal Wanggaan expansion:
Gaagal Wanggaan National Park on the NSW mid-north coast has been expanded with the addition of the 212 hectare Bald Hill private property, a site of significant cultural importance to Gumbaynggirr people.
https://afndaily.com.au/2022/07/31/more-biodiversity-protected-in-national-park-expansion/
Reprieve for Endangered Ecological Communities:
Ballina Council has voted to pursue environmental zoning for a controversial property adjoining Burns Point Ferry Road and River Street in West Ballina proposed for 150-300 houses, since the court declared it ‘unsuitable for urban development because of endangered ecological communities’.
https://www.echo.net.au/2022/08/contested-land-in-west-ballina-to-be-protected/
Cultural burns spread:
“Cultural burns” are booming across the Gunnedah region with multiple agencies getting on board with the newly founded Gomeroi Cultural Burn Network.
https://www.nvi.com.au/story/7846474/culture-burns-bright-more-cultural-burn-workshops-on-the-way/
Helping landholders market environmental services:
Local Land Services and Ethical Fields have launched an Environmental Markets Leadership Program, to help landholders identify, market and benefit from their natural assets.
The program supports land managers and farmers to break down and simplify the world of environmental markets by identifying the environmental services they generate on their land and defining ways to create income and other benefits from these services.
The Environmental Markets Leadership Program team is now taking registrations from interested land managers and farmers across NSW. For more information or to register your interest, visit www.emlp.com.au/nsw-emlp.
https://seedstockcentral.com.au/2022/08/01/environmental-markets-now-more-accessible-to-farmers/
Trees Near Me:
Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) have released a new Trees Near Me NSW app designed to help people identify which native species naturally occur in their vicinity for tree planting – though it may have other uses.
He said the Trees Near Me NSW app was free to download from Google Play and Apple app store.
https://psnews.com.au/2022/08/02/new-trees-app-tells-which-are-where/?state=aps
Expanding Plantations:
The Forestry Corporation is tipped to spend close to $200 million buying about 19,000 of freehold land from Hume Forests, with a net pine plantation area of about 14,000 hectares, located between the Tumut-Tumbarumba and Bathurst-Oberon regions of NSW.
Forestry recognised for fire fighting:
150 Forestry Corporation staff were awarded the National Emergency Medal for their efforts in fighting the 2019-20 wildfires.
https://www.newsofthearea.com.au/coffs-coast-news-of-the-area-5-august-2022-98006
https://www.newsofthearea.com.au/forestry-corporation-staff-recognised-for-fighting-fires-98041
Redeveloping Mount Canobolas:
A draft management plan to guide tourism growth in Orange, Blayney and Cabonne that touts a skyway and redevelopment of the Canobolas summit, a Mount Canobolas Aboriginal heritage centre, walking and cycling trails, water-based activities and a destination playground, has raised the ire of some residents.
Bundjalung is great except you can’t drive thru it:
4x4 Australia has an in-depth article describing the attractions of Bundjalung National Park that laments the tracks and beach north from Iluka to Black Rock can’t be driven.
… I was met with a very locked gate and signage stating ‘No Entry’
A few years ago it was possible to drive along the beach right up to the Black Rocks camping area, but that’s been closed due to coffee rock on the beach being too unstable to drive across.
The frustrating part was seeing nearly 40km of thick bush all locked up beside the highway.
https://www.whichcar.com.au/explore/explore-nsw/bundjalung-national-park-nsw
AUSTRALIA
Protection of Greater Gliders not a federal responsibility:
More of the same as feds try to wash their hands of responsibility for threatened species. In response to environmentalists accusing state agency VicForests of logging an area identified as greater glider habitat near Orbost in East Gippsland, less than a month after federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek declared it endangered, she has said it is a state responsibility.
“The current areas set aside for greater gliders are inadequate, especially after the black summer bushfires,” said Tuffy Morwitzer from the Goongerah Environment Centre. “The minister can easily rectify this by stopping native forest logging in prime greater glider habitat and make those areas permanent reserves.”
Asked about the logging of glider habitat in East Gippsland, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said …
“States are responsible for evaluating the new Conservation Advice for the Greater Glider to determine if their forestry management systems are suitable. I expect all states to do this as a priority.”
Profitable for some?
While Government forestry agencies haemorrhage public money on their native forestry operations, run down carbon and biodiversity, and leaving behind vast swathes of degraded lands, its reassuring to know that at least the loggers make lots of money.
The last time VicForests made a profit from the sale of Victoria’s native forests was in 2016, booking just over $2 million. Since then, VicForests’ losses have quadrupled from $5 to nearly $20 million in the past four years with the costs of logging operations exceeding the sale of forest products by greater margins each succeeding year.
Yet timber is clearly a profitable business. Searches of the financial statements of Allied Natural Wood Exports, which buys wood from VicForests, show revenues growing from $19 million in 2016 to over $65 million in the company’s latest financial statement from 2019, with close to $20 million cash profit coming through the door.
VicForests’ balance sheet is only helped by “other income from Victorian government entities”, which this year exceeded $18 million. These payments are largely grants for VicForests’ role in the Leadbeater’s possum recovery program … which VicForests actively flouts. This transfer of wealth from the public to the forestry industry doesn’t even achieve the protection of threatened species which it claims.
https://michaelwest.com.au/vicforests-whats-the-scam/
At least demonstrators will have to pay more for protesting:
Victorian Labour’s act to increase penalties for forest protestors up to 12 months jail and more than $21,000 fines has been passed, despite opposition by the Maritime Union of Australia, the United Workers Union and Australian Services Union labelling it as an undemocratic bill that will lead to further erosion of workers’ rights. At least it will make loggers safe from violent greenies.
The Sustainable Forests Timber Amendment (Timber Harvesting Safety Zones) Bill 2022 is set to be debated in Victoria's upper house, and potentially put to a vote, on Thursday evening.
The Victorian branches of the Maritime Union of Australia, the United Workers Union and Australian Services Union wrote to the state government on Tuesday in an 11th hour bid to withdraw the "undemocratic" bill.
"The bill wrongly locates workplace risk in the democratic right to protest," reads the letter to Premier Daniel Andrews, Agriculture Minister Gayle Tierney and Workplace Safety Minister Ingrid Stitt.
"Any stripping away of the right to protest eventually finds its way to further limiting workplace action. Already Australia has some of the most restrictive laws around industrial action in the world.
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7848249/anti-protest-vic-forest-bill-set-to-pass/
The bill was supported by Labor, the Liberals and the majority of the crossbench, and will see protesters faced with up to $21,000 dollars in fines or 12 months in jail for protesting logging in our native forests.
We’ve seen environmental groups, lawyers, human rights experts and even unions come out against this bill, because they recognise the threat it poses to the right to protest and the threat posed by climate change.
https://www.miragenews.com/grim-day-for-native-forests-as-major-parties-831571/
https://www.gleninnesexaminer.com.au/story/7848249/victoria-anti-protest-forest-bill-passes/?cs=12
The Sustainable Forests Timber Amendment (Timber Harvesting Safety Zones) Bill 2022 passed Victoria's upper house on Thursday evening, with the final vote count 30 to five after Labor and the coalition joined forces.
It will now return to the lower house to be rubber-stamped, before going to Victorian Governor Linda Dessau for royal assent and becoming law.
https://www.perthnow.com.au/politics/anti-protest-vic-forest-bill-set-to-pass-c-7759044
To prevent repeated safety risks across multiple Timber Harvesting Safety Zones, Authorised Officers will be able to issue Banning Notices when there are reasonable grounds to believe that a person has committed or will commit a specified offence. The notices will aim to stop individuals from repeatedly engaging in dangerous activities in Timber Harvesting Safety Zones and other forestry coupe areas.
Authorised Officers will be given additional powers to search containers, bags and vehicles for prohibited items.
Minister for Agriculture Gayle Tierney …“Forestry workers deserve to be safe at work and that’s why we have strengthened these laws to make it clear that we don’t tolerate people putting workers at risk while they are on the job.”
https://www.miragenews.com/legislation-to-protect-forestry-workers-passed-832236/
SPECIES
The underground highway:
A new study assessed whether five highway underpasses under the Oxley Highway at Port Macquarie and seven under the Pacific Highway south of Grafton. help animals safely cross roads, finding they are well used and that predation at entrances may not be a major problem.
Our new research explores whether highway underpasses help animals safely cross roads. We wanted to know if animals actually use underpasses – and if they had hidden dangers by funnelling animals through a confined space, making it easier for predators.
What we found was quite astounding. Vastly more animals than we expected were using the underpass. We detected over 4,800 medium-large mammals and goannas, while smaller species such as snakes and rodents also used the underpasses but were less reliably detected by our cameras.
Species such as eastern grey kangaroos, swamp wallabies, red-necked wallabies, red-necked pademelons and lace monitors crossed some underpasses more than once a week. Rufous bettongs and echidnas crossed individual underpasses every two to four weeks. These crossing rates suggest animals use underpasses to forage on both sides of the freeways.
We were particularly interested in whether the endangered koala would use the underpasses. They did, occasionally. We found they were not avoiding the underpasses, because they were detected infrequently in the adjoining forest.
These observations suggest potential prey may be avoiding the underpasses when foxes are about.
https://theconversation.com/good-news-highway-underpasses-for-wildlife-actually-work-187434?utm_
https://www.thetimes.com.au/world/16083-highway-underpasses-for-wildlife-actually-work
Save Sydney’s Koalas:
A new petition started by Save Sydney’s Koalas calls on NSW Legislative Assembly to 1. Declare an Upper Georges River Koala National Park, 2. Stop the rezoning of Stage 2 of the Gilead development and review the approval of Stage 1 , 3. Build five effective Koala crossings on Appin Road and 4. Implement minimum 450m wide Koala corridors across the rivers and creeks of Macarthur.
Vaccinating Koalas, should they have choice:
Professor Timms was recently made a Queensland Great for his development of a vaccine against chlamydia in koalas, which he now wants to develop into a vaccine available to all vets.
"We're making life more stressful for koalas. We're taking their trees away and there's thousands and thousands of koalas affected by that activity every year."
"They all used to be connected in big groups but now they're all separated, because we keep building roads and housing estates and we divide them into smaller and smaller groups. So where they used to be 100 koalas in a group it becomes 50 and then 20 and then they disappear altogether.
https://www.examiner.com.au/story/7841461/peters-mission-to-save-our-koalas/?cs=9916
The Tweed Coast Koala Research Hub in Pottsville has been officially opened, with the aim to vaccinate as many kolas as possible as part of a chlamydia vaccine research program.
https://www.echo.net.au/2022/08/tweed-research-hub-battling-chlamydia-for-koalas/
Helping Koalas:
Port Stephens Examiner has an article about the local demise of Koalas and the willingness of the Port Stephens Koala Hospital to help injured Koalas.
Ron Land, president of the Port Stephens Koala Hospital, said the biggest contributor to koala deaths and admissions into the hospital at One Mile were due to chlamydia, car strikes and dog attacks.
Mr Land said on the Tomaree and Tilligerry peninsulas the number of koalas was "perilous".
"You've got to measure everything here [at the sanctuary] against the number of koalas we think are still in the wild - that's between 250 and 350, down from 800 only 10 years ago," he said.
Koalaways promo:
As part of its Koalaways program the Gloucester Environment Group (GEG) is holding a public forum at Barrington Hall about partnering with local landholders to plant koala friendly trees.
https://www.gloucesteradvocate.com.au/story/7843644/koala-habitat-workshop-at-barrington-hall/
Predicting Koala’s fate in Northern Rivers:
A study used expert elicitation to model the effectiveness of 6 management actions on the future of Koalas in three regional landscapes – Coastal, Hinterland, and Riverine – in the Ballina, Lismore, Byron and Tweed LGAs, finding that if nothing is done Koalas will continue to decline in the 3 landscapes, most dramatically in riverine areas, identifying that neither habitat protection nor habitat restoration alone were sufficient to redress decline and additional actions were required with varying effectiveness in each landscape.
The six management actions fall into two categories, namely reducing mortality factors, e.g. death rates, through wild dog/dingo management, domestic dog management, vehicle strikes, i.e. roadkill, injury and disease management; and increasing population growth potential through protecting and restoring habitat. Although habitat protection and/or habitat restoration alone were not predicted to be sufficient to reverse the decline of koala populations in any landscape, any changes in habitat area will result in changes in the potential stability, viability, and maximum size of the koala population. Our model predicts that a combination of habitat management and any other individual action would likely reverse the decline of the koala populations, with the exception of one combination in the Coastal landscape (habitat restoration, habitat protection, and either wild or domestic dog management). In addition, the potential to stabilise or increase the koala populations by 2039 using a single action to reduce mortality in any landscape was increased by protecting and restoring habitat. This makes logical sense because populations would be expected to decline if habitat is decreased, but have potential to expand where habitat is protected and ultimately increased or enhanced through restoration programs. If managers seek to reverse the decline in koala numbers through the improvement of a single, mortality-related management action in the Coastal landscape, they will therefore also need to protect and restore habitat.
This study has confirmed that multiple actions are required to manage threats to koalas in north-east NSW, and that the contribution of each action varies from place to place. We predict ongoing losses of the koala populations if no changes are undertaken, as well as various rates of recovery when different combinations of management actions are implemented effectively
https://www.publish.csiro.au/wr/pdf/WR22038
An overabundance of Koalas
As extensive Victorian Blue Gum plantations established in the 1990s mature, there are concerns that mass clearfelling will result in mass starvation and mass culling of the Koalas who now live in them.
A 2020 estimate suggested 46,917 of the marsupials made their homes in blue gum plantations across the state which are now ready to be harvested.
While the government spokesperson said rules for the protection of koalas in plantations have been “strengthened” with “mandatory minimum requirements” during harvests, local wildlife carers tell a different story.
One rescuer, who spoke to Yahoo News Australia on the condition of anonymity said problems with displaced koalas are increasing.
“I can’t express how bad it is, what’s going on here, and it’s just getting worse,” they said.
Harvesters planning to disturb koalas in plantations currently have to apply for authorisation to do so, and prepare a management plan that meets standards set by DELWP to minimise risks to the animals.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/victorias-koalas-face-perfect-storm-of-mass-destruction-085730971.html
Giving with one hand, taking with the other:
The Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority has received almost $250,000 from the Federal Government to expand the abundance of nectar resources for Swift Parrots by revegetating sites with locally Indigenous trees and shrubs – meanwhile mature nectar trees in logging areas continue to be felled.
https://www.southernriverinanews.com.au/news/swift-action-funded-to-save-parrot/
A focus on platypus:
Citizen scientists are being asked to record their platypus observations in September.
A survey is currently underway in the Manning River catchment on the state's north coast - an area which has been devastated by severe drought, the Black Summer bushfires and flooding.
Two male platypuses have been retrieved to date.
The biggest threats to platypus are extreme weather exacerbated by a changing climate, deforestation, polluted waterways and invasive species. Degraded waterways prevent the platypus from forming burrows.
Citizen scientists can record their platypus observations on a dedicated portal throughout September.
"This project allows the general public to participate in active conservation and monitoring of platypuses," Dr Bino said.
"You can report observations or create community events."
The relatively limited data on its rate of decline is hindering a push to have the platypus listed as a threatened species Australia-wide.
Currently, the platypus is listed as vulnerable in Victoria and endangered in South Australia.
"We are trying to understand how platypuses are faring in eastern Australia and how they are coping with sequences of extreme events … starting with extreme drought in 2019, then extreme fires, then two very wet years with some places recording the worst flooding in recorded history," Dr Bino said.
"So, get down to your local creek, spend some time in nature and try and spot a platypus, register and record your sighting on our platy-project map, and let us know.
"We are seeing once common species like koalas go from common to vulnerable to endangered in just a decade, and we have similar concerns for the platypus.
"The destruction of their habitat and the effects of climate change are really having a toll on this species."
If you haven’t already you can RSVP to the online launch of the month of action on Thursday 1 September at 6.30pm AEST.
A centre of ant diversity:
A world map of ant diversity has been published, not unsurprisingly it identifies our east coast forests as being world centres of ant diversity and rare ants.
Published today in Science Advances, this world-first map of ant diversity also acts as a “treasure map”, highlighting likely regions rich in undiscovered species.
We found it was a low percentage – only 15% of the top 10% of ant rarity centres had some sort of legal protection, such as a national park or reserve, which is less than existing protection for vertebrates.
WIRES expenditure of bushfire funds under attack again:
A disgruntled member of the WIRES board has resigned in frustration claiming it failed to properly deploy the record $100 million in donations it received in the wake of the Black Summer bushfires.
A second member of the state council who asked not to be named said that despite the huge pool of donations to the head office, the branches remained starved of funds and claims for reimbursement of expenses were delayed or ignored, and that there was growing dissatisfaction with WIRES chief executive Leanne Taylor.
Financial documents filed in January show WIRES received donations of $102,478,085, including $90,432,238 raised for a bushfire emergency fund, in the combined financial years of 2020 and 2021. Before the fires the organisation routinely managed revenues of around $3 million.
At the end of the 2021 financial year, the fund was sitting on a balance of $87,226,248, just over $1.5 million less than it held in mid-2020.
More effective killing:
Who would have thought it, as mice make a comeback, CSIRO found doubling the dose of zinc phosphide in mouse baits kills more mice, so we can expect more of everything to be killed.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/aap/article-11073985/New-baits-needed-kill-mice-CSIRO.html
Deadly ducks:
Wedge-tailed eagles and other protected species are at risk of being paralysed by lead poisoning in Victoria, with humans also at risk, as lead levels in ducks were found to be "well above" food safety standards at four Victorian duck-hunting waterways, meanwhile illegal lead ammunition is still being used to shoot ducks.
The use of lead bullets for duck hunting is illegal in Victoria and has been since 2001 with the Game Management Authority stating, "lead is a toxic substance that can harm humans, wildlife and the environment".
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-03/victoria-duck-hunting-lead-poisoning/101292288
The feral takeover:
Tweed and Byron shires are alarmed as sightings of feral deer increase, calling on people to report any they see, while elsewhere in the state other burgeoning feral populations are of more concern, with farmers most concerned with pigs and dingoes/dogs – and I understand that ground mammals and birds are particularly concerned about foxes and the booming cat populations eating them.
‘Deer are renowned for jumping out from roadsides and bounding across roads. Some feral deer weigh up to 240kg – almost as much as a Harley Davidson motorbike – and 3 times the weight of a male red kangaroo! That’s not something you want to see on the road in front of you, especially in the dark.
‘The Northern Rivers is one of the few areas left on the eastern seaboard of Australia where deer have not yet become established and we need to pull together and do everything we can to keep it that way.’
Report all sightings at www.feralscan.org.au/deerscan or phone Local Land Services on 1300 795 299. For more information go to: www.feraldeeralert.com.au or tweed.nsw.gov.au/deer.
NSW Farmers Western Division Council chair Gerard Glover said there were a lot of feral cats appearing on cameras that had been set up across the region, and the expansion of deer into new areas would create headaches for motorists, but pigs and dogs remained the main concern for farmers.
‘Cats and foxes typically prey on small native animals, which is a big concern, while deer present a new danger for people driving on country roads,’ Mr Glover said.
‘Far and away though the pigs and the dogs are the most destructive, tearing up paddocks and fences, and attacking livestock.
https://www.echo.net.au/2022/08/deer-pigs-dogs-cats-feral-animals-causing-serious-damage/
ABC Nightlife has a recording of a 48m segment on feral animals in response to the State of Environment Report.
https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/nightlife/invasive-species-destroying-our-environment/14005346
Breeding feral horses:
Amidst threats and intimidation, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service removed 334 horses from Kosciuszko National Park between February and June this year, which is well below their breeding rate.
“This is an important start, but if we are to protect the environmental values of Kosciuszko, we need to increase feral horse removal efforts significantly,” Invasive Species Council Conservation Director James Trezise said.
“With more than 14,000 horses in the park and the population growing by about 20 per cent every year, this rate of removal is nowhere near what’s needed to keep up with breeding rates.
“This means that the feral horse population in Kosciuszko is continuing to grow which has dire implications for native wildlife and ecosystems in the park.
https://tumbarumbatimes.com.au/news/334-horses-removed-from-kosciuszko/
https://monaropost.com.au/news/brumby-management-plan-report
THE DETERIORATING PROBLEM
No flood relief:
Droughts can wait a while, as our current wet phase is set to continue into next year, as we experience our second negative Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) as well as La Niña event in a row, the same weather pattern as occurred last year.
This is only the second time a negative IOD has occurred back-to-back since reliable records began in 1960.
“This has coincided with back-to-back La Niña events as well,” Domensino said. “Australia, at the moment, is stuck in this prolonged period of wet phase climate drivers – the broadscale patterns that influence our weather.”
The outlook for eastern NSW and eastern Queensland, which have been inundated with recent rains, is for above-average rain in the coming months, both because of the IOD and the La Niña weather pattern.
As the north-west cloud bands drift across the continent, most of the rain will fall on the western side of the Great Dividing Range, a different weather pattern to that which has caused flooding in Sydney and other regions over the past eight months.
East Antarctica melting:
While the West Antarctic ice sheet is known to be melting and contributing to sea-level rise, researchers have found that waters around the East Antarctic ice sheet are similarly warming, threatening accelerating sea-level rises and survival of krill.
The research, published today in Nature Climate Change, shows changing water circulation in the Southern Ocean may be compromising the stability of the East Antarctic ice sheet. The ice sheet, about the size of the United States, is the largest in the world.
We hope our results will inspire global efforts to limit global warming below 1.5℃. To achieve this, global greenhouse gas emissions need to fall by around 43% by 2030 and to near zero by 2050.
Brave new world:
Fires are breaking out across the drought ravaged western USA states of California, Montana, and Idaho, killing people, burning homes and threatening towns.
https://apnews.com/article/wildfires-fires-forests-california-yreka-43ad455ead17ade1278a8c08adf15a68
Meanwhile further east in Kentucky at least 37 people have died as houses were washed away and residents stranded on roofs, in what the governor called "one of the worst, most devastating flooding events in Kentucky's history.", and now its going to get excessively hot and humid.
No jobs on a dead planet:
The Sydney Morning Herald’s economics editor Ross Gittins has an article highlighting warnings from the State of Environment Report that we will have an unlivable economy if environmental action isn’t taken.
A wounded environment has started punching back – and will soon lead to an unlivable economy if action isn’t taken.
As we get more prosperous, the population grows, our towns and cities get bigger and we clear more forest to build more houses, roads, highways and bridges. We pull more fish from the sea. We move around a lot. And we power it all by digging up fossil fuels and burning them.
As the population’s grown and consumption per person has multiplied, we’ve done more and more damage to the environment. But here’s the trick: we’ve hit the environment so hard, it’s started punching back.
That’s why the most important economic event of recent times is not the latest rise in interest rates, it’s last month’s State of the Environment report – whose release was delayed until we found a government with the courage to break the bad news.
As forests decline there are less to go around:
New research found world wide forest declined by 81.7 million hectares since 1960, though only because most loss was offset by regrowth, with population growth resulting in a 60% decrease in forest area per capita.
The research, lead by Ronald Estoque from the Center for Biodiversity and Climate Change, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute (FFPRI) and published in Environmental Research Letters, found a total forest decline by 81.7 million hectares since 1960.
According to the study, global gross forest loss over the time period (1960 to 2019) reached 437.3 million hectares, which outweighed the total gross forest gain of 355.6 million hectares during that time.
This forest loss combined with an increasing population from around 3 billion people in 1960 to 7.7 billion people in 2019 has led to a 60% decrease in forest area per capita. Loss of this scale will impact millions of people, the study explained.
https://www.ecowatch.com/global-forest-decline.html
https://www.eurasiareview.com/02082022-global-forest-area-per-capita-has-decreased-by-over-60/
TURNING IT AROUND
Monitoring forest loss out of this world:
Forest loss accounts for 20% of all the world's carbon dioxide emissions, now forest and carbon loss can be monitored in real time from the International Space Station, enabling timely responses to illegal logging.
To help him track and record all of this, he now uses the latest version of a free piece of software called the Integrated Management Effectiveness Tool.
Some 10 million hectares (25 million acres) of the world's forests are lost every year, according to the United Nations.
This deforestation accounts for 20% of all the world's carbon dioxide emissions, according to the World Wildlife Fund, which adds that "by reducing forest loss, we can reduce carbon emissions and fight climate change".
This increased focus on managing forests has given rise to new digital tools to gather, sort and use data better.
One of these is the FAO's own Framework for Ecosystem Monitoring (Ferm) website. The site was launched last year, and uses satellite imagery to highlight changes to forests around the world. The maps and data are accessible to any internet users, be they a scientist, government official, business, or member of the public.
The tech itself is certainly very sci-fi turned real life. "We shoot laser beams at trees from the International Space Station," says Laura Duncanson, who helps to lead the Gedi project from the Univesrity of Marylands's Department of Geographical Sciences.
"We use the use the reflected energy to map forests in 3D, including their height, canopy density, and carbon content," adds Dr Duncanson, who is a leading expert in remote sensing. "This is an exciting new technology because for decades we have been able to observe deforestation from space, but now with Gedi we can assign the carbon emissions associated with forest loss [for greater accuracy]."
He adds: "Basically, now, with all these publicly available satellites combined, we can get a full snapshot of the Earth every four to five days."
https://au.news.yahoo.com/space-tech-helping-tackle-deforestation-230052792.html
Offsets for Carbon offsets running out:
California’s multi-billion-dollar carbon offset program allows polluters to purchase ‘carbon credits’ from forest owners to offset their emissions, as offsets need to be maintained for 100 years a “buffer pool” is built into the system to account for carbon losses due to droughts, fires, and disease over the next 100 years, regrettably after just 10 years almost all the buffer pool has been used, meaning that any losses over the next 90 years will directly release the offset carbon.
Researchers have found that California’s forest carbon buffer pool, designed to ensure the durability of the state’s multi-billion-dollar carbon offset program, is severely undercapitalized. The results show that, within the offset program’s first 10 years, estimated carbon losses from wildfires have depleted at least 95% of the contributions set aside to protect against all fire risks over 100 years. This means that the buffer pool is unable to guarantee that credited forest carbon remains out of the atmosphere for at least 100 years. The results, published in Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, illustrate that the program, one of the world’s largest, is likely not meeting its set requirements.
As California law requires a storage duration of at least 100 years, the California Air Resources Board, which implements the state’s primary climate law, has developed a self-insurance mechanism called a buffer pool.
“Individual projects affiliated with the program contribute a share of the credits they earn to the buffer pool, which then stands ready to absorb any losses when trees in participating forests die and release their carbon back to the atmosphere. So long as there are credits in the buffer pool, the program is properly insured against future risks to forest health,” continued Cullenward.
“In just 10 years, wildfires have exhausted protections designed to last for a century. It is incredibly unlikely that the program will be able to withstand the wildfires of the next 90 years, particularly given the role of the climate crisis in exacerbating fire risks,” said co-author Dr Oriana Chegwidden, of CarbonPlan.
“More and more companies and governments are using ‘nature-based’ offsets to market consumer-facing claims. While there are many good reasons to invest in forest health and conservation, forest carbon offsets don’t deliver climate benefits that justify ongoing fossil CO2 emissions,” said Cullenward.
https://www.miragenews.com/worrying-finding-in-californias-multi-billion-832078/
https://www.ft.com/content/d54d5526-6f56-4c01-8207-7fa7e532fa09
Using nature to offset nature distress:
A study assessed visitors psychological experiences and responses from a visit to Mount Barney Lodge in Queensland’s Scenic Rim region, finding 78% of respondents experienced sadness, anger, anxiety and other grieving emotions in response to current pressures on the Earth’s life supporting systems, though found their immersion in nature healing.
Our latest research examined an eco-tourism enterprise in Australia. There, visitors’ emotional states were often connected to nature’s cycles of decay and regeneration. As nature renews, so does human hope.
As our climate changes, humans will inhabit and know the world differently. Our findings suggest nature is both the trigger for, and answer to, the grief that will increasingly be with us.
One reflected on how they “have laid awake at night thinking about all the biodiversity loss [and] climate change and wept” and another said they felt “so sad for the animals” in the face of bushfires or urban sprawl.
There is increasing evidence of nature’s ability to help people sit with and process complex emotional states – improving their mood, and becoming happier and more satisfied with life.
Participants explained how “being in nature is important to mental wellbeing”, is “healing and rejuvenating” and “always gives me a sense of spiritual coherence and connection with the natural world”.
Our findings suggest immersing ourselves in nature more frequently will help us process emotions linked to ecological and climate breakdown – and thus find hope.
Eco-tourism sites promote opportunities for what’s known as eutierria – a powerful state that arises when one experiences a sense of oneness and symbiosis with Earth and her life-supporting systems.
Through this powerful state, it’s possible for one to undertake the courageous acts needed to advocate on behalf of nature. This is essential for the transformations Earth desperately needs.
This reiterates that nature plays a dualistic role in our wellbeing [8 ,25 ]. Despite being the source of our great suffering when the reciprocal communion is broken, it may also be the one thing we must turn to for healing and rejuvenation [ 24]. In these ways, these results support the need for programs that promote nature connectedness, although other strategies that help people to manage emotional responses will be necessary due to the mental health risks of connecting with a natural environment that is degrading [8]
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/13/7948/htm#B9-sustainability-14-07948
Forest Media 29 July 2022
New South Wales
Only 4 days left for the petition to the NSW parliament to end the logging of NSW’s public forests wraps up, it is currently over 16,500 but needs to reach 20,000 by 11:59pm on August 2nd to be debated. So please promote it.
https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/la/Pages/ePetition-details.aspx?q=quge-8rdRlyn4PTcuMj_PA
Friday for Forests are busy. On Friday 29th July forest protectors from the Kyogle Environment Group gathered to document industrial style logging on private land stretching for a kilometre along the road just a short walk from the World Heritage listed Border Ranges National Park, calling for a halt to the logging while a proper assessment of the damage done is made by the EPA. Also on Friday protectors gathered to celebrate the amazing Greater Glider and the Dunggirr (Koala) in a place of forest death at Clouds Creek State Forest where the forest is currently being industrially logged.
The articles on the Wild Cattle Creek prosecutions, Koalas and Kalang Headwaters in the paper edition of News of the Area are now online.
Environmental regulators filed a record 195 criminal cases in the NSW Land and Environment Court in 2021, a sharp increase over the past five years, which the Environmental Defenders Office attributed to the establishment of the Natural Resources Access Regulator in 2017.
The Shellharbour community is celebrating Killalea being handed to the NPWS, following a long campaign to stop Reflections Holiday Park’s plans for a function centre and eco-cabins. Though their celebrations may be premature. The ABC has a lengthy article about people’s concerns with the provision of up-market huts and tourist facilities in national parks, focussing on the Light to Light walk in Ben Boyd National Park and mentioning the proposed Dorrigo National Park walk, both of which the NPWS say they will manage, though others consider they will be progressively privatised as they have in Tasmania, degrading the natural values they visit for.
New South Wales landholders and community members are being encouraged to apply for new board positions on Local Land Services by August 30.
Australia
The State of the Environment report has brought our extinction and climate crises to the fore, with many articles focussing the extinction risk, including the need to stop landclearing and logging. The Times bases its review upon the hypothetical proposition of someone wanting to develop a penguin farm near Alice Springs and needing federal approval, identifying the need for better legislation, more spending on threatened species, more rigorous offsets and mandatory monitoring. There is a call for greater investment in landcare to address the environmental crisis. The Sydney Morning Herald has articles describing our disgraceful litany of extinctions and lack of meaningful commitment to saving the increasing numbers of threatened species, with forests mentioned as an issue, and an emphasis on the need for action by the federal government. Peter Hartcher has an article focussing on the state of the environment and the challenges for the federal government to turn our biodiversity and climate crises around.
Dr Hanna urges people to recognise that their health depends on the environment’s health, citing the example of the millennium drought drying the Murray River’s Lower Lakes exposing acidic soils, while the mouth of the Murray River closed and parts of the Coorong became too salty for many native plants and animals to survive, resulting in tourists vanishing along with the water, towns ending up like ghost towns, and property values going caput.
Professor James Watson from the University of Queensland five easy ways Labor can get started now, while it works on its longer-term environmental reforms: restoring degraded farming land with native vegetation, dealing with land clearing, phase out logging of native forests, properly fund protected areas and boost threatened species recovery efforts. The Labor Environmental Action Network is pushing for more ambition from Labor, particularly consideration of greenhouse gas emissions when development proposals are assessed, the incorporation of a climate trigger into creation of an independent environment commission, and a serious review of carbon markets, including to ensure biodiversity was protected. They focussed on landclearing and logging as being of particular concern.
Like the previous Government Plibersek promised to protect 30% of Australia’s land and waters by 2030 joining 100 other countries that have signed onto this “30 by 30” target. At present, around 22% of Australia’s land mass is protected in our national reserve system, the problem is that most of these “reserves” are private or Indigenous Protected Areas, with management largely unfunded by Government requiring commercial partnerships – what this article misses is that this target should be (but isn’t) for strictly protected reserves on a bioregional and habitat basis and that it should be a minimum, increasing with habitat values, rather than allowing arid lands to make up shortfalls in biodiverse coastal forests.
The Bob Brown Foundation’s (BBF) Federal Court challenge to a decision made by former environment minister Sussan Ley to allow Chinese state-owned miner MMG to commence preliminary work on a mining waste dam in Tasmania’s takayna / Tarkine rainforests was upheld by Justice Mark Moshinsky finding that the precautionary principle hadn’t been applied as the potential impact on the Tasmania Masked Owl was not considered
In Western Australia ministerial consent for exploration and mining activity in nature reserves, conservation parks and state forests has been granted on 33 occasions in the past five years for a variety of resources from gas to battery metals, with numerous current applications for exploration leases.
Following Pentarch Group’s acquisition of the Boral Timber portfolio of building products and materials in 2021 it has now completed the rebranding of its products, as it talks up export woodchipping.
The Department of Planning and Environment is backing Planet Ark’s National Tree Day (31 July), where people are encouraged to plant trees - meanwhile Planet Ark are running adds encouraging people to use more timber from already mature trees. Despite Planet Ark, some realise the need to save existing trees.
To celebrate National Science Week (August 13-21) the ABC has identified a list of 33 beautiful, iconic, unusual, and useful trees and is asking you to vote for your favourite.
Species
Koala theme parks are all the rage. In 2019 the Queensland Government gave Dreamworld $2.7m to build the Future Lab wildlife research centre for Koalas, and then allowed them to repurpose the funding to build the Steel Taipan attraction – a fun ride for Koalas. Gunnedah Shire Council’s plans for the 50-acre koala theme park on the town’s western approaches, including a wildlife centre and koala hospital, koala sanctuary, playground, mini golf, zipline, safari huts, and a petting zoo, have hit a snag with a costs blowout of $6.2 million despite already receiving $6.48 million of taxpayers funds.
Aussie Ark has been granted $248,000 from the Australian government for a captive breeding facility for New Holland mouse onsite at the Australian Reptile Park in Somersby. And they keep growing, now there is a proposal to create a mega-sanctuary, incorporating almost all of the existing National Parks west of the M1 on the Central Coast stretching all the way to the Blue Mountains.
A study using radio-tracking collars followed 20 hand-reared possums up to 40 days after release, finding only eight (40%) survived until the end of the study, while nine (45%) were killed by foxes or had to be returned to rehabilitation, and three possums had unknown fates, as they lost radio signal. The deaths were caused by foxes, mostly within 3 days, which was attributed to hand-reared animals not having learned predator avoidance behaviours.
Residential conflicts expand. Cathie Bravo, a long-term resident at Lake Cathie has been evicted and had half of his home demolished for new homes, solving one housing crisis while amplifying another for koalas, causing angst in the community. Bega's Littlewoods Estate is being developed next to a flying fox camp and will increase conflicts between resident humans and Grey-headed Flying Foxes, leading to calls for a buffer zone and Flying Fox Management Plan, as the developers just want to get on with it.
Artificial light at night is a growing problem, disrupting many species lifecycles, affecting their health and reducing their habitat – light pollution is not just about stargazing, this article shines a light on the issue of how it affects some species, but fails to consider is the mass deaths of insects attracted to light at night as houses spread into the bush.
The new detection of Varroa Mite was made near Nana Glen, north-west of Coffs Harbour, exactly a month after the deadly honeybee parasite was first discovered on Australian soil and bringing the total number of infected sites to 43, leading to establishment of a new quarantine zone – and likely the baiting of both feral and native bees.
Looking After Our Kosciuszko Orphans (LAOKO) are reporting increased roadkills, particularly wombats, due to people flocking to the snow-fields.
The deer rutting season from June through to September is causing problems as deer roam widely, causing car accidents in the Illawara and trampling a 70 year old man at Port Macquarie.
The Deteriorating Problem
Its all getting a bit extreme. July’s unprecedented European heatwave continues as temperature records are beaten (often by wide margins), wildfires blaze across the Mediterranean, air-pollution worsens, and people succumb, as Australia is warned that we can expect worse as climate change takes its toll. Two studies using select climate models found that extreme rainfall events are going to get more frequent and intense than generally accepted, one finding it’s possible that there will be a twofold increase in the volume of extreme rainfall in the 21st century compared to what previous studies estimate, and another finding that extreme rainfall will occur about 30 percent more often by the end of the century, compared to how often it happens right now, under a medium-emissions scenario.
A new CSIRO report finds extreme and unprecedented weather events are increasing in their frequency and scale of impact, with current climate forecasts predicting that we are likely to experience extreme weather conditions that exceed the bounds of historical norms and concurrent climate hazards are likely to compound the overall climate risk for sectors and regions, with heatwaves likely to be more than 85% more frequent and last up to a month if global temperatures rise between 1.5°C and 3°C. The natural environment gets a brief mention.
The new State of the Environment report rates Australian soils as “poor” and “deteriorating” as we disrupt and kill their biomes with pesticides and fertilisers, now researchers are asking for soil samples to map Australia’s networks of soil fungi – maybe some forest samples will help.
In the Courier Mail Dr Christa Pudmenzky identifies how forests are important and explains why they are suffering and dying because of climate change, attributing it to the drying air. But there are other things that make trees thirsty. Due to a severe El Niño event, in the summer of 2015-16 sea levels in the Gulf of Carpentaria dropped 40cm for 6 months, with 40 million mangroves over 76 square kilometers dying of thirst, and they are unlikely to recover as climate change impacts increase.
Two massive wildfires have torn through California’s Sierra Navada mountains over the last 15 years, burning with such intensity through so large an area that the conifer forest will likely be unable to regenerate on its own, experts say.
An American study identified carbon stored in forests in the Upper Midwest over the past 10,000 years, finding that rather than having stable pre-European carbon stores, forests had steadily gained almost a billion tons of carbon (doubling their storage) for 8,000 years before Euro-American settlers began clearing large swaths of forest, then in the span of just 150 years, almost all of that gain disappeared into the atmosphere.
Turning it Around
The US Forest Service has announced it is taking emergency action to save giant sequoias in national parks from the threat of wildfires by speeding up a plan that calls for cutting smaller trees and vegetation and using prescribed fires, much to the chagrin of some environmentalists.
Dailan Pugh
NEW SOUTH WALES
Your help needed to end logging of public forests:
Only 4 days left for the petition to the NSW parliament to end the logging of NSW’s public forests wraps up, it is currently over 16,500 but needs to reach 20,000 by 11:59pm on August 2nd to be debated. So please promote it.
https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/la/Pages/ePetition-details.aspx?q=quge-8rdRlyn4PTcuMj_PA
Friday for Forests are busy:
On Friday 29th July forest protectors from the Kyogle Environment Group gathered to document industrial style logging on private land stretching for a kilometre along the road just a short walk from the World Heritage listed Border Ranges National Park, calling for a halt to the logging while a proper assessment of the damage done is made by the EPA.
Also on Friday protectors gathered to celebrate the amazing Greater Glider and the Dunggirr (Koala) in a place of forest death at Clouds Creek State Forest where the forest is currently being industrially logged.
In these badly burnt forests, the Forestry Corporation (FCNSW) has recently destroyed strongholds of these species with their horrific industrial logging regimes, illegally destroying hollow-bearing and marked habitat trees, collapsing the forests that these sensitive forest fauna need and consigning both of these Endangered and precipitously declining species to extinction within these previous nationally significant strongholds.
Focus on Koalas:
The articles on the Wild Cattle Creek prosecutions, Koalas and Kalang Headwaters in the paper edition of News of the Area are now online.
“These breaches put a spotlight on just how unsustainable, environmentally destructive and damaging logging in public native forests has become” said NPA Conservation Officer Danielle Ryan.
“It’s past time for the NSW government to stop destroying our public native forests.”
NPA President, Dr Grahame Douglas, said, “The NSW Government must act now to protect the north coast koalas and establish the Great Koala National Park near Coffs Harbour immediately.”
https://www.newsofthearea.com.au/forestry-corporation-prosecuted-again-for-habitat-breaches-97348
“Claims by elected representatives that they are benefiting and even doubling our Koala population are blatantly untrue and green-washing, these claims being totally disproven by scientists appointed by their own government,” said Kath Kelly, the Kalang River Forest Alliance.
She said, “In the Kalang Headwaters, citizen scientists have identified significant healthy breeding koala populations across all areas of native forest currently targeted for industrial-scale logging by Forestry Corporation.
Dalian Pugh, from the North East Forest Alliance, said, “It is a tragedy that this was allowed to occur within an area identified as some of the most important koala habitat in Australia, because the NSW and Commonwealth “Governments changed the logging rules in 2018 to remove the need for pre-logging koala surveys and allow koala high-use areas to be logged,” Mr Pugh said.
https://www.newsofthearea.com.au/conservationists-doubt-governments-claims-to-double-koalas-97352
Environmental prosecutions up:
Environmental regulators filed a record 195 criminal cases in the NSW Land and Environment Court in 2021, a sharp increase over the past five years, which the Environmental Defenders Office attributed to the establishment of the Natural Resources Access Regulator in 2017.
Finalisations doubled over the five years, from 75 in 2017 to 151 in 2021. However, the figures also reveal the court’s growing backlog; 343 cases were still pending by the end of 2021, compared with 67 at the close of 2017.
With the United Nations Biodiversity Conference COP15 coming up in December, Griffin is keen to discuss how federal and state and territory governments can partner to improve the protected area network and private land conservation, as well as opportunities to boost private investment in environmental outcomes.
Last year the Environmental Defenders Office won a case on behalf of Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action that resulted in the Land and Environment Court ordering the EPA “to develop environmental quality objectives, guidelines and policies to ensure environment protection from climate change”.
The ruling was in August last year and the EPA was expected to produce a draft policy by mid-year but this has now been pushed back to later in the year.
NPWS takeover of Reflections:
The Shellharbour community is celebrating Killalea being handed to the NPWS, following a long campaign to stop Reflections Holiday Park’s plans for a function centre and eco-cabins. Though their celebrations may be premature.
NPWS takeover by commercialism:
The ABC has a lengthy article about people’s concerns with the provision of up-market huts and tourist facilities in national parks, focussing on the Light to Light walk in Ben Boyd National Park and mentioning the proposed Dorrigo National Park walk, both of which the NPWS say they will manage, though others consider they will be progressively privatised as they have in Tasmania, degrading the natural values they visit for.
[The light to Light walk] isn't the only hut-to-hut style multi-day walk in development in Australia's national parks.
Some, like the recently announced Dorrigo National Park walk in NSW, are being rolled out by state governments.
Others, like the proposed luxury huts along the South Coast Track in Tasmania, and the Australian Walking Company's recently approved Kangaroo Island Lodge Walk in South Australia, are being set up by commercial interests.
Want to join LLS?:
New South Wales landholders and community members are being encouraged to apply for new board positions on Local Land Services by August 30.
For more information on the role and responsibilities of a board member, visit www.lls.nsw.gov.au/board-recruitment.
https://www.sheepcentral.com/new-lls-board-member-candidates-sought-in-nsw/
AUSTRALIA
Extinction mania:
The State of the Environment report has brought our extinction and climate crises to the fore, with many articles focussing the extinction risk, including the need to stop landclearing and logging.
… we are in the midst of Earth’s sixth mass extinction event.
Ecosystems from the tropics to Antarctica, including the Great Barrier Reef, are showing signs of collapse.
Far too few recognise the need to combat climate change, environmental destruction, and extinction in an integrated way
Protecting forests, either on land or underwater, helps to capture and store carbon thereby helping to fight climate change. It also provides homes for countless species. …
Another key ingredient for change is investment. The more countries invest in conservation, the better their conservation outcomes will be. …
https://www.openforum.com.au/the-koala-in-the-coal-mine/
The Times bases its review upon the hypothetical proposition of someone wanting to develop a penguin farm near Alice Springs and needing federal approval, identifying the need for better legislation, more spending on threatened species, more rigorous offsets and mandatory monitoring.
Weak endangered species protection Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek this week signalled reform of Australia’s key environment law, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. As an independent review[3] in 2020 by Graeme Samuel showed, the law has done a woeful job of preventing actions that harm threatened species, such as land clearing.
Australia is a true laggard on environmental spending. Current expenditure is just 15% of what’s needed[4] to avoid extinctions and recover threatened species.
… Offsets must be properly assessed, rigorously verified and robustly monitored to ensure they deliver.
… Mandatory monitoring of projects should be conducted independently – and by people who know how to design and implement such programs.
There is a call for greater investment in landcare to address the environmental crisis.
The Sydney Morning Herald has articles describing our disgraceful litany of extinctions and lack of meaningful commitment to saving the increasing numbers of threatened species, with forests mentioned as an issue, and an emphasis on the need for action by the federal government.
This week the federal government’s publication of the five-yearly State of the Environment report confirmed what scientists already knew – that not only has Australia failed to act fast enough on climate change, arrest its logging or properly husband its precious water resources, we are still killing off our unique fauna at a horrifying rate.
Worse, experts predict that over the coming two decades the northern hopping-mouse, the rock-rat, the Christmas Island flying fox, and the black-footed tree-rat could all go extinct.
This is what frustrates Professor Brendan Wintle, a global leader in conservation ecology based at the University of Melbourne. While in some countries the listing of an animal as threatened marks tends to mark a turnaround in its numbers, in Australia it is often simply a milestone on that animal’s march to extinction.
Tanya Plibersek this week said she would implement the findings of the Samuel Review. A key finding was that the state government’s native forest logging rules do not comply with federal law and urgent reform was needed to impose national standards. …
Asked what she is doing to uphold federal laws, Plibersek said state logging regimes will be reviewed in “coming years” and she will hold “important conversations” with the states.
Peter Hartcher has an article focussing on the state of the environment and the challenges for the federal government to turn our biodiversity and climate crises around.
Plibersek pointed to the plight of the Koala: “When we destroy these habitats – and when we don’t destroy them elsewhere – endangered creatures lose their homes, And that has consequences. ….
But she makes the point that the fundamental fix is above and beyond saving individual animals, plants or places. Its to change systems. It’s the entire ecosystem that’s collapsing, and that can only be countered with change to human systems.
Extinction crisis a threat to us:
Dr Hanna urges people to recognise that their health depends on the environment’s health, citing the example of the millennium drought drying the Murray River’s Lower Lakes exposing acidic soils, while the mouth of the Murray River closed and parts of the Coorong became too salty for many native plants and animals to survive, resulting in tourists vanishing along with the water, towns ending up like ghost towns, and property values going caput.
"If we trash the planet, it's suicide ... and the writing is on the wall," says the chair of the environmental health working group for the World Federation of Public Health Association.
"People talk about the canary in the coal mine. Well, how many animals have to go extinct before we realise 'oh goodness gracious me, we're an animal too'. If we keep doing this then ultimately we'll be next."
It seems obvious to state that human health depends on planetary health but Dr Hanna says it's difficult to get people thinking that way.
As grim as such scenarios are, Dr Hanna wants Australians to turn their minds to the interconnected web of life and says there's no room for the little-old-me syndrome.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/aap/article-11042681/Environment-shock-warning-humans.html
https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/science/2022/07/24/1distressed-environment-gets-worse/
Time for federal action:
Professor James Watson from the University of Queensland five easy ways Labor can get started now, while it works on its longer-term environmental reforms: restoring degraded farming land with native vegetation, dealing with land clearing, phase out logging of native forests, properly fund protected areas and boost threatened species recovery efforts.
Logging our few remaining native forests is a bad idea. It destroys threatened species habitat, making these species more endangered. It worsens fire risk, endangering people’s lives. It threatens our water supplies. Native logging also accelerates climate change because old-growth intact forests store much more carbon than pine plantations.
Logging native forests no longer makes economic sense, given the enormous losses being run up by state forestry enterprises. There’s enough timber in plantations to provide the resources Australia needs.
The easy win? Phase out logging. Work with industry and set a clear time frame to exit native forest logging through revised and accelerated Regional Forest Agreements.
The Labor Environmental Action Network is pushing for more ambition from Labor, particularly consideration of greenhouse gas emissions when development proposals are assessed, the incorporation of a climate trigger into creation of an independent environment commission, and a serious review of carbon markets, including to ensure biodiversity was protected. They focussed on landclearing and logging as being of particular concern.
Wade said part of that needed to address the pace of land-clearing, which scientists say is pushing species towards extinction. …
The report said 7.7m hectares of land used by threatened species, an area larger than Tasmania, was cleared of vegetation or substantially degraded between 2000 and 2017. Nearly all of it – 93% – was for developments or logging that were not referred to the federal minister for consideration under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. Native forest logging is exempt from national environment laws under regional forestry agreements between the states and Canberra.
“Until we can get under control the fact that we still see our native vegetation as something to be logged, burned and shipped off we will continue to see the disintegration of our native animals,” Wade said.
30x30 what?:
Like the previous Government Plibersek promised to protect 30% of Australia’s land and waters by 2030 joining 100 other countries that have signed onto this “30 by 30” target. At present, around 22% of Australia’s land mass is protected in our national reserve system, the problem is that most of these “reserves” are private or Indigenous Protected Areas, with management largely unfunded by Government requiring commercial partnerships – what this article misses is that this target should be (but isn’t) for strictly protected reserves on a bioregional and habitat basis and that it should be a minimum, increasing with habitat values, rather than allowing arid lands to make up shortfalls in biodiverse coastal forests.
On land, the government has been very hands-off. Progress has been driven by non-government organisations, Indigenous communities and individuals. New types of protected area, offering different levels of protection, have emerged. The Australian Wildlife Conservancy now protects or manages almost 13 million hectares – about twice the size of Tasmania. Bush Heritage Australia protects more than 11 million hectares. While these organisations do not always own the land, they have become influential players in conservation.
Partnerships between Traditional Owners and the federal government have produced 81 Indigenous Protected Areas, mainly on native title land. These cover 85 million hectares – fully 50% of our entire protected land estate. Independent ranger groups are also managing Country outside the Indigenous Protected Area system.
In total, public protected areas like national parks have only contributed to around 5% of the expansion of terrestrial protected area since 1996. Non-governmental organisation land purchases, Indigenous Protected Areas and individual private landholders have facilitated 95% of this growth.
So how did non-government organisations become such large players? After the national reserve system was set up, the federal government provided money for NGOs to buy land for conservation, if they could secure some private funding. Protected lands expanded rapidly before the scheme ended in 2012.
Unfortunately, federal funding did not cover the cost of managing these new protected areas. Support for Traditional Owners to manage Indigenous Protected Areas has continued, albeit on erratic short-term cycles and very minimally, to the tune of a few cents per hectare per year.
What does this mean? In short, corporate partnerships and market-based approaches once seen as incompatible with conservation are now a necessity to address the long-term shortfall of government support.
Tarkine reprieve as protestors vindicated:
The Bob Brown Foundation’s (BBF) Federal Court challenge to a decision made by former environment minister Sussan Ley to allow Chinese state-owned miner MMG to commence preliminary work on a mining waste dam in Tasmania’s takayna / Tarkine rainforests was upheld by Justice Mark Moshinsky finding that the precautionary principle hadn’t been applied as the potential impact on the Tasmania Masked Owl was not considered
The BBF says the decision is one of the most significant in environmental law since the inception of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act in 1999.
“This decision tells miners, loggers and other big project proponents that they can no longer profit from the uncertainty that follows a lack of quality scientific investigation,” Bob Brown Foundation’s campaign manager Jenny Weber said.
“The consequence of this decision for MMG’s mine in northwest Tasmania is significant. MMG must cease work, and the new minister, Tanya Plibersek, will need to start the assessment afresh to consider the Tasmania Masked Owl.
[Bob Brown] “In fact, she overlooked the impact of the loss of forest on the threatened Tasmanian Masked Owl altogether. Her delegate did not bring the ‘active intellectual process’ required in applying the precautionary principle. The minister, totally responsible for the delegate’s decision, failed in her obligation.”
Brown has called for the Commonwealth to compensate what he describes as roughly 100 'forest defenders' who were arrested for peacefully protesting MMG’s wrecking operations.
MMG, which owns the Rosebery mine, has also agreed to remove its machinery from the site, which under the orders, it must do on August 1.
Under the court orders, MMG must remove the machinery “at a walking pace having regard to the need to cause minimal disturbance”, and Bob Brown Foundation members must also keep a reasonable distance from MMG staff and equipment and not obstruct them.
The Bob Brown Foundation called on Ms Plibersek to “clear the deck” to protect the Tarkine.
Mining trumps reserves in WA:
In Western Australia ministerial consent for exploration and mining activity in nature reserves, conservation parks and state forests has been granted on 33 occasions in the past five years for a variety of resources from gas to battery metals, with numerous current applications for exploration leases.
There are environmental concerns in WA over Rio Tinto’s exploration leases which cover parts of the 250-kilometre long Northern Jarrah Forest, which the International Panel on Climate Change says is in danger of ecological collapse on a warming planet, that itself sits within Australia’s only global biodiversity hotspot out of 25 in the world.
Environmentalists are clear in their concerns and protested Rio Tinto’s applications to explore the Northern Jarrah Forest — home to many unique and threatened species such as quokkas, black cockatoos, woylies and numbats — on Friday outside the central law courts in Perth.
Pentarch completes rebranding of Boral timber:
Following Pentarch Group’s acquisition of the Boral Timber portfolio of building products and materials in 2021 it has now completed the rebranding of its products, as it talks up export woodchipping.
Pentarch Forestry also incorporates broader specialist services to forest owners, including forest management, harvesting and haulage, and optimising forestry returns by accessing the domestic and export markets with bulk woodchip, and hardwood and softwood log offerings
https://www.timberbiz.com.au/pentarch-forestrys-new-chapter-for-australian-hardwood-products/
Plant trees while they are cut down:
The Department of Planning and Environment is backing Planet Ark’s National Tree Day (31 July), where people are encouraged to plant trees - meanwhile Planet Ark are running adds encouraging people to use more timber from already mature trees. Despite Planet Ark, some realise the need to save existing trees.
“More trees mean more privacy, more shade and cleaner air.”
Further information on local National Tree Day events can be accessed on the Planet Ark website at this PS News link.
https://psnews.com.au/2022/07/26/tree-day-events-pop-up-across-nsw/?state=aps
Replacing native vegetation is more important than ever, considering the damming findings of the recently released State of the Environment report which records the dire state of our native biodiversity, mostly through land clearing.
Because of this wildlife corridors and remnant stands of vital habitat are disappearing nationwide.
Continued loss of native vegetation will continue to seriously impact our native species, and in urban areas affect ourselves, as diminished natural environment will jeopardise the capacity of our towns to be resilient, liveable and sustainable in the face of climate change.
Pick a favourite:
To celebrate National Science Week (August 13-21) the ABC has identified a list of 33 beautiful, iconic, unusual, and useful trees and is asking you to vote for your favourite.
SPECIES
Koala’s rollercoaster ride:
In 2019 the Queensland Government gave Dreamworld $2.7m to build the Future Lab wildlife research centre for Koalas, and then allowed them to repurpose the funding to build the Steel Taipan attraction – a fun ride for Koalas.
Koalas costly:
Gunnedah Shire Council’s plans for the 50-acre koala theme park on the town’s western approaches, including a wildlife centre and koala hospital, koala sanctuary, playground, mini golf, zipline, safari huts, and a petting zoo, have hit a snag with a costs blowout of $6.2 million despite already receiving $6.48 million of taxpayers funds.
Other attractions in the koala sanctuary will include a nature playground, animal enclosures, a wildlife sanctuary walk, a caretaker’s residence, picnic areas, a cultural heritage display and demonstration area, bush-themed mini-golf and zipline, caravan sites and safari tent accommodation.
The Gunnedah Koala Sanctuary project secured $6.48 million through the NSW government’s Regional Social Benefit Infrastructure Fund.
https://www.gunnedahtimes.com.au/news/gunnedahs-koala-sanctuary-hits-62m-snag
New Holland mouse joins the captives:
Aussie Ark has been granted $248,000 from the Australian government for a captive breeding facility for New Holland mouse onsite at the Australian Reptile Park in Somersby.
There are grand plans for even larger enclosures:
And they keep growing, now there is a proposal to create a mega-sanctuary, incorporating almost all of the existing National Parks west of the M1 on the Central Coast stretching all the way to the Blue Mountains.
In the light of the recent reports into wildlife extinction in Australia, Pearl Beach resident Dr Van Davy has forwarded a proposal to create a so-called ‘Mega-Sanctuary’ across large parts of the Central Coast to incoming Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek and NSW Treasurer Matt Kean.
In Dr Davy’s submission, he discusses the recent decision by the Victorian Government to build a mega sanctuary of 60,000 hectares at the Wilson’s Promontory National Park.
Naivety can be deadly:
A study using radio-tracking collars followed 20 hand-reared possums up to 40 days after release, finding only eight (40%) survived until the end of the study, while nine (45%) were killed by foxes or had to be returned to rehabilitation, and three possums had unknown fates, as they lost radio signal. The deaths were caused by foxes, mostly within 3 days, which was attributed to hand-reared animals not having learned predator avoidance behaviours.
We hope studies such as ours can improve guidelines for wildlife rescue, rehabilitation and release. To improve survival rates, scientists, government agencies and wildlife volunteers must develop evidence-based and species-specific protocols to give every rehabilitated animal the best chance at living a life in the wild.
Old resident has home demolished:
Cathie Bravo, a long-term resident at Lake Cathie has been evicted and had half of his home demolished for new homes, solving one housing crisis while amplifying another for koalas, causing angst in the community.
https://www.camdencourier.com.au/story/7837820/heartbreaking-and-shameful-lake-cathie-land-cleared/
https://www.portnews.com.au/story/7837820/heartbreaking-and-shameful-lake-cathie-land-cleared/
Creating conflicts with flying foxes:
Bega's Littlewoods Estate is being developed next to a flying fox camp and will increase conflicts between resident humans and Grey-headed Flying Foxes, leading to calls for a buffer zone and Flying Fox Management Plan, as the developers just want to get on with it.
Shining the light on species may kill them:
Artificial light at night is a growing problem, disrupting many species lifecycles, affecting their health and reducing their habitat – light pollution is not just about stargazing, this article shines a light on the issue of how it affects some species, but fails to consider is the mass deaths of insects attracted to light at night as houses spread into the bush.
At its core, artificial light at night (such as from street lights) masks natural light cycles. Its presence blurs the transition from day to night and can dampen the natural cycle of the Moon. Increasingly, we are realising this has dramatic physiological and behavioural consequences, including altering hormones associated with day-night cycles of some species and their seasonal reproduction, and changing the timing of daily activities such as sleeping, foraging or mating.
The increasing intensity and spread of artificial light at night (estimates suggest 2-6% per year) makes it one of the fastest-growing global pollutants. Its presence has been linked to changes in the structure of animal communities and declines in biodiversity.
Each year it is estimated millions of birds are harmed or killed because they are trapped in the beams of bright urban lights. They are disoriented and slam into brightly lit structures, or are drawn away from their natural migration pathways into urban environments with limited resources and food, and more predators.
Other animals, such as bats and small mammals, shy away from lights or may avoid them altogether. This effectively reduces the habitats and resources available for them to live and reproduce. For these species, street lighting is a form of habitat destruction, where a light rather than a road (or perhaps both) cuts through the darkness required for their natural habitat. Unlike humans, who can return to their home and block out the lights, wildlife may have no option but to leave.
Research with insects and spiders suggests exposure to light at night can affect immune function and health and alter their growth, development and number of offspring.
More native bee poisoning:
The new detection of Varroa Mite was made near Nana Glen, north-west of Coffs Harbour, exactly a month after the deadly honeybee parasite was first discovered on Australian soil and bringing the total number of infected sites to 43, leading to establishment of a new quarantine zone – and likely the baiting of both feral and native bees.
Bumper snow season killing animals:
Looking After Our Kosciuszko Orphans (LAOKO) are reporting increased roadkills, particularly wombats, due to people flocking to the snow-fields.
LAOKO noticed it was often kangaroos, followed by wombats and then birds, that were likely to be hit by cars.
But this year has been a little different
"It's really sad to see so many more wombats being killed this year," Ms Guarracino said.
Deer not so dear:
The deer rutting season from June through to September is causing problems as deer roam widely, causing car accidents in the Illawara and trampling a 70 year old man at Port Macquarie.
John Norton awoke to a strange noise and his porch light on just after 12am.
"I went around the corner of my home and here was this big male deer," he told Australian Community Media.
"He put his head down like he was going to chase me and I just rolled over and he basically stomped on me."
"I'm very lucky ... emotionally it was very scary. The deer was massive."
https://www.portnews.com.au/story/7832562/man-trampled-by-massive-deer-outside-port-macquarie-home/
THE DETERIORATING PROBLEM
Extreme temperatures:
July’s unprecedented European heatwave continues as temperature records are beaten (often by wide margins), wildfires blaze across the Mediterranean, air-pollution worsens, and people succumb, as Australia is warned that we can expect worse as climate change takes its toll.
https://www.echo.net.au/2022/07/as-europe-burns-australia-needs-to-prepare-for-50c-say-experts/
Extreme rainfall:
Two studies using select climate models found that extreme rainfall events are going to get more frequent and intense than generally accepted, one finding it’s possible that there will be a twofold increase in the volume of extreme rainfall in the 21st century compared to what previous studies estimate, and another finding that extreme rainfall will occur about 30 percent more often by the end of the century, compared to how often it happens right now, under a medium-emissions scenario.
Extreme report:
A new CSIRO report finds extreme and unprecedented weather events are increasing in their frequency and scale of impact, with current climate forecasts predicting that we are likely to experience extreme weather conditions that exceed the bounds of historical norms and concurrent climate hazards are likely to compound the overall climate risk for sectors and regions, with heatwaves likely to be more than 85% more frequent and last up to a month if global temperatures rise between 1.5°C and 3°C. The natural environment gets a brief mention.
The world’s natural ecosystems have declined by 47% relative to their natural baselines and 25% of living species are at risk of extinction.74 Coral reefs are one of the ecosystem types under greatest pressure. The worldwide area of live coral has halved since the year 195075. In terrestrial habitats the intensification of agriculture has led to biodiversity losses and reduced biodiversity-based ecological services (e.g. pollination, pest management, water retention).76-78 It has traditionally been difficult to quantify the return on investment in conservation, but a recent analysis found conservation spending across 109 countries from 1996 to 2008 reduced the rate of biodiversity loss by 29%.79
https://www.csiro.au/en/research/technology-space/data/Our-Future-World
[Insurance Council of Australia chief executive Andrew Hall] The big picture is we need to change development planning to factor in more extreme weather events, he said.
"That needs to happen urgently. Even if land planning is reformed in the near future and quickly, we've still got more than a century of poor land planning decisions to go back and fix up."
Heatwaves in Australia could be more than 85% more frequent and last up to a month if global temperatures rise between 1.5°C and 3°C.
While the global economy shrunk by 3.2% in 2020, global military spend reached an all-time high of A$2.9 trillion.
The root of the problem:
The new State of the Environment report rates Australian soils as “poor” and “deteriorating” as we disrupt and kill their biomes with pesticides and fertilisers, now researchers are asking for soil samples to map Australia’s networks of soil fungi – maybe some forest samples will help.
Soil fungi can boost plant uptake of key resources like phosphorus and water and can even improve how plants resist pests. These fungi are also critical to the cycling of nutrients and carbon in our environment, and the networks they form give structure to soil. These relationships go back much further than humans do. Plants and fungi have been cooperating for hundreds of millions of years.
The problem is, relying on pesticides and fertilisers is not sustainable. Many pesticides are under increasing restrictions or bans, and phosphorus fertiliser will only become more expensive as we deplete global phosphate reserves. Critically, their excessive use negatively impacts soil biology and the environment.
To overcome this challenge, we have launched Dig Up Dirt, a new nationwide research project designed to let us take stock of our beneficial soil fungi.
Farmers, land managers and citizen scientists can send us soil samples to allow us to map Australia’s networks of soil fungi. The data we collect will also be fed into the international efforts to map fungi globally.
Australia’s drying, dying forests:
In the Courier Mail Dr Christa Pudmenzky identifies how forests are important and explains why they are suffering and dying because of climate change, attributing it to the drying air.
Trees provide food and shelter for wildlife, clean our air, minimise erosion and help stabilise the soil which is particularly important during high-rainfall events.
They have also been instrumental in helping to slow down climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide.
However, while trees help offset some of human-induced warming, they're also equally vulnerable to it.
In Australia, trees are dying at an accelerated rate.
While there are multiple climate-related factors that contribute to this acceleration, the primary culprit is an increasingly dry environment – both in the sky and on land.
A warmer atmosphere means more water is drawn out of plants, resulting in trees losing more than they can absorb through their roots.
This eventually leads to water stress and sometimes death.
Mangroves a casualty of these times:
Due to a severe El Niño event, in the summer of 2015-16 sea levels in the Gulf of Carpentaria dropped 40cm for 6 months, with 40 million mangroves over 76 square kilometers dying of thirst, and they are unlikely to recover as climate change impacts increase.
In the summer of 2015-2016, some 40 million mangroves shrivelled up and died across the wild Gulf of Carpentaria in northern Australia, after extremely dry weather from a severe El Niño event saw coastal water plunge 40 centimetres.
The low water level lasted about six months, and the mangroves died of thirst. Seven years later, they have yet to recover. My new research, published today, is the first to realise the full scale of this catastrophe, and understand why it occurred.
This event, I discovered, is the world’s worst incidence of climate-related mangrove tree deaths in recorded history. Over 76 square kilometres of mangroves were killed, releasing nearly one million tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere.
Losing mangroves in the Gulf released more than 850,000 tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere, across both mass dieback events. That’s similar to 1,000 jumbo jets flying return from Sydney to Paris.
California’s forests collapsing:
Two massive wildfires have torn through California’s Sierra Navada mountains over the last 15 years, burning with such intensity through so large an area that the conifer forest will likely be unable to regenerate on its own, experts say.
“The concern is the amount of conifer forest that we’ve lost won’t recover,” said Ryan Bauer, fuels and prescribed fire program manager for the Plumas National Forest. “The patches of high-severity fire are so big that there’s not a seed source near enough to get conifer forest reestablished naturally in these large patch sizes.”
At the heart of the Moonlight fire was private timber land, whose owners tend to remove the largest, most fire-resilient trees and leave behind smaller trees and brush, Bauer said. That resulted in a buildup of surface fuels that also may have helped drive high-intensity fire, he said.
Researchers at Princeton University and UC Berkeley recently analyzed 154 fires that burned nearly 2.4 million acres in California from 1985 to 2019 and found that the odds of fires burning at high severity on private industrial land were 1.8 times greater than on public lands. That might be due to the prevailing land management practice of cultivating dense, even-aged plantations that create continuous high fuel loads, they hypothesized.
The effects are uniquely ecologically devastating for a mountain range that stores half of California’s forest carbon and provides more than 60% of the state’s developed water supply, according to the Sierra Nevada Conservancy.
These landscapes also become more susceptible to future conflagrations as dense, fire-killed timber falls to the ground and brush grows over top and dries out, creating a flammable mix that releases massive amounts of energy when it burns, Bauer said. Forest Service studies have shown that areas that burn at high severity are statistically more likely to reburn at high severity. Each time that happens, the surviving green patches grow smaller. The result is a feedback loop that becomes increasingly difficult to interrupt.
Pre-European forests better carbon accumulators than thought:
An American study identified carbon stored in forests in the Upper Midwest over the past 10,000 years, finding that rather than having stable pre-European carbon stores, forests had steadily gained almost a billion tons of carbon (doubling their storage) for 8,000 years before Euro-American settlers began clearing large swaths of forest, then in the span of just 150 years, almost all of that gain disappeared into the atmosphere.
In a study recently published in the journal Science, Ann Raiho and other PalEON members mapped biomass changes in the Upper Midwest …
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abk3126
TURNING IT AROUND
Is the solution worse?:
The US Forest Service has announced it is taking emergency action to save giant sequoias in national parks from the threat of wildfires by speeding up a plan that calls for cutting smaller trees and vegetation and using prescribed fires, much to the chagrin of some environmentalists.
Some environmental groups have criticised forest thinning as an excuse for commercial logging.
Ara Marderosian, executive director of the Sequoia ForestKeeper group, called the announcement a "well-orchestrated PR campaign".
He said it failed to consider how logging could exacerbate wildfires and added it might increase carbon emissions that would worsen the climate crisis.
Forest Media 22 July 2022
New South Wales
The petition to protect NSW forests gets more attention, there’s still time to sign … see the petition here.
In the lead up to Tanya Plibersek’s delivery of the long-awaited State of the Environment report, a story about logging in NSW and Victoria included an interview with Mark Graham and Paula Flack commenting on the absurdity of spending money on Koalas and Greater Gliders at the same time the Forestry Corporation are logging their habitat, while Forestry say it’s only light logging. Prime News has a story showing intensive logging in Clouds Creek SF, with Mark Graham complaining about the illegal logging of a hollow-bearing tree and giant tree, though Forestry claim they were blown over. News of the Area has an article about the logging of Koala habitat in the Kalang headwaters making a mockery of the Government’s commitment to double Koala numbers (mentions NEFA). And an article citing the National Parks Association about the latest Wild Cattle Creek prosecution and the need to protect the Great Koala National Park and stop logging public forests.
The prosecution of the Forestry Corporation of NSW for the second time this year, for felling giant and hollow-bearing trees in Wild Cattle Creek State Forest, continues to gain attention.
A man was sentenced to 12 months in jail, to be eligible for parole in five months, for starting a 2019 fire that burnt 1,000 hectares at Nundle, he started the fire to cover up that he had stollen 200 litres of diesel from a logging excavator near Hanging Rock.
Public comment on the NPWS’s Draft Review of Environmental factors for the 51 kilometre Illawarra Escarpment Mountain bike network has closed with complaints it will have significant environmental impacts, going through every single patch of that subtropical rainforest, and affect urban areas.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet will introduce sweeping new laws around lobbying, requiring all third-party and in-house lobbyists to register with the new lobbying regulator and all MPs – not just ministers – will be required by law to disclose their diaries each month.
Australia
The Fairfax media have republished and article on Victoria’s Goolengook anti-logging protest that was first published in The Age on July 21, 1997.
The release of Australia’s State of Environment report this week received widespread media coverage, causing shock and outrage, and putting our extinction crisis front and centre, warning “Environmental degradation is now considered a threat to humanity, which could bring about societal collapses with long-lasting and severe consequences”. I have not tried to cover all the extensive media, but have included some highlights.
- Since 2016, 202 animal and plant species have been listed as threatened, an 8% increase, bringing the total to 1,918 species.
- Within 20 years, another seven Australian mammals and ten Australian birds will be extinct unless management is greatly improved.
- Only 16% (13 of 84) of Australia’s nationally listed threatened ecological communities meet a 30% minimum protection standard in the national reserve system.
- Australia has more foreign plant species than natives.
- Since just 1990, more than 6.1 million hectares of mature forest have been cleared - From 2015 to 2019, nearly 290,000 hectares of primary forest were cleared and a further 343,000 hectares of secondary forest
- 19 Australian ecosystems are showing signs of collapse or near collapse
- The number of threatened ecological communities listed under the EPBC Act has risen by 20 per vent over the past 5 years, with 88 now listed, of which 41 are Critically Endangered, 44 are Endangered and 2 are Vulnerable.
- Almost half the country is now used for grazing and the areas committed to forestry and cropping having increased.
- Australia has the third largest cumulative loss of soil organic carbon in the world behind China and the US - slight increases in below‑ground carbon stocks have been detected under forests.
- Of the 450 gigalitres of water for the environment promised under the Murray-Darling Basin plan, only 2 gigalitres have been delivered
- Native fish populations have declined by more than 90% in the past 150 years, a trend that appears to be continuing
- Up to 78 per cent of Australia's coastal saltmarshes have been lost since European colonisation and they continue to deteriorate
- Marine heatwaves have caused mass coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef in 2016, 2017, 2020 – and again this year.
- Rocky reefs stretching south from Brisbane around the continent to Perth are judged to be in “poor and deteriorating condition”
- Ocean acidification – caused by absorption of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere – is nearing a tipping point that will cause the decline of juvenile coral
- Australia’s native forests are among the richest biomes on Earth. Australia has 134 million hectares (ha) of forest, covering 17% of Australia’s land area
The Australian acknowledges the problems, though employs the tactic of distracting from the big problems. There is a belief that listening to Aboriginal people, after spending 200 years suppressing their culture, will solve our problems. In her speech Plibersek was not ready to give details, though gave some in principle commitments, including to protect 30% of land and 30% of oceans by 2030, and mentioned the 5 year review of RFAs.
Australian Georaphic has a lengthy article about the disgrace of rampant landclearing, as well as efforts at restoration. The article is current but seems a bit dated.
Following the release of the Victorian Regional Forest Agreements (RFA) – Major Event Review of the 2019- 2020 bushfires, the peak national organisation representing over 1,000 forest scientists and professionals have called for active and adaptive forest management to be implemented as a matter of urgency.
David Lindenmayer makes a plea to the Victorian government to immediately stop salvage logging, with a focus on the Wombat forest, because logged forests always burn at greater severity than intact forests. The Saturday Paper has an article focussing on Zylstra’s research that has found that control burning increases forest flammability because it promotes dense growth of fire weeds, and that contrary to the prescribed burning mentality what is needed to reduce fire risk is leaving forests alone for the fire weeds to self-thin and allow the forest to regain their natural resilience.
Rio Tinto's bid to explore for minerals in Western Australia's jarrah forest is being met with strong opposition in the Warden's Court, with local community and conservation groups calling for the forest to be protected.
The Gold Coast City Council is still pursuing its proposal to build a $170-million cableway in the World Heritage-listed Springbrook National Park though is facing strong reluctance from the State.
Species
Ecologists fear the widespread loss of native mistletoe observed at 2,000 sites across south-eastern Australia due to drought could leave nectar-feeding birds even more vulnerable.
NBN has a story about the threat to Koalas in urban areas (includes NEFA). National Geographic has a detailed article about Koalas, focussing on the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, mentioning their raising of $7 million after the bushfires and their plans to visit the USA and attract funds of $100 million for the koala hospital to be able to buy large tracts of land in Australia of prime koala habitat. Bangalow Koalas are devastated by the deaths of two healthy female Koalas, with their joeys, by car strikes. A collaborative Griffith University project claims to have resulted in 83 per cent less koala deaths from car strikes and doubled the number of koala sightings in a campaign across the Logan City Council area in the 2021/22 koala movement season, and now hopes to expand.
Researchers found that on the Liverpool Plains Koalas like big farm trees in paddocks because of the added nitrogen from fertilisers and because they like larger trees for shelter. In south-east Queensland Vitrinite’s proposed Vulcan South project proposes to produce 1.95m tonnes of coal every year, just below the 2m tonne threshold that would require the company to prepare an EIS, despite more than 1,000 hectares of koala habitat – as well as 70 hectares of greater glider habitat – being cleared.
A researcher is seeking interviewees in the Myall Lakes region (including visitors) to explore the diverse relationships present between people, wildlife, and the landscape, to understand the complex narrative or human-dingo coexistence in the region.
A mallee eucalypt in urban Sydney has been identified as a new species.
Shooting of feral pigs has resumed in Kakadu after a three year hiatus following a helicopter crash. With 6,000 culled, as research shows impacts of ungulates.
The Help Wildlife Near Me app has been created specifically for the Blue Mountains to help provide people with the right tools during emergencies to help wildlife and link them with information on agencies and groups around them, and to help the numbers of koalas recover. The Woolly Wildlife Warriors are a loose group based in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney who crochet pouches, nests, and "palaces" for injured wildlife.
The Deteriorating Problem
The explosion of heatwaves around the world is extraordinary, it reads like a novel as records are broken, thousands die from heat, and fires erupt across the countryside. South-western Europe has been hammered as heatwaves result in numerous places experiencing record temperatures of 40-47OC as thousands of hectares of forests burn across the region, people are being killed in fires, heatwaves and by collapsing glaciers. Between March and May, heatwaves battered more than a billion people in India and Pakistan, accelerating forest fires in India, causing crop failures, and contributing to the collapse of a glacier.
China too is now suffering heatwaves. The mega drought in the US West continues to break temperature records, intensify fires, and shrivel lakes, with the largest US reservoir shrunken to a record low due to the demands of 40 million people in seven states who are sucking the Colorado River dry. Chile is now into the 13th year of a historical drought, with very low levels of rainfall and high temperatures that melt away the snow pack in the Andes, once an important water reserve, leaving the Peñuelas reservoir in central Chile, which once used to be the main water source for Valparaiso, a metropolitan area with nearly 1 million residents, almost dry. The extreme heatwave in Europe, and their increasing frequency around the world, is a warning of what’s in store for Australia unless we redress the climate emergency.
Dailan Pugh
NEW SOUTH WALES
Time is running out for the petition to save NSW Forests:
The petition to protect NSW forests gets more attention, there’s still time to sign … see the petition here.
https://www.batemansbaypost.com.au/story/7823421/key-month-looms-for-environmentally-based-petition/
A cloud over logging:
In the lead up to Tanya Plibersek’s delivery of the long-awaited State of the Environment report, a story about logging in NSW and Victoria included an interview with Mark Graham and Paula Flack commenting on the absurdity of spending money on Koalas and Greater Gliders at the same time the Forestry Corporation are logging their habitat, while Forestry say it’s only light logging.
[Mark Graham] “There are kilometres of forest being industrially logged right now, in this incredibly significant landscape, all of it burnt,” he says. “It’s multiplying the harm of the fires.”
“We are seeing, right now, the industrial logging of major expanses of these forests where we know that greater gliders, koalas, yellow-bellied gliders and all of these other species occur.
[Senior planning manager Dean Kearney] “For Clouds Creek, it’s anticipated to be quite a light, selective harvesting. It’s just removing trees that are commercially mature and have high quality products in them,” he says.
“This is an ongoing active management of regrowth forests that does produce timber and does allow koalas to persist in that landscape.”
https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/science/environment/2022/07/16/logging-koalas-endangered-species/
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7822112/spotlight-on-logging-as-marsupials-wane/
https://www.juneesoutherncross.com.au/story/7822112/spotlight-on-logging-as-marsupials-wane/
Prime News has a story showing intensive logging in Clouds Creek SF, with Mark Graham complaining about the illegal logging of a hollow-bearing tree and giant tree, though Forestry claim they were blown over.
https://www.prime7.com.au/news/7476898-logging-allegations
News of the Area has an article about the logging of Koala habitat in the Kalang headwaters making a mockery of the Government’s commitment to double Koala numbers (mentions NEFA). And an article citing the National Parks Association about the latest Wild Cattle Creek prosecution and the need to protect the Great Koala National Park and stop logging public forests.
https://www.newsofthearea.com.au/coffs-coast-news-of-the-area-22-july-2022-97325
Prosecutions good news:
The prosecution of the Forestry Corporation of NSW for the second time this year, for felling giant and hollow-bearing trees in Wild Cattle Creek State Forest, continues to gain attention.
https://clarencevalleynews.com.au/epa-prosecutes-forestry-corporation-again/
The Northern Rivers Times 21 July 2022
One area of increasing concern about habitat degradation and biodiversity loss is our publicly owned state forests.
Speaking of logging breaches in the Wild Cattle Creek State Forest, NEFA President Dailan Pugh said, “With forest animals becoming increasingly endangered, logging of the habitat of Yellow-bellied Gliders, Greater Gliders and Koalas must stop right now if we want to save them.
“Last year it cost taxpayers $20 million to log public native forests, with an additional $10 million paid in transport subsidies and $60 million in road upgrades for loggers. It is time to stop paying to log public native forests as they are worth far more to the community for habitat, carbon sequestration, tourism and water,” he said.
https://clarencevalleynews.com.au/voices-for-the-earth-37/
Burning logging machinery:
A man was sentenced to 12 months in jail, to be eligible for parole in five months, for starting a 2019 fire that burnt 1,000 hectares at Nundle, he started the fire to cover up that he had stollen 200 litres of diesel from a logging excavator near Hanging Rock.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-19/nundle-state-forest-fire-starter-jailed/101251564
Concerns over Mountain Bikes
Public comment on the NPWS’s Draft Review of Environmental factors for the 51 kilometre Illawarra Escarpment Mountain bike network has closed with complaints it will have significant environmental impacts, going through every single patch of that subtropical rainforest, and affect urban areas.
Need to register to lobby:
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet will introduce sweeping new laws around lobbying, requiring all third-party and in-house lobbyists to register with the new lobbying regulator and all MPs – not just ministers – will be required by law to disclose their diaries each month.
AUSTRALIA
Nostalgia for protestors:
The Fairfax media have republished and article on Victoria’s Goolengook anti-logging protest that was first published in The Age on July 21, 1997.
Australia’s State of Environment shocking:
The release of Australia’s State of Environment report this week received widespread media coverage, causing shock and outrage, and putting our extinction crisis front and centre, warning “Environmental degradation is now considered a threat to humanity, which could bring about societal collapses with long-lasting and severe consequences”. I have not tried to cover all the extensive media, but have included some highlights.
- Since 2016, 202 animal and plant species have been listed as threatened, an 8% increase, bringing the total to 1,918 species.
- Within 20 years, another seven Australian mammals and ten Australian birds will be extinct unless management is greatly improved.
- Only 16% (13 of 84) of Australia’s nationally listed threatened ecological communities meet a 30% minimum protection standard in the national reserve system.
- Australia has more foreign plant species than natives.
- Since just 1990, more than 6.1 million hectares of mature forest have been cleared - From 2015 to 2019, nearly 290,000 hectares of primary forest were cleared and a further 343,000 hectares of secondary forest
- 19 Australian ecosystems are showing signs of collapse or near collapse
- The number of threatened ecological communities listed under the EPBC Act has risen by 20 per vent over the past 5 years, with 88 now listed, of which 41 are Critically Endangered, 44 are Endangered and 2 are Vulnerable.
- Almost half the country is now used for grazing and the areas committed to forestry and cropping having increased.
- Australia has the third largest cumulative loss of soil organic carbon in the world behind China and the US - slight increases in below‑ground carbon stocks have been detected under forests.
- Of the 450 gigalitres of water for the environment promised under the Murray-Darling Basin plan, only 2 gigalitres have been delivered
- Native fish populations have declined by more than 90% in the past 150 years, a trend that appears to be continuing
- Up to 78 per cent of Australia's coastal saltmarshes have been lost since European colonisation and they continue to deteriorate
- Marine heatwaves have caused mass coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef in 2016, 2017, 2020 – and again this year.
- Rocky reefs stretching south from Brisbane around the continent to Perth are judged to be in “poor and deteriorating condition”
- Ocean acidification – caused by absorption of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere – is nearing a tipping point that will cause the decline of juvenile coral
- Australia’s native forests are among the richest biomes on Earth. Australia has 134 million hectares (ha) of forest, covering 17% of Australia’s land area
"Environmental degradation is now considered a threat to humanity, which could bring about societal collapses with long-lasting and severe consequences," the report said.
Professor Johnston said not enough had been done to prevent decline through protected areas nor were environmental laws strongly enforced, so Australia now needed to invest in more-expensive and speculative environmental solutions.
"We're actually going to the 'rescue' end of the situation, where you have to breed species and re-release," she said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-19/state-of-australian-environment-report/101247794
Nationally, land clearing remains high. Extensive areas were cleared in Queensland and New South Wales over the last five years. Clearing native vegetation is a major cause of habitat loss and fragmentation, and has been implicated in the national listing of most Australia’s threatened species.
Many Australian ecosystems have evolved to rebound from extreme “natural” events such as bushfires. But the frequency, intensity, and compounding nature of recent events are greater than they’ve experienced throughout their recent evolutionary history.
Indeed, ecological theory suggests frequently disturbed ecosystems will shift to a “weedy” state, where only the species that live fast and reproduce quickly will thrive.
As well as climate stresses, habitat loss and degradation remain the main threats to land-based species in Australia, impacting nearly 70% of threatened species.
Only 16% (13 of 84) of Australia’s nationally listed threatened ecological communities meet a 30% minimum protection standard in the national reserve system.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/grim-findings-from-australias-latest-environment-health-check/
https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2022/07/19/state-of-the-environment--the-findings.html
It is further evidence that as a society Australia is more willing to catalogue the destruction of what is left of its natural heritage than it is to preserve it.
Whole ecosystems are collapsing together, the report shows.
In others, forests have been logged further shrinking the habitats of endangered species, leaving them more vulnerable to introduced species, particularly the fox and cat.
“Multiple pressures create cumulative impacts that amplify threats,” the overview notes, warning of “abrupt changes” in ecological systems.
Last year, I contributed to the first global United Nations assessment of wildfire. We found the worldwide risk of devastating fires could increase by up to 57% by the end of the century, primarily because of climate change.
Most of Australia is likely to burn even more. That’s bad news for places such as Australia’s ancient Gondwana rainforests. Historically, these have rarely, if ever, burned. Yet more than 50% was impacted in the 2019-2020 fires.
These rainforests harbour the highest concentrations of threatened species in subtropical southeast Queensland and northern NSW. To recover, they need hundreds of years without fire.
Prof Euan Ritchie, from the Centre for Integrative Ecology at Deakin University, said the report was authoritative, long overdue and confirmed “Australia’s utter failure of environmental and conservation stewardship”.
But he said it was not too late to change the trajectory. “If we act now and strengthen and enforce environmental laws, provide far greater investment to aid the protection and recovery of the environment and threatened species, and better engage with communities, we stand to gain substantial social, cultural, economic and environmental benefits,” he said.
With Australia failing to halt species decline and with our biodiversity management systems broken, now is the time to establish a new national information system led by an independent agency to manage our nation’s biodiversity data.
Only through the establishment of such an agency will we actually understand and be able to choose steps to slow down or reverse biodiversity loss in Australia’s environment.
The Australian acknowledges the problems, though employs the tactic of distracting from the big problems.
Cutting greenhouse gas emissions alone in Australia will not change the weather or the forecast impacts on sea levels or coral reef health from warmer ocean temperatures. But promoting soil health, masterplanning landscapes to include wildlife corridors, tackling feral pests in national parks, state forests and private estates, and encouraging long-term rehabilitation of degraded lands will have a lasting beneficial impact on biodiversity.
…with a Senate controlled by the Greens. There are dangers ahead.
There is a belief that listening to Aboriginal people, after spending 200 years suppressing their culture, will solve our problems.
Minister for Environment Tanya Plibersek opened a speech addressing the report at the National Press Club on Tuesday by pledging to hear the lessons of Indigenous people.
"First Nations peoples have the oldest continuing cultures on earth and are the world's most successful environmental custodians," she said.
"They have managed land and sea country for 65,000 years. As Minister for the Environment and Water, I'm committed to learning from their remarkable example."
[Report] "Continuing to expand the role of Indigenous land and sea management ... will be fundamental to improvements in the state of the environment."
In her speech Plibersek was not ready to give details, though gave some in principle commitments, including to protect 30% of land and 30% of oceans by 2030, and mentioned the 5 year review of RFAs.
Plibersek’s speech contained a couple of new announcements, and a reiteration of previous policy pledges. As well as committing to a response to the Samuel review by the end of the year, these include:
- setting clear environmental standards with explicit targets
- fundamental reform of national environmental laws and a new national level Environmental Protection Agency to enforce them
- expanding Australia’s national estate to protect 30% of land and 30% of oceans by 2030
- producing better and more shareable environmental data to better track progress and decline
- including environmental indicators in the government’s new “wellbeing budget”
- supporting investment into blue carbon projects, such as restoring mangroves and seagrasses
- doubling the number of Indigenous rangers to 3,800 this decade and increasing funding for Indigenous protected areas.
- enshrining a higher national emissions reduction target into law.
The next five-yearly review of the Regional Forest Agreements – made between federal and state governments – offer an important opportunity. These agreements broadly exempt logging operations from federal environmental law.
The Albanese government has emerged from a near decade in opposition without a plan that is ready to roll to tackle the slow train wreck that is Australia’s extinction crisis.
A key finding was that state governments’ native forest logging rules do not comply with federal law and urgent reform is needed to impose national standards.
When asked what she is doing to uphold federal laws, Plibersek said state logging regimes will be reviewed in “coming years” and she will hold “important conversions” with the states.
The Albanese Government is facing widespread calls for greater action on climate change and conservation, but Labor has urged the crossbench not to wait for perfection and “see this opportunity slip”.
Environmental groups and ACT independent senator David Pocock were on Tuesday morning demanding immediate action in response to the damning State of the Environment report.
ACT independent senator David Pocock, a passionate conservationist, described the environmental decline as a "national crisis".
"Responding to these findings will be a mammoth task but it is absolutely essential. We cannot delay any longer," Senator Pocock said.
Our lives will not be easy if we continue eating away at the ecosystems that prop us up. It is no exaggeration to say societal collapse is a possible outcome.
The long-delayed report shows the sobering consequences of wilful disregard for environmental protection and focusing on natural resource exploitation. Burning fossil fuels causes climate change and ocean acidification. Land clearing destroys existing ecosystems. Intensive agriculture reduces biodiversity.
Humans can only withstand heat up until a point. After that, exposure to extreme heat leads to damage to tissues and organs, and, eventually damage and death. The same goes for the livestock we rely on, which are at risk of serious health threats from heat. Heat hits weight gain, milk production and reproductive success.
In short, we can no longer pretend we live in a world walled off from nature. Damaging nature damages humans. Think of the cartoon trope where a character cuts off the tree branch they’re sitting on.
We have created these problems collectively. To avoid social upheaval, we have to repair the damage – together.
The answer is clear:
Australian Georaphic has a lengthy article about the disgrace of rampant landclearing, as well as efforts at restoration. The article is current but seems a bit dated.
By the time of the first European colonisation here, little more than two centuries ago, mainland Australia was mostly desert and arid habitats with only an estimated 30 per cent covered by forests and woodlands.
Today, that’s been almost halved, due to the broadscale clearing of trees partly to make way for urban and industrial development, but mostly for agriculture. …
And yet, in recent years, deforestation has been proceeding in some parts of Australia at rates claimed to be among the highest on the planet. It prompted Chris and more than 300 of his colleagues across the nation to release a joint declaration in March through the Ecological Society of Australia calling for stronger laws that would restrict the clearing of stands of native trees.
The consequences of clearing forests and woodlands on the level that’s been occurring in Queensland and NSW are huge. The most direct effect is a large-scale loss of native flora and fauna. According to a report released late last year by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), forest clearing kills millions of native animals a year in Australia. The report, on which Chris Dickman collaborated, estimated that 87 million animals, including more than 9 million mammals, would have died in NSW during the 17 years to 2015 due to the clearing of 5180sq.km of native bushland.
Tied in with species’ loss are more widely felt impacts, including a suite of local ecological services that disappear with the trees. One is flood mitigation and there’s evidence the impact of the floods that hit towns in north Queensland, including Townsville, earlier this year, was worse than it should have been due to forest clearing.
Locally, there can be reduced rainfall when large stands of trees are removed. …
Need for active and adaptive forest management:
Following the release of the Victorian Regional Forest Agreements (RFA) – Major Event Review of the 2019- 2020 bushfires, the peak national organisation representing over 1,000 forest scientists and professionals have called for active and adaptive forest management to be implemented as a matter of urgency.
Stop making fires worse:
David Lindenmayer makes a plea to the Victorian government to immediately stop salvage logging, with a focus on the Wombat forest, because logged forests always burn at greater severity than intact forests.
This internationally accepted science also applies to salvage logging, like that happening today in wind-damaged areas in the Wombat State Forest, west of Melbourne. The state government, in allowing VicForests to perform this salvaging, is increasing the likelihood and severity of bushfires.
First, logging removes solid tree trunks but leaves behind branches, tree heads, bark and other debris. These remaining fine and medium fuels add to fire risk. Second, logging dries forest soils for up to 80 years after cutting. Third, important moisture-maintaining plants like tree ferns are almost completely lost from logged forest. Fourth, forests that are logged and regenerated are much hotter and subject to more extreme conditions than intact forests. Fifth, the dense understorey plants in young logged forest can create “ladder” fuels that drive surface fires into the canopy.
The science is clear – logged forests add significantly to the fire burden in Victoria and NSW.
The Saturday Paper has an article focussing on Zylstra’s research that has found that control burning increases forest flammability because it promotes dense growth of fire weeds, and that contrary to the prescribed burning mentality what is needed to reduce fire risk is leaving forests alone for the fire weeds to self-thin and allow the forest to regain their natural resilience.
Some fire scientists hope this amplifies the alarm they have sounded for years: that the most widely accepted prevention tool – hazard-reduction burning – is rarely helping and often making things worse.
“We’ve been undermining the natural processes that made forest resistant to fire,” says fire behaviour scientist Philip Zylstra, an adjunct associate professor at both Curtin University and the University of Wollongong. “We’ve kind of been breaking the system.”
“We have a mindset that we have to step in and change the country to what we want. It means that anybody who says ‘no, no, just leave it alone’, even if they’ve got evidence on their side, gets ignored.”
David Lindenmayer and colleagues at ANU have designed an integrated system to reduce fire risk by leaving the forests to age and self-thin, while attacking bushfires early, using satellite technology to pinpoint outbreaks and drones to assess and then drop water on them.
Mining forests:
Rio Tinto's bid to explore for minerals in Western Australia's jarrah forest is being met with strong opposition in the Warden's Court, with local community and conservation groups calling for the forest to be protected.
"We've got Alcoa … we've got Rio Tinto now looking at 10 new tenements … two very close to Dwellingup, and then we've got South 32 as well," she said.
"We really need to stand up as a community and say, 'The forest is more valuable left standing'."
The court today heard there were 1,500 separate objections to the 10 tenements.
Dane Chandler, appearing for Rio Tinto, told the court there were 136 individual objectors, many of whom submitted multiple objections for different applications.
Pursuing a cableway into the rainforest:
The Gold Coast City Council is still pursuing its proposal to build a $170-million cableway in the World Heritage-listed Springbrook National Park though is facing strong reluctance from the State.
SPECIES
Nectarvores in more trouble:
Ecologists fear the widespread loss of native mistletoe observed at 2,000 sites across south-eastern Australia due to drought could leave nectar-feeding birds even more vulnerable.
"(We) found that during the height of the drought, when it was not just really dry, but critically also quite warm at night, almost all mistletoes died," Professor Watson said.
He said the critically-endangered regent honeyeater was among the most vulnerable nectar-feeding birds.
Mr Dooley said woodland bird populations were declining across south-east Australia due to historical and ongoing land clearing.
"If we keep pushing the lever of climate change just a little further, things are going to start succumbing," he said.
Koalas once again dominant:
NBN has a story about the threat to Koalas in urban areas (includes NEFA).
https://www.nbnnews.com.au/2022/07/19/koalas-once-again-in-the-spotlight/
National Geographic has a detailed article about Koalas, focussing on the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, mentioning their raising of $7 million after the bushfires and their plans to visit the USA and attract funds of $100 million for the koala hospital to be able to buy large tracts of land in Australia of prime koala habitat.
Bangalow Koalas are devastated by the deaths of two healthy female Koalas, with their joeys, by car strikes.
https://www.echo.net.au/2022/07/two-koalas-and-their-joeys-dead-from-car-strikes-slow-down/
A collaborative Griffith University project claims to have resulted in 83 per cent less koala deaths from car strikes and doubled the number of koala sightings in a campaign across the Logan City Council area in the 2021/22 koala movement season, and now hopes to expand.
https://www.nationaltribune.com.au/griffith-not-leaving-koalas-futures-to-chance/
… Koalas like big trees:
Researchers found that on the Liverpool Plains Koalas like big farm trees in paddocks because of the added nitrogen from fertilisers and because they like larger trees for shelter.
Certain Eucalyptus trees on farms have added nitrogen due to the fertile soil. Despite dangers, koalas will travel from bushland to reach these trees and feed on their nutritious leaves. Farmers should pay heed to this, the University of Sydney researchers say.
The researchers GPS- tracked 23 koalas within an agricultural landscape on the Liverpool Plains near Gunnedah, northwest NSW, to determine why they would return to the same trees or groups of trees.
They found koalas spent more time in trees with high leaf nitrogen, as well as in large trees, which they used for shelter. Their results are published in Behavioural Ecology.
https://www.nationaltribune.com.au/that-lone-craggy-gum-tree-on-farm-it-s-lifeline-for-koalas/
… mining Koalas:
In south-east Queensland Vitrinite’s proposed Vulcan South project proposes to produce 1.95m tonnes of coal every year, just below the 2m tonne threshold that would require the company to prepare an EIS, despite more than 1,000 hectares of koala habitat – as well as 70 hectares of greater glider habitat – being cleared.
Urban eucalypt a new species:
A mallee eucalypt in urban Sydney has been identified as a new species.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-21/new-eucalypt-species-sydney-botanic-gardens/101255680
The ungulate threat:
Shooting of feral pigs has resumed in Kakadu after a three year hiatus following a helicopter crash. With 6,000 culled, as research shows impacts of ungulates.
Research by Charles Sturt University has found that feral cattle, horses and buffalo – known as ungulates – cause significant damage to waterholes in northern Australia.
"Bird diversity was significantly lower as the dry season progressed at waterholes accessible to ungulates, compared to fenced waterholes.
"Overall, this research indicates that even at low densities feral ungulates have significant negative impacts on native flora and fauna communities around savanna waterholes in northern Australia."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2022-07-20/kakadu-national-park-shoots-6000-feral-pigs/101248252
Dingo interactions:
A researcher is seeking interviewees in the Myall Lakes region (including visitors) to explore the diverse relationships present between people, wildlife, and the landscape, to understand the complex narrative or human-dingo coexistence in the region.
The research is looking for people who fit the following criteria.
● Persons aged eighteen years or older.
● Members and referrals of organisations involved in dingo management in the Myall Lakes (National Parks NSW Officers, Indigenous Land Management Officers, MidCoast Council Officers).
● Members and referrals of local interest groups in the Myall Lakes (Indigenous and citizen community groups, media, local walking groups, local bush regeneration groups, recreational fishing groups, chambers of commerce, progress and tourism, industry groups, outdoor social clubs and Myall Lakes residents).
● Tourists to the Myall Lakes National Parks areas.
To get involved, please contact Penney Wood on 0434 393 127 or at [email protected]
Virtual help:
The Help Wildlife Near Me app has been created specifically for the Blue Mountains to help provide people with the right tools during emergencies to help wildlife and link them with information on agencies and groups around them, and to help the numbers of koalas recover.
Crocheting pseudo-hollows:
The Woolly Wildlife Warriors are a loose group based in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney who crochet pouches, nests, and "palaces" for injured wildlife.
https://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/story/7822198/warriors-build-palaces-for-injured-wildlife/
THE DETERIORATING PROBLEM
What climate change?
The explosion of heatwaves around the world is extraordinary, it reads like a novel as records are broken, thousands die from heat, and fires erupt across the countryside. South-western Europe has been hammered as heatwaves result in numerous places experiencing record temperatures of 40-47OC as thousands of hectares of forests burn across the region, people are being killed in fires, heatwaves and by collapsing glaciers.
It is the second heatwave engulfing parts of southwest Europe in weeks as scientists blame climate change and predict more frequent and intense episodes of extreme weather.
In the United Kingdom, government ministers were to hold crisis talks after the state meteorological agency issued a first-ever "red" warning for extreme heat, cautioning there is a "risk to life".
https://www.ibtimes.com/forest-fires-rage-scorching-southwest-europe-3576156
Scientists blame human-caused climate change for the increased frequency of extreme weather such as heatwaves, which have also hit parts of China and the United States in recent days.
"Greenhouse gas emissions, from burning fossil fuels like coal, gas and oil, are making heatwaves hotter, longer-lasting and more frequent."
Between March and May, heatwaves battered more than a billion people in India and Pakistan, accelerating forest fires in India, causing crop failures, and contributing to the collapse of a glacier.
Tens of millions of people in Europe are suffering through the continent’s worst heatwave, which shattered records and sparked fires across the south before striking France, Germany and the United Kingdom where a red extreme heat warning has been declared.
Between March and May, heatwaves battered more than a billion people in India and Pakistan, accelerating forest fires in India and contributing to the collapse of a glacier, causing flooding in Pakistan.
Across the region, crop yields fell by between 10 and 35 per cent, …
China too is now suffering heatwaves. The mega drought in the US West continues to break temperature records, intensify fires, and shrivel lakes, with the largest US reservoir shrunken to a record low due to the demands of 40 million people in seven states who are sucking the Colorado River dry.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-17/lake-mead-nevada-drought-water-levels-drop-further/101229988
Both China and the United States are also dealing with their own scorching heat waves this week. For two weeks, persistent extreme heat has buckled roads and strained area hospitals across much of southern China, with soaring temperatures expected to last through August and exceed 107 degrees later this week. And some 40 million Americans are now under heat alerts from California to New York as potentially record-breaking temperatures threaten much of the nation. In fact, the heat has been so excessive in Texas that officials have twice asked residents and businesses to cut back on their power consumption, fearing the surge in air conditioning use would collapse the electrical grid.
The situation has prompted world leaders and top climate advocates to issue dire warnings of rapidly deteriorating ecosystems while castigating countries for their failure to transition the world away from fossil fuels—the primary cause of human-induced global warming—despite global pledges to do so under the Paris Agreement.
https://us2.campaign-archive.com/?e=6624c72df8&u=7c733794100bcc7e083a163f0&id=24806fbd4a
Chile is now into the 13th year of a historical drought, with very low levels of rainfall and high temperatures that melt away the snow pack in the Andes, once an important water reserve, leaving the Peñuelas reservoir in central Chile, which once used to be the main water source for Valparaiso, a metropolitan area with nearly 1 million residents, almost dry.
Projections by scientists from the University of Chile say the nation will have 30% less water over the next 30 years, so what is currently a drought may become the new normal.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-25/chilean-lake-turns-to-desert-climate-change/101175540
The extreme heatwave in Europe, and their increasing frequency around the world, is a warning of what’s in store for Australia unless we redress the climate emergency.
Globally, the number of days over 50℃ has doubled since the 1980s. Such temperatures are still rare in Australia. But as climate change worsens, more extremely hot days will occur across the continent.
Australia has warmed by around 1.4℃ since 1910, well ahead of the global average of 1.1℃. Even if warming is kept below 2℃, Sydney and Melbourne are expected to see 50℃ days in coming years.
The UK heatwave is just the latest reminder of what’s in store for Australia and the world as the climate changes. Last year, a severe heatwave in western North America led to temperatures approaching 50℃ in Canada and broke records in parts of the Pacific Northwest.
Finally, rapid emissions reduction is needed to limit further global warming. Until we reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions globally, the planet will continue to warm. We have the time and tools to avert an even worse planetary catastrophe, but we must act now.
Forest Media 15 July 2022
New South Wales
The current ePetition before the state parliament to end native forest logging in New South Wales has so far only 7,200 signatories. If we can get to 20,000 signatures by the start of August it has to be debated in the lower house. If you haven't already signed it please do so and encourage friends and family as well. NSW residents only.
During the Girard State Forest protest against industrial logging in a wildlife corridor Benjamin Pierssene suspended himself on a bed base about 30 metres above the ground, and while police called Police Rescue they were unable to attend due to the remote location, meaning logging was stopped all day and Pierssene wasn’t able to be arrested until he came down at 8pm, in court the magistrate criticised him for being “totally non compliant, non cooperative” with police when fining him $500 for each of 3 offences.
The EPA has launched another prosecution of the Forestry Corporation for breaches in Wild Cattle Creek SF, this time for cutting down 6 giant and 7 hollow-bearing trees, and leaving debris around one, though NEFA is concerned that no action is being taken for the damage to hollow-bearing and Koala feed trees they reported, while arguing that the forest is of outstanding importance for Koalas and should never have been allowed to be logged – though the media were more interested in the potential for $18 million in fines.
As the schedule for logging to commence in the headwaters nears, the Kalang River Forest Alliance is stepping up its campaign by emphasising that logging the extremely steep landscape of the Kalang Headwaters will cause more landslips, erosion and pollution of the Kalang River, which is denied by local member Mr Singh.
Having just issued new Wood Supply Agreements to loggers, the Forestry Corporation says the natural disaster situation is out of their control and has triggered a force majeure, which relieves them from carrying out contractual obligations. It appears that rather than claiming the wood is not there, they are now saying the forest is too wet for them to access, rationing what timber they can access.
A study of fuel moisture and within forest Forest Fire Danger Index (FFDI) at 119 sites in coastal forests in south-eastern Australia reaffirmed that changes in vegetation associated with logging increase the risk of fire for at least 60 years, concluding “These findings provide evidence that recent logging, and to a lesser extent recent wildfire, increase the risk of wildfire in fire prone forests”.
NSW Greens MLC Cate Faehrmann has been touring the south coast, including visiting the 20ha block intended to be cleared for housing at Manyana, and Mogo State forest to meet with concerned community members and to see first hand the impact that logging has had on the local habitat. She also visited the mid-north coast, including the site of the proposed Ingenia seniors 250 dwellings Scotts Head.
The Forestry Corporation reports that as bushfire replacements, 3 million trees are being planted across 2,400 hectares south of Oberon in the Vulcan State Forest and on Mount Canobolas near Orange as heavy rainfall creates the ideal conditions for growth, while the building industry is complaining that the reduced supply of pine has resulted in a 40 per cent increase in the cost of timber.
More than 70 per cent of Upper Hunter residents who responded to a Hunter Renewal poll said mine rehabilitation should include replanting woodland and forest corridors that have been cleared for coal mining in the Hunter.
Australia
The Guardian has an article by Richard Dennis who recognises the overwhelming importance of trees in capturing and storing carbon (as well as providing habitat and filtering water), and questions why the Commonwealth is paying billions to landholders to plant trees and protect forests while State Governments subsidise their logging and allow their clearing.
The Queensland government is inquiring into why it is allowing the clearing of 560,000 hectares of woody vegetation a year, almost 10 times more land than NSW and Victoria combined, so it can consider what it may do to reduce its extent "without compromising economic productivity".
Andrew Macintosh again takes issue with the 30% of carbon credits issued under the Emissions Reduction Fund for “human-induced regeneration of a permanent even-aged native forest” because proponents are being issued credits for growing trees that were already there when the projects started and because there is no evidence that reducing grazing has increased tree growth. Australia’s biggest emitters are being urged to snap up the carbon credits before the Federal Government inquiry tightens the rules.
Species
Cosmos magazine has an evocative story about Leadbeaters Possum who live in family groups whose “histories are connected to patches of land”, and they like their forests just right in “the “Goldilocks zone” – young trees to feed in, old trees to sleep in”.
Conditions have been just right for the Goldilocks bird. High rainfall in Terrick Terrick National Park, west of Echuca in Victoria, is just right, causing a surge in native grass growth and invertebrate activity, leading to a major breeding boom for Plains Wanderers, with the highest numbers since 2010 found.
The listing of Greater Gliders as Endangered is still garnering attention, with logging and clearing primarily responsible Lindenmayer and others are calling for it to end, while yet others warn there are lots of other species in dire straits that aren’t so cute. Meanwhile they are being cited as a reason to stop mega mountain bike trails within the Mount Canobolas State Conservation Area.
News of the Area focuses on NCC’s reporting of landclearing statistics that 75 hectares of wildlife habitat is bulldozed or logged every day in NSW, almost twice the average annual rate recorded before the Coalition Government’s change of nature laws in 2016, and concerns by Ian Morphett of the Myall Koala & Environment Group that Koalas continue to decline as their habitat is cleared. The Australian Koala Foundation is gaining more publicity over its federal “Koala Protection Act” that would place caveats on land clearing and development across up to 1.5 million square kilometres of forest identified as Koala habitat. Lismore councillors lost their recission motion to overturn Council’s June 23 decision to refuse the DA involving clearing of Koala feed trees at 226 Invercauld Road.
The finding of a spotted-tailed quoll in a garage in Orange in the New South Wales Central West has raised hopes that a population may still persist in the area.
For the second winter in a row, native frogs have been found dead or dying across Australia particularly throughout New South Wales, while chytrid fungus is involved scientists are baffled as to what else is affecting them.
A highly contagious disease known as Spironucleosis is believed responsible for the death of dozens of king parrots on the NSW South Coast, leading WIRES to warn against feeding stations or bird baths that encourage congregations and facilitate spread. Symptoms include emaciation and wasting, weakness, inability to fly and often a staggering walk, with recovery taking up to eight weeks with a lot of TLC and medication.
The introduction of 150 Mitchell’s hopping mouse into a 9,500 hectare fenced area in Mallee Cliffs National Park, in the state’s south-west, is the NSW Government’s latest conservation announcement.
For over ten years, NPWS has been trying to attract Gould’s petrels to Broughton Island (near Port Stephens) for breeding, involving the use of artificial nest boxes and a loudspeaker playing petrel calls, resulting in the first chick hatching in 2020. Now they have launched their first augmented reality (AR) experience, accessed via the NPWS app on a mobile device, that tells the story of the endangered Gould’s petrel, and can be accesses on the Tomaree Head Summit walk or from the comfort of your home.
Native bees are not directly affected by varroa mite, but as part of their eradication campaign the NSW Department of Primary Industry and placing baits of ‘Fipronil’ in control areas to attract Honey Bees that will take the poison back to hives and thereby kill both managed and feral bee hives – they will also attract and kill native bees.
The Animal Justice Party introduced a bill to the NSW Parliament earlier this year that would bring an end to the culling of kangaroos, but the Pastoralists' Association of West Darling believes shooting Kangaroos is necessary to stop kangaroos from suffering cruel deaths from hunger in droughts, while incidentally increasing profitability – maybe we need to return dingos to manage populations.
Cane toads have virtually completed their conquest of the Kimberley and now their armies are amassing for their assault on the Pilbra, so researchers have come-up with virToad enabling you to play against these alien menaces from the comfort of your home.
The cattle industry is extremely concerned that the highly contagious foot and mouth disease, which was detected in Indonesia in May and spread to Bali last week, could now be spread to Australia by the 1.3 million Australians who visit Bali each year, and are calling for disinfectant footbaths to be immediately introduced at airports – this is perceived as a threat because it’s close to Australia unlike the numerous more distant countries with foot and mouth that tourists return from each year.
The deputy mayor wants Wagga council to lobby the NSW government to make changes to the NSW Companion Animals Act 1988 so council can introduce cat curfews, among other management measures.
The Deteriorating Problem
It has generally been assumed the Arctic is warming at two to three times the global average, though recent studies indicate it is accelerating and is now warming at four times the global average, with one study suggesting part of the arctic is warming five to seven times faster than the global average.
Europe continues to suffer droughts and heatwaves as forest fires erupt in multiple countries. Meanwhile another wildfire is threatening California’s ancient giant sequoia trees, leading scientists to worry whether forests in the region may have reached a climate tipping point, with increasingly intense wildfires reinforcing deepening drought conditions in a dangerous feedback loop
Researchers have found that tropical, arid and temperate forests are experiencing a significant decline in resilience (unlike boreal forests) and their capacity to withstand disturbances, and that approximately 23% of intact undisturbed forests have already reached a critical threshold and are experiencing a further degradation in resilience.
More spin as American wood pellet manufacturer Enviva is celebrating nearly 55 years of “National Forest Week”, with their CEO stating “I am humbled to be leading a company for the last 18 years that is dedicated to displacing coal, growing more trees, and fighting climate change”.
Turning it Around
A UN report by Ipbes, approved by representatives of 139 countries, has found that a market-based focus on short-term profits and economic growth has led to bad decisions that have reduced people’s wellbeing and contributed to climate and nature crises, with a “good quality of life” requiring taking into account all the benefits nature provides to humans. The previous Ipbes report on people’s use of wild species has come under attack from scientists for being unduly optimistic while under stating the harm that exploiting wildlife is doing.
In April President Biden directed his administration to devise ways to preserve older forests as part of the government’s efforts to combat climate change, issuing an order to define and inventory all mature and old growth forests on federal land, so now the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management issued a notice seeking public input for a “universal definition framework” to identify older forests needing protection.
Researchers have written a comic that looks at the ways low-income families have had to adapt to climate change in five countries across three continents, aimed at high school students, but will also appeal to university students and the broader public.
Dailan Pugh
NEW SOUTH WALES
Girard protestor fined:
During the Girard State Forest protest against industrial logging in a wildlife corridor Benjamin Pierssene suspended himself on a bed base about 30 metres above the ground, and while police called Police Rescue they were unable to attend due to the remote location, meaning logging was stopped all day and Pierssene wasn’t able to be arrested until he came down at 8pm, in court the magistrate criticised him for being “totally non compliant, non cooperative” with police when fining him $500 for each of 3 offences.
Magistrate Jeff Linden acknowledged “there was always a right to protest in a lawful manner” but said Pierssene’s actions were not that.
The magistrate said Pierssene placed himself in danger while being “totally non compliant, non cooperative” with police.
Given that, he convicted Pierssene for entering and remaining in a contravention of a displayed notice, failure to leave an area on request of an authorised officer, and erecting an obstruction in a forestry area.
He was also fined $500 for each charge
Wild about Wild Cattle Creek, again:
The EPA has launched another prosecution of the Forestry Corporation for breaches in Wild Cattle Creek SF, this time for cutting down 6 giant and 7 hollow-bearing trees, and leaving debris around one, though NEFA is concerned that no action is being taken for the damage to hollow-bearing and Koala feed trees they reported, while arguing that the forest is of outstanding importance for Koalas and should never have been allowed to be logged – though the media were more interested in the potential for $18 million in fines.
The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has launched its second prosecution this year against Forestry Corporation of NSW (FCNSW) for allegedly failing to retain habitat for local wildlife, by felling giant and hollow-bearing trees in Wild Cattle Creek State Forest, near Coffs Harbour.
The Authority alleges nine breaches occurred as a result of forestry operations in 2020 including the failure of FCNSW to retain six giant trees and seven hollow bearing trees.
In addition, the EPA alleges FCNSW failed to ensure harvesting debris did not accumulate within five metres of the base of a retained tree. Such debris can be a fire hazard.
Each breach carries a maximum penalty of $2,000,000.
https://www.miragenews.com/epa-launches-another-fcnsw-prosecution-for-817604/
https://www.timberbiz.com.au/nsw-epa-starts-another-prosecution-against-forestry-corp/
Enough is enough, logging of public forests has to stop, NEFA spokesperson Dailan Pugh said.
“It is reprehensible that the in this day and age that the Forestry Corporation are still cutting down these massive awe-inspiring trees, the height of 10 storey buildings and 300-500 years old, that provide the large hollows that many of our iconic animals depend upon for dens and nests.
“It is a tragedy that this was allowed to occur within an area identified as some of the most important Koala habitat in Australia, because the NSW and Commonwealth Governments changed the logging rules in 2018 to remove the need for pre-logging Koala surveys and allow Koala High Use Areas to be logged” Mr. Pugh said.
https://www.echo.net.au/2022/07/stop-logging-fragile-public-forests-says-nefa/
https://www.echo.net.au/downloads/byron-echo/volume-37/ByronEcho3705.pdf
[NCC] “We have the intolerable situation where the public is not only forced to subsidise the destruction of our native forests by propping up the loss-making operations of Forestry Corporation, we are also now paying this rogue corporation’s fines. This must end.
“Forestry Corp is behaving like an outlaw organisation, not a government agency entrusted with managing two million hectares of public forests.
https://www.miragenews.com/forestry-corporation-faces-18-million-in-fines-818124/
The corporation had hired more staff in compliance, planning and monitoring roles, and continually reviewed its systems, processes and training, the spokesperson said.
Agriculture Minister Dugald Saunders told AAP he had made his expectations clear to the corporation.
"It is my strong expectation they recognise the importance of complying with the strict environmental regulations that apply to their operation," he said.
https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/7818405/18m-fines-sought-for-felled-koala-trees/
https://www.merimbulanewsweekly.com.au/story/7818405/18m-fines-sought-for-felled-koala-trees/
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/nsw/2022/07/13/epa-prosecutes-forestry-seeking-18m-fines/
https://thewest.com.au/news/environment/epa-prosecutes-forestry-seeking-18m-fines-c-7505964
Roading eroding Kalang:
As the schedule for logging to commence in the headwaters nears, the Kalang River Forest Alliance is stepping up its campaign by emphasising that logging the extremely steep landscape of the Kalang Headwaters will cause more landslips, erosion and pollution of the Kalang River, which is denied by local member Mr Singh.
“Bulldozing done by the Forestry Corporation (FCNSW) in response to the Andersons Creek fire in late 2019 has shown us how vulnerable this landscape is, with massive erosion, sediment pollution of the Kalang River and extensive destabilisation of this landscape caused by these works.”
“Recent flood events have caused major landslips and mass movement in areas of historical logging disturbance,” Ms Kelly said.
“There are strict rules and regulations to protect the environment backed by a rigorous enforcement regime,” Mr Singh said.
Fire or rain keeps the loggers away:
Having just issued new Wood Supply Agreements to loggers, the Forestry Corporation says the natural disaster situation is out of their control and has triggered a force majeure, which relieves them from carrying out contractual obligations. It appears that rather than claiming the wood is not there, they are now saying the forest is too wet for them to access, rationing what timber they can access.
Family company general manager Donna Layton says the impost has to be worn by everyone because the cause is beyond human control.
"Since 2019 when the damage was done by fires we haven't been able to access those lands. The forests we came to rely on are simply not accessible," she said.
[CEO of Timber NSW Maree McCaskill] "There is more government support for Private Native Forestry but should state forest supply go the way of Victoria and Western Australia, then PNF might only supply 30pc to 35pc of demand.
Loggers allow the fire in:
A study of fuel moisture and within forest Forest Fire Danger Index (FFDI) at 119 sites in coastal forests in south-eastern Australia reaffirmed that changes in vegetation associated with logging increase the risk of fire for at least 60 years, concluding “These findings provide evidence that recent logging, and to a lesser extent recent wildfire, increase the risk of wildfire in fire prone forests”.
Temperature, vapour pressure deficit, windspeed and forest FFDI all decreased with time since logging, while relative humidity and fuel moisture content increased. Windspeeds also decreased with time since wildfire. These effects continued for at least 60 years after disturbance. Over the duration of our study, fuel was available to burn (below 16% fuel moisture content) 1.4 times more often in recently logged sites (zero years since logging) compared to sites that had not been logged for 71 years. Recently logged sites were also predicted to have a high Fire Danger Rating (FFDI = 12–24) on 24 days, compared to just two days at sites last logged 71 years ago. Our findings indicate that the changes in vegetation associated with logging and to a lesser extent wildfire, increase the risk of fire. …
We observed differences in sub-canopy microclimatic conditions associated with disturbance history across 119 sites in fire prone forests in south-eastern Australia. Recently disturbed sites had microclimates that are expected to increase the risk of wildfire compared to longer undisturbed sites. These effects were almost entirely associated with logging history, rather than wildfire history. These findings provide evidence that recent logging, and to a lesser extent recent wildfire, increase the risk of wildfire in fire prone forests. Given the importance of climatic conditions in driving fire activity, land managers must carefully manage microclimatic variation caused by logging and wildfire to mitigate fire risk.
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3999103
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168192322002659?via%3Dihub
Independent NSW MP Justin Field said, “This research demonstrates that logging increases fire risk and that risk has increased in recent decades with more intensive industrial logging.
“It adds to a growing body of evidence that logging increases the risk and severity of fires in our forests by opening up the canopy, drying out the forest floor and creating ladder fuels bringing fires up into the forest crown.”
Green visitor:
NSW Greens MLC Cate Faehrmann has been touring the south coast, including visiting the 20ha block intended to be cleared for housing at Manyana, and Mogo State forest to meet with concerned community members and to see first hand the impact that logging has had on the local habitat.
She also visited the mid-north coast, including the site of the proposed Ingenia seniors 250 dwellings Scotts Head.
Ms Faehrmann said, “NSW coastal villages and the bushland environments which make them so special are facing death by a thousand cuts.
“Thousands of hectares of threatened species, and habitat clearing fuelling the extinction crisis and changing the face of our coastline forever,” she said.
Pines being replenished:
The Forestry Corporation reports that as bushfire replacements, 3 million trees are being planted across 2,400 hectares south of Oberon in the Vulcan State Forest and on Mount Canobolas near Orange as heavy rainfall creates the ideal conditions for growth, while the building industry is complaining that the reduced supply of pine has resulted in a 40 per cent increase in the cost of timber.
Prior to the Black Summer fires, one in every four homes built in NSW used timber sourced from local plantations.
NSW Master Builders Association executive director Brian Seidler said the reduced supply had translated into a 40 per cent increase in the cost of timber.
"If you are building a $500,000 home, single level, we estimate roughly that the timber prior to the fires was valued at $60,000," he said.
"That same supply of framing material on a house is now nearly $100,000. So it has gone up substantially."
Restoring the Hunter:
More than 70 per cent of Upper Hunter residents who responded to a Hunter Renewal poll said mine rehabilitation should include replanting woodland and forest corridors that have been cleared for coal mining in the Hunter.
AUSTRALIA
Giving with one hand, taking with the other:
The Guardian has an article by Richard Dennis who recognises the overwhelming importance of trees in capturing and storing carbon (as well as providing habitat and filtering water), and questions why the Commonwealth is paying billions to landholders to plant trees and protect forests while State Governments subsidise their logging and allow their clearing.
… the federal government spends billions paying some landholders to grow more trees, state governments perversely continue to subsidise the logging of native forests. I’m not sure that’s what people mean by the circular economy.
While successive governments have spent billions subsidising research into carbon capture and storage (CCS), the really inconvenient truth is the most effective CCS technology is the humble tree. It’s low cost, low risk and ready to roll. …
The economics of tackling the climate crisis aren’t complicated, we simply need to do less of the things that increase emissions and more of the things that reduce them. While a carbon tax is obviously a good idea, in the meantime we need to scrap the subsidies that encourage native forest logging and extracting even more fossil fuels.
Queensland wondering why it is clearing so much:
The Queensland government is inquiring into why it is allowing the clearing of 560,000 hectares of woody vegetation a year, almost 10 times more land than NSW and Victoria combined, so it can consider what it may do to reduce its extent "without compromising economic productivity".
Almost 560,000 hectares of woody vegetation were lost to agriculture, forestry and infrastructure in Queensland in 2018-19, according to a government report.
In contrast, about 51,400 hectares were cleared in NSW and 10,380 hectares were cleared in Victoria in 2020.
Queensland Chief Scientist Professor Hugh Possingham says the panel will advise the government how to protect biodiversity "without compromising economic productivity".
"We're working to better understand where and why native vegetation is being cleared and the different types of clearing in Queensland," Prof Possingham said in a statement.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/aap/article-11008597/Qld-govt-launches-land-clearing-probe.html
https://www.juneesoutherncross.com.au/story/7818705/qld-govt-launches-land-clearing-probe/
The carbon rort:
Andrew Macintosh again takes issue with the 30% of carbon credits issued under the Emissions Reduction Fund for “human-induced regeneration of a permanent even-aged native forest” because proponents are being issued credits for growing trees that were already there when the projects started and because there is no evidence that reducing grazing has increased tree growth. Australia’s biggest emitters are being urged to snap up the carbon credits before the Federal Government inquiry tightens the rules.
Our new analysis suggests the vast majority of carbon storage credited under this method either has not occurred, or would have occurred anyway.
But most projects have been located in parts of Australia’s arid and semi-arid rangelands where native vegetation has never been cleared (because it is not economic to do so).
Almost all current projects seek to regenerate forests by reducing grazing pressure. For this to make sense, grazing would need to be responsible for dramatically reducing the prevalence of trees in the rangelands. It would also have to be possible to regenerate these “lost” forests by reducing grazing pressure. Neither of these are true.
In fact, every year, between 200,000 and 400,000 hectares of land cleared for grazing is re-cleared. This demonstrates that grazing is rarely sufficient on its own to stop regrowth without mechanical or chemical interventions to kill trees.
One of Labor’s key plans to deliver its climate change promises faces a major challenge as a review kicks off into the $4.5 billion Emissions Reduction Fund, with experts warning the scheme set up under the former government has been selling credits for worthless carbon reduction projects.
Macintosh estimated the “vast majority” of the 30 million credits for what’s known as human-induced regeneration, which currently sell for $35 a tonne, had not captured any extra carbon than without the credits.
Australia’s biggest emitters are being urged to snap up the carbon credits they need to achieve their net-zero goals just as the market for Australian Carbon Credit Units is set to tighten further – potentially raising prices – thanks to more rigorous scrutiny and tougher emissions caps.
https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/beware-fake-forests-big-emitters-warned-on-offsets-rush-20220715-p5b1ul
SPECIES
Leadbeaters not beaten:
Cosmos magazine has an evocative story about Leadbeaters Possum who live in family groups whose “histories are connected to patches of land”, and they like their forests just right in “the “Goldilocks zone” – young trees to feed in, old trees to sleep in”.
https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/leadbeaters-possum-forest-fairy/
Just right for Goldilocks bird:
Conditions have been just right for the Goldilocks bird. High rainfall in Terrick Terrick National Park, west of Echuca in Victoria, has caused a surge in native grass growth and invertebrate activity, leading to a major breeding boom for Plains Wanderers, with the highest numbers since 2010 found.
Greater Gliders not gone yet:
The listing of Greater Gliders as Endangered is still garnering attention, with logging and clearing primarily responsible Lindenmayer and others are calling for it to end, while yet others warn there are lots of other species in dire straits that aren’t so cute. Meanwhile they are being cited as a reason to stop mega mountain bike trails within the Mount Canobolas State Conservation Area.
“All these various threats and factors interacting in different ways ultimately increase the risk of extinction,” says Luke Emerson, a researcher at Deakin University’s Centre for Integrative Ecology who specialises in the ecology of arboreal marsupials like the glider.
“Rising temperatures, increasing fire severity, shorter fire intervals, logging on top of that, conversion and fragmentation of habitat… all these things are interacting to put greater pressure on arboreal marsupials.
[Dr Marissa Parrot] “Animals like the greater glider are beautiful, and they’re fluffy, and they can really grab people’s attention,” she says. “It’s great that they’re getting that attention, but we also have many species no one’s ever heard of, like the pookila (New Holland mouse), and the bogong moth, which is also a tiny little animal, but an amazing species.
That’s why moving the forestry industry to an entirely plantation-based sector is a critical solution Lindenmayer believes needs to be implemented, and soon.
“It’s time to exit native forest logging,” he says. “The Western Australians have done this: on the 31st of December 2023, [WA] will no longer be logging native forests.
“Victoria needs to do that at the same time, so does New South Wales. It’s really important that we tackle that issue, which renders huge areas of forest unsuitable for animals like greater gliders, either permanently or for periods of up to 200 years.”
https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/greater-glider-now-endangered/
Greater gliders were once abundant along Australia’s east coast. However, 200 years of forest clearing and logging has steadily reduced their habitat and numbers. This legacy of disturbance has amplified the impact of recent bushfires on remaining forest and glider populations.
For those who have stood on bare ground in recently logged or burnt forest, you know the silence of a once thriving ecosystem is chilling. The sense of loss is overwhelming.
Cutting down forests, however, is a threat that could be stopped immediately.
It’s clear the EPBC Act is ineffective[19] at protecting forest-dwelling species. One reason is due to so-called “regional forest agreements[20]” established in the mid-1990s as a compromise between warring[21] environmentalists and the forestry industry.
At best, nest boxes are a localised stopgap. At worst, they can be completely ineffective, and can even be used to greenwash environmentally destructive projects or delay appropriate action.
Western Australia has already committed to end native forestry by 2024. The Victorian and NSW governments must do better, and end native forest logging immediately, or see more greater gliders, koalas and other endangered forest mammals perish.
Dr Andrew Rawson, president of the Canobolas Conservation Alliance and Cabonne councillor points out that "Mount Canobolas is one of the very few locations in our region where greater gliders occur. It is essential that we protect their mountain habitat from any activity that could cause further disturbance".
This can be achieved by ensuring that Orange and Cabonne Councils do not permit inappropriate development such as mega mountain bike trails within the Mount Canobolas State Conservation Area.
Koala’s homes need protection:
News of the Area focuses on NCC’s reporting of landclearing statistics that 75 hectares of wildlife habitat is bulldozed or logged every day in NSW, almost twice the average annual rate recorded before the Coalition Government’s change of nature laws in 2016, and concerns by Ian Morphett of the Myall Koala & Environment Group that Koalas continue to decline as their habitat is cleared.
The Australian Koala Foundation is gaining more publicity over its federal “Koala Protection Act” that would place caveats on land clearing and development across up to 1.5 million square kilometres of forest identified as Koala habitat.
Koala recission motion lost:
Lismore councillors lost their rescission motion to overturn Council’s June 23 decision to refuse the DA involving clearing of Koala feed trees at 226 Invercauld Road.
Sean O’Shannessy from the North East Forest Alliance (NEFA) wanted Council to know that endangering the environment was not a good look, …
https://www.echo.net.au/2022/07/goonellabah-koalas-win-after-rescission-lost/
Orange quoll:
The finding of a spotted-tailed quoll in a garage in Orange in the New South Wales Central West has raised hopes that a population may still persist in the area.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-09/spotted-tailed-quoll-orange-only-14000-remain/101213326
Frogs dying:
For the second winter in a row, native frogs have been found dead or dying across Australia particularly throughout New South Wales, while chytrid fungus is involved scientists are baffled as to what else is affecting them.
"Certainly, if a frog is going to die, it will happen once it gets cold because their immune system really slows down," Dr Rowley said.
She said green tree frogs especially were struggling on the Mid North Coast of NSW, which was a "hotspot" last year.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-12/mystery-frog-deaths-return-for-second-winter-season/101198904
King Parrots dying to be fed:
A highly contagious disease known as Spironucleosis is believed responsible for the death of dozens of king parrots on the NSW South Coast, leading WIRES to warn against feeding stations or bird baths that encourage congregations and facilitate spread. Symptoms include emaciation and wasting, weakness, inability to fly and often a staggering walk, with recovery taking up to eight weeks with a lot of TLC and medication.
https://aboutregional.com.au/disease-killing-south-coast-king-parrots-how-you-can-help-save-them/
Hopping into enclosures:
The introduction of 150 Mitchell’s hopping mouse into a 9,500 hectare fenced area in Mallee Cliffs National Park, in the state’s south-west, is the NSW Government’s latest conservation announcement.
NPWS’s augmented reality:
For over ten years, NPWS has been trying to attract Gould’s petrels to Broughton Island (near Port Stephens) for breeding, involving the use of artificial nest boxes and a loudspeaker playing petrel calls, resulting in the first chick hatching in 2020. Now they have launched their first augmented reality (AR) experience, accessed via the NPWS app on a mobile device, that tells the story of the endangered Gould’s petrel, and can be accesses on the Tomaree Head Summit walk or from the comfort of your home.
Native bees to be eradicated in poisoning campaign:
Native bees are not directly affected by varroa mite, but as part of their eradication campaign the NSW Department of Primary Industry and placing baits of ‘Fipronil’ in control areas to attract Honey Bees that will take the poison back to hives and thereby kill both managed and feral bee hives – they will also attract and kill native bees.
Dan Smailes, Sydney Native Bees, is offering help to anyone that may need help to move their native bee hive or an identified wild native bee hive to safety.
You could protect it too, either by closing up the nest entrance with metal gauze while eradication work is underway.
Dan can be contacted by message to 0404 604 569.
https://www.newsofthearea.com.au/native-bees-at-risk-from-varroa-mite-eradication-plan-96562
Killing Kangaroos better that letting them die:
The Animal Justice Party introduced a bill to the NSW Parliament earlier this year that would bring an end to the culling of kangaroos, but the Pastoralists' Association of West Darling believes shooting Kangaroos is necessary to stop kangaroos from suffering cruel deaths from hunger in droughts, while incidentally increasing profitability – maybe we need to return dingos to manage populations.
Virtually fighting alien toads:
Cane toads have virtually completed their conquest of the Kimberley and now their armies are amassing for their assault on the Pilbra, so researchers have come-up with virToad enabling you to play against these alien menaces from the comfort of your home.
A paper just published describes a computer simulation program we developed to help test cane toad management in the virtual world before strategies are rolled out in real life.
The cane toad is the ultimate invader, spreading up to 50 kilometres a year and breeding explosively.
By playing around with different strategies, and understanding the effort needed to implement them, virToad allows conservation managers to calculate whether they have the people and budget to deploy a plan on the ground.
Foot in mouth a worry for politicians:
The cattle industry is extremely concerned that the highly contagious foot and mouth disease, which was detected in Indonesia in May and spread to Bali last week, could now be spread to Australia by the 1.3 million Australians who visit Bali each year, and are calling for disinfectant footbaths to be immediately introduced at airports – this is perceived as a threat because it’s close to Australia unlike the numerous more distant countries with foot and mouth that tourists return from each year.
https://www.aap.com.au/news/fmd-at-the-closest-its-ever-been-to-aust/
Curtailing cats:
The deputy mayor wants Wagga council to lobby the NSW government to make changes to the NSW Companion Animals Act 1988 so council can introduce cat curfews, among other management measures.
Cr McKinnon said that without change at a state level, it is very difficult for local councils to implement laws for cat owners, so she wants Wagga council to take the matter to the NSW local government association.
[Cat Protection Society of NSW] "There are things they can do within existing legislation, like creating wildlife protection areas ... put money into parenting with us to give low income residents access to really affordable desexing and microchipping," she said.
THE DETERIORATING PROBLEM
Arctic out-performing models:
It has generally been assumed the Arctic is warming at two to three times the global average, though recent studies indicate it is accelerating and is now warming at four times the global average, with one study suggesting part of the arctic is warming five to seven times faster than the global average.
https://www.eenews.net/articles/rate-of-arctic-warming-faster-than-previously-thought/
Are forests collapsing?:
Europe continues to suffer droughts and heatwaves as forest fires erupt in multiple countries. Meanwhile another wildfire is threatening California’s ancient giant sequoia trees, leading scientists to worry whether forests in the region may have reached a climate tipping point, with increasingly intense wildfires reinforcing deepening drought conditions in a dangerous feedback loop
But that has changed in the last decade, as drought, wildfires and insect infestation—all exacerbated by climate change—have contributed to the deaths of a surprisingly high number of giant sequoias in their native habitat along the western slope of California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range. In fact, in the last two years alone, increasingly severe wildfires have killed as many as one-fifth of the estimated 75,000 sequoias living in those groves, shocking forestry experts who say such deaths point to a grim milestone for the climate crisis. Slow fires that once stayed on the ground are now more frequently racing through the treetops as crown fires.
Last year, wildfires in the United States, Turkey and parts of Siberia emitted an estimated 1.76 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the equivalent of more than a quarter of the annual carbon emissions of the U.S., according to scientists with the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service. And as rising greenhouse gas emissions push temperatures higher, it’s exacerbating the drought conditions that have helped fuel the West’s intense fires, which then release carbon dioxide, soot and other climate-warming pollutants into the atmosphere in a self-perpetuating cycle.
“If you had asked me as recently as the middle of 2014, ‘Do you see the effects of a changing climate on giant sequoias?’ I would have said no,” Stephenson said. Now “with giant sequoias, it feels like a threshold has been reached and we’re seeing changes of the sort we haven’t seen before.”
https://us2.campaign-archive.com/?e=6624c72df8&u=7c733794100bcc7e083a163f0&id=eef74acc40
Researchers have found that tropical, arid and temperate forests are experiencing a significant decline in resilience (unlike boreal forests) and their capacity to withstand disturbances, and that approximately 23% of intact undisturbed forests have already reached a critical threshold and are experiencing a further degradation in resilience.
Forest ecosystems depend on their capacity to withstand and recover from natural and anthropogenic perturbations (that is, their resilience)1. Experimental evidence of sudden increases in tree mortality is raising concerns about variation in forest resilience2, yet little is known about how it is evolving in response to climate change. Here we integrate satellite-based vegetation indices with machine learning to show how forest resilience, quantified in terms of critical slowing down indicators3,4,5, has changed during the period 2000–2020. We show that tropical, arid and temperate forests are experiencing a significant decline in resilience, probably related to increased water limitations and climate variability. By contrast, boreal forests show divergent local patterns with an average increasing trend in resilience, probably benefiting from warming and CO2 fertilization, which may outweigh the adverse effects of climate change. These patterns emerge consistently in both managed and intact forests, corroborating the existence of common large-scale climate drivers. Reductions in resilience are statistically linked to abrupt declines in forest primary productivity, occurring in response to slow drifting towards a critical resilience threshold. Approximately 23% of intact undisturbed forests, corresponding to 3.32 Pg C of gross primary productivity, have already reached a critical threshold and are experiencing a further degradation in resilience. Together, these signals reveal a widespread decline in the capacity of forests to withstand perturbation that should be accounted for in the design of land-based mitigation and adaptation plans.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04959-9
National Biomass week:
American wood pellet manufacturer Enviva is celebrating nearly 55 years of “National Forest Week”, with their CEO stating “I am humbled to be leading a company for the last 18 years that is dedicated to displacing coal, growing more trees, and fighting climate change”.
Although Enviva does not own any forests, we play an important role in helping U.S. forests thrive and grow. For instance, Enviva produces sustainably sourced wood pellets using an array of sustainable practices that protect environmentally sensitive areas and conserve working forests. … sustainably sourced wood bioenergy is recognized by leading scientific authorities around the world as an effective, renewable energy solution to mitigate the effects of climate change.
https://biomassmagazine.com/articles/19148/enviva-celebrates-national-forest-week/
TURNING IT AROUND
Environment has values:
A UN report by Ipbes, approved by representatives of 139 countries, has found that a market-based focus on short-term profits and economic growth has led to bad decisions that have reduced people’s wellbeing and contributed to climate and nature crises, with a “good quality of life” requiring taking into account all the benefits nature provides to humans.
This means properly valuing the spiritual, cultural and emotional values that nature brings to humans, according to the report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (Ipbes)….
The review highlights four general perspectives that should be taken into account; “living from nature” which refers to its ability to provide us with our needs like food and material goods; “living with nature”, which is the right of non-human life to thrive; “living in nature” which refers to people’s right to a sense of place and identity, and finally, “living as nature”, which treats the world as a spiritual part of being human.
Ipbes, which is the equivalent of the IPCC for biodiversity, was set up to provide governments across the world with scientific advice on how to protect nature. Last week, it released another report that found wild species support half the world’s population but their future use is threatened by overexploitation.
There are more than 50 ways to value the environment, but most research and policymaking focuses on just a handful of methods. These include counting species and evaluating the cost of replacing a service provided by nature. Yet assessing nature in purely monetary terms can also be harmful to people and the environment, according to the world’s largest assessment of environmental valuation.
There is strong evidence that valuing nature on the basis of market prices is contributing to the present biodiversity crisis, said Unai Pascual, an economist at the Basque Centre for Climate Change in Leioa, Spain, at the launch in Bonn. “Many other values are ignored in favour of short-term profit and economic growth,” added Pascual, who co-chaired the assessment.
… The value of sacred sites does not need to be turned into dollars, or euros, said IPBES co-author Sander Jacobs, an ecologist at the Research Institute of Nature and Forests in Brussels, at the report’s launch.
The previous Ipbes report on people’s use of wild species has come under attack from scientists for being unduly optimistic while under stating the harm that exploiting wildlife is doing.
Billions of people worldwide rely on around 50,000 species of wild plants and animals for food, energy, medicines and income, according to a major intergovernmental report prepared by dozens of scientists. Although the report finds that overexploitation is a threat to some species, it also highlights many examples of wild species being used sustainably, and recommends ways to support and replicate those methods.
But independent scientists say that the assessment falls short in its assessment of people’s uses of wild species. They point to significant gaps in the evidence underpinning the assessment. It “underestimates the harm that exploitation of wildlife does to nature and it exaggerates the benefits”, says biologist Daniela Freyer, co-founder of the conservation organization Pro Wildlife in Munich, Germany.
… It will follow a 2019 IPBES report, which found that exploitation of wildlife is one of the largest drivers of biodiversity loss. The latest report builds on that finding and sought to offer a more optimistic message, says Marla Emery, a co-chair of the assessment.
Defining oldgrowth:
In April President Biden directed his administration to devise ways to preserve older forests as part of the government’s efforts to combat climate change, issuing an order to define and inventory all mature and old growth forests on federal land, so now the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management issued a notice seeking public input for a “universal definition framework” to identify older forests needing protection.
There’s disagreement over which trees to count. Environmentalists have said millions of acres of public lands should qualify. The timber industry and its allies have cautioned against a broad definition over concerns that could put new areas off limits to logging.
The Forest Service manages 209,000 square miles (541,000 square kilometers) of forested land, including about 87,500 square miles (226,000 square kilometers) where trees are older than 100 years.
https://mynorthwest.com/3562042/us-solicits-help-as-it-defines-old-growth-and-mature-forests/
Making climate change comical:
Researchers have written a comic that looks at the ways low-income families have had to adapt to climate change in five countries across three continents, aimed at high school students, but will also appeal to university students and the broader public.
Parents, teachers and students can download the comic for free here and here.
Forest Media 8 July 2022
New South Wales
The Kalang River Forest Alliance (KRFA) say they are highly alarmed about Forestry Corporation plans to start logging in Oakes State Forest in the Kalang Headwaters, arguing they shouldn’t be logging habitat of the Rufous Scrub-bird.
The dismissing of charges against the Cherry Tree 4 is still attracting attention, as noted by their lawyer “civil disobedience is what activists are forced to do when the Government prioritises protecting vested interests over the protection of our planet”.
While people may argue whether the actions of Blockade Australia in attempting to disrupt Sydney are productive or not, there is no doubt that the reports of police actions, 23 arrests between Monday and Wednesday, and political reactions are focussing attention on the urgency of the issue. This is exemplified by papers such as the Glenn Innes Examiner sticking up for Blockade Australia, concluding “Governments must listen to people and address their concerns rather than seek to silence them”.
A remembrance and celebration of the Nightcap Action Group’s 1982 successful actions to stop rainforest logging around Mount Nardi, leading to the creation of the Nightcap National Park and the 1982 ‘Rainforest Decision’, is being planned for October, with assistance sought. After serving some 20,000 meals and innumerable coffees, Trees not Bombs has packed up, the Echo commenting “no doubt that the café will leave a hole in the heart of Lismore”. The Knitting Nannas Against Gas and greed (K.N.A.G) recently celebrated their 10th Nannaversary with a knit-in in Lismore, joined by nannas from Grafton, Sydney, Bellingen and Kyogle.
At a Grafton Farmers for Climate Action meeting SCU soil scientist, Dr Grant, reported he found that 10 days after the Lismore flood 5% of the floodwater was soil, leading him to estimate that eroded soil may have added 2m to flood heights at their peak, as he emphasised the value of soil carbon for increasing water retention and the folly of clearing forests in river catchments.
The Forestry Corporation’s fine of $230,000 for "breaching its approval and carrying out unlawful forestry activities in an exclusion zone" in the Dampier State Forest, along with its other logging fines, including for the Koala exclusion area in Wild Cattle Creek, continue to attract a lot of media attention. Last week’s Northern Rivers Times focussed on an interview with Sue Higginson about the Wild Cattle Creek breaches and the Forestry Corporation’s proven reckless attitude towards compliance with its environmental obligations, concluding logging our public forests no longer stacks up.
The NSW Government has commenced consultation on the development of a new model for Aboriginal joint management of NSW national parks, which could see title to the entire estate transferred to Aboriginal owners over a 15 to 20 year period, under a new model where the public will have continued access to national parks, and transfers of title would be subject to a long-term leaseback of land at nominal rent to Government. The consultation process has been announced and is expected to take 18 months.
Rocky Knob, a 9.6 hectare section of the Burraghihnbihng (Hexham Wetlands), was traditionally used as a hunting and gathering place of the Pambalong Clan of the Awabakal People and one of the few undisturbed Aboriginal burial grounds that still exist, has now become the first site in Newcastle to be protected with an Aboriginal Place declaration.
Over 3,500 natives have been planted in a project to create new wildlife corridors in the Eurobodalla.
Australia
Two of the world’s biggest bauxite miners are seeking to clear a combined 13,672 hectares of trees and native vegetation in Western Australia’s Northern Jarrah Forest to mine shallow reserves that lie only a few metres under the surface.
Bob Brown Foundation has expressed outrage at Forestry Tasmania’s newly released three-year logging plans which identify 15,534 hectares of native forests for logging, describing it as “the worst we have ever seen”. The trailer for the movie Franklin, which recounts the campaign to stop the Franklin River being dammed, has been released.
The University of the Sunshine Coast has an exhibition of works that visualises the calls of different species on Kabi Kabi Country using cymatics, the science of visualising acoustic energy or sound, that brings together painting, objects, moving image and sound.
Species
The biggest news-story of the week was the Greater Glider being listed by the Federal Government as Endangered because of “an overall rate of population decline exceeding 50 percent over a 21-year (three generation) period, including population reduction and habitat destruction following the 2019–20 bushfires”, the Scientific Committee further noting “cumulative impacts of the 2019-20 bushfires, ongoing prescribed burning, timber harvesting and climate change will continue to put pressure on remaining greater glider habitat. Fire-logging interactions likely increase risks to greater glider populations”. The new Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek made the announcement, downplaying the role of forestry, while Prof David Lindenmayer called for urgent and serious action, and NEFA called for the Commonwealth to amend the North East NSW Regional Forest Agreement to require pre-logging surveys for koalas, greater gliders, and yellow-bellied gliders, and protection of their homes.
Kinglake Friends of the Forest along with Environment East Gippsland have brought a case against VicForests in the Supreme Court for logging Greater Glider habitat, arguing there should be surveys for Greater Gliders and 18ha exclusion zones around records, with a court hearing scheduled for 7 March and a final hearing for May they are seeking to raise $50,000 through chuffed.
Researchers identify inappropriate fire regimes as threatening 88% of Australia’s threatened mammals – too much, too hot or not enough.
Bushfires and floods have destroyed many of the hollows Glossy Black-cockatoos call home, along with the casuarina trees they exclusively feed upon, so Glossies Northern Rivers were excited when they found a pair at Bogangar near Casuarina Beach in the Tweed Shire after months of fruitless searches across 21,000 square kilometres. It is now being considered for listing as nationally threatened.
With Endangered Australasian Bitterns reduced to around 1300 individuals the National Landcare Program is funding 'Boosting the Bunyip Bird Yield' project, which is offering incentives to rice growers to provide additional and improved habitat on farms for the species.
The Lachlan River system has been in flood for more than has been seen in the last 30 to 40 years, leading to mass breeding events for colonial species such as pelicans and Straw-necked Ibis, though numbers are not what they used to be, and another drought is just around the corner.
Wildlife carers and organisations are urging people to look out for and help rescue displaced wildlife impacted by the floods, with burrowing animals such as wombats and echidnas expected to be the most heavily impacted as their homes are filled with floodwaters and mud, while some groups appeal for donations.
A study of bird feathers by the Hunter Environment Centre found alarming levels of arsenic, lead, selenium, and mercury in up to a dozen different species of birds among those frequenting waterways close to coal-fired power stations in the Hunter and Central Tablelands. Concentrations of metals found in 65 per cent of the feathers collected from the three contaminated lakes (Lake Liddell, Lake Macquarie, Lake Wallace) were above identified adverse health and reproduction thresholds for birds. It is also concerning that the intended control sites of Port Stephens and Myall Lakes also contained concentrations of mercury and lead above health threshold levels. The Australian Electricity Commission, which represents power generators, said the environment centre's report lacked scientific credibility, though experts disagreed.
Concerns have been raised that in Tasmania millions of native animals, including wallabies, green rosellas, cockatoos and wombats have been killed under property protection permits which allow landowners to kill wildlife to prevent damage to crops, stock or infrastructure.
Varroa mites got into New Zealand bees over 22 years ago, with their spread aided by feral and unregistered hives, the consequences have been that hives require more maintenance and chemical controls, making it a lot more expensive and challenging for beekeepers, while lowering crop pollination. As at 6pm Thursday, 1,693 hives have been euthanised at 34 infested premises between the NSW central and mid-north coasts as well as at Narrabri in the state’s northwest, representing over 17 million bees. While most beekeepers consider it best to try to eliminate the mite in Australia, if unsuccessful the long-term consequences of eradication efforts will be massive. Though there will be more nectar available for native species this year, and getting rid of feral hives will have long-term benefits.
An American study of small forest mammals by the University of Maine recognises that species have different responses, with some being aggressive and others more relaxed, though they also tested for the personality differences within species in order to assess how an individual’s boldness, shyness, aggressiveness, and curiosity affect their activities and thereby how they influence the structure of the ecosystem – it’s not just about saving species, it’s also about saving those individuals with the most appropriate personalities to shape future ecosystems.
The Deteriorating Problem
While we are now being over-whelmed by floods, we can expect an increase in, and worsening of, the droughts and fires of 2019-20 in the near future. A study found the frequency of days with extreme fire weather globally increased an average of 54 per cent from 1979-2019, particularly pronounced in western North America, Amazonia and the Mediterranean, while in Australia the increase was 56 per cent. And it is getting worse.
A global study of the frequency of drought days (FDD) under climate change (during the low-flow season) identifies much of southern Australia will experience significant increases in drought days by the mid-21st century (2036–2065), with the timing of the first onset of consecutive exceedance for equal to or more than five years compared to the historical maximum value for Australia not until after 2070 (regardless of the emissions scenario).
As expected, in a 6-3 majority the US Supreme Court has limited the regulatory tools that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can use to curb greenhouse-gas emissions by prohibiting the EPA from crafting broad regulations to drive the US power industry away from coal and towards cleaner energy sources, such as wind and solar.
The Brazilian Amazon lost 3,750 square kilometers of jungle since the beginning of the year, the worst numbers for this 6 month period since record-keeping began in 2016, and is experiencing the worst fires since 2007.
Turning it Around
Much is being made of a recent “scientific” paper that adopts “constrained restoration options” to “conclude that additional carbon sequestration via nature restoration is unlikely to be done quickly enough to notably reduce the global peak temperatures expected in the next few decades. Land restoration is an important option for tackling climate change but cannot compensate for delays in reducing fossil fuel emissions”. Though their constraints are strangely based on the premise that only planting trees in agricultural contexts will have immediate impacts, while they assume there will be a 20 year lag before secondary forests left to regenerate will suddenly start sequestering additional carbon. They also ignore tree plantations and make strange assumptions about how much area will be subject to the various treatments – as evidenced by the comments on the article in the Conversation it is dangerous propaganda.
Many of the world’s largest companies with net-zero commitments have made little, tangible progress against tropical deforestation, according to a recent report from a U.N. climate change task force.
Forests are old. Plants first arrived on land about 470 million years ago, trees with large woody roots and woody branches with leaves, and forests, evolved nearly 390 million years ago.
Dailan Pugh
NEW SOUTH WALES
KRFA alarmed:
The Kalang River Forest Alliance (KRFA) say they are highly alarmed about Forestry Corporation plans to start logging in Oakes State Forest in the Kalang Headwaters, arguing they shouldn’t be logging habitat of the Rufous Scrub-bird.
In order to address both the extinction crisis and the climate crisis, Mr Bellchambers has called on Environment Minister James Griffin to immediately act to protect the entire Kalang Headwaters and the broader proposed Headwaters Nature Reserve from logging.
Cherry Tree 4 continue to garner attention:
The dismissing of charges against the Cherry Tree 4 is still attracting attention, as noted by their lawyer “civil disobedience is what activists are forced to do when the Government prioritises protecting vested interests over the protection of our planet”.
https://www.nimbingoodtimes.com/archive/pages2022/jul/NGT-0722-10-17.pdf
Northern Rivers Times June 30 2022
Blockade attention:
While people may argue whether the actions of Blockade Australia in attempting to disrupt Sydney are productive or not, there is no doubt that the reports of police actions, 23 arrests between Monday and Wednesday, and political reactions are focussing attention on the urgency of the issue. This is exemplified by papers such as the Glenn Innes Examiner sticking up for Blockade Australia, concluding “Governments must listen to people and address their concerns rather than seek to silence them”.
Extreme claims have recently been made by the state government, and their supporters in the media, of the impact on traffic by climate protesters blocking the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
I wonder how many of those making these claims are struck by a feeling of irony when they see the images on the daily news bulletins of the impact on traffic from the climate change induced flooding events happening almost monthly in parts of NSW.
Do they really expect people to stand by and do nothing when state government instrumentalities, like Forestry NSW, ignore state laws and environmental protection requirements, or while governments give approvals to coal and gas developments that fuel the fire of climate change?
What is the response of government? Rather than listen to concerns and address, the issues they impose a heavy-handed police response and criminalise protest through greater penalties on those who seek to raise concerns and disrupt the destruction. This must change. Governments must listen to people and address their concerns rather than seek to silence them.
https://www.gleninnesexaminer.com.au/story/7807377/governments-must-listen-to-the-people/
A statement signed by 40 civil society organisations and released by the Human Rights Law Centre “expressed alarm” at the initial police surveillance and raid of Blockade Australia.
“The extensive covert surveillance and pre-emptive policing sets a disturbing precedent for protest rights,” the statement said.
“They want worried citizens to wave placards uselessly from the footpath while they drive their log trucks, coal trucks and gas rigs up the highways to more riches and planetary ruin,” [Bob Brown] said in a statement released by the Human Rights Law Centre.
“As life on Earth is pulverised by global heating, habitat destruction and species extinctions, the exploiters know they can’t win the debate, so they aim to put environmentalists out of action through vilification, legal sanctions and unprecedented punishment.”
https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2022/07/threats-to-right-to-protest-signal-continuation-of-war-on-charities/
40 years on from Nightcap 2:
A remembrance and celebration of the Nightcap Action Group’s 1982 successful actions to stop rainforest logging around Mount Nardi, leading to the creation of the Nightcap National Park and the 1982 ‘Rainforest Decision’, is being planned for October, with assistance sought.
Sophia 0428 685 690
https://www.nimbingoodtimes.com/archive/pages2022/jul/NGT-0722-10-17.pdf
Trees not Bombs:
After serving some 20,000 meals and innumerable coffees, Trees not Bombs has packed up, the Echo commenting “no doubt that the café will leave a hole in the heart of Lismore”.
[Susie Russell] The forests need more now – we’ve got a state election coming up and the future of the forest is at stake. It’s really important that people understand that we haven’t got much time left, because our forests are being trashed at a really rapid rate. We need more time and resources. And hopefully, the Trees Not Bombs will resurrect at a forest blockade near you.’
https://www.echo.net.au/2022/07/trees-not-bombs-gone-but-not-forgotten/
https://www.nimbingoodtimes.com/archive/pages2022/jul/NGT-0722-10-17.pdf
Knitting Nannas celebrate 10th birthday:
The Knitting Nannas Against Gas and greed (K.N.A.G) recently celebrated their 10th Nannaversary with a knit-in in Lismore, joined by nannas from Grafton, Sydney, Bellingen and Kyogle.
Nanna Clare says that during the past 10 years Nannas have had many an adventure with friends and foes in our battle against CSG mining in the Northern Rivers and further afield. ‘At one stage we had 40 plus Nanna loops across Australia and overseas.
‘We have been yelled at, told to get a clucking job and/or to get our tits out, we have been driven at and hit by utes, and sworn at by Honourable Members of Parliament.
‘Nannas have been arrested, charged and locked up. They have attached themselves to very big trucks, smaller trucks, gates and Devices.
https://www.echo.net.au/2022/07/the-tenth-nannaversary-of-the-knitting-nannas/
Erosion increases flooding:
At a Grafton Farmers for Climate Action meeting SCU soil scientist, Dr Grant, reported he found that 10 days after the Lismore flood 5% of the floodwater was soil, leading him to estimate that eroded soil may have added 2m to flood heights at their peak, as he emphasised the value of soil carbon for increasing water retention and the folly of clearing forests in river catchments.
Northern Rivers Times July 7 2022
Forestry Corporation’s criminality intriguing:
The Forestry Corporation fine of $230,000 for "breaching its approval and carrying out unlawful forestry activities in an exclusion zone" in the Dampier State Forest, along with its other logging fines, including for the Koala exclusion area in Wild Cattle Creek, continue to attract a lot of media attention.
https://monaropost.com.au/grassroots/forestry-corp-fined-530-000-for-logging-operations
https://aboutregional.com.au/forestry-corp-handed-230000-fine-for-bat-related-breaches-near-bodalla/
Northern Rivers Times July 7 2022,
https://www.nimbingoodtimes.com/archive/pages2022/jul/NGT-0722-10-17.pdf
Last week’s Northern Rivers Times focussed on an interview with Sue Higginson about the Wild Cattle Creek breaches and the Forestry Corporation’s proven reckless attitude towards compliance with its environmental obligations, concluding logging our public forests no longer stacks up.
Northern Rivers Times June 30 2022.
Parks handback:
The NSW Government has commenced consultation on the development of a new model for Aboriginal joint management of NSW national parks, which could see title to the entire estate transferred to Aboriginal owners over a 15 to 20 year period, under a new model where the public will have continued access to national parks, and transfers of title would be subject to a long-term leaseback of land at nominal rent to Government.
“Already, more than 30 per cent of the NSW national parks estate is covered by joint management, but Aboriginal people currently hold title or native title to just over four per cent of it,” Mr Griffin said.
A proposed model that involves enhancing Aboriginal employment and business opportunities will be released for public comment with a final model being considered by Government after extensive consultation.
https://afndaily.com.au/2022/07/03/aboriginal-joint-management-of-national-parks-to-expand/
The consultation process has been announced and is expected to take 18 months.
In developing a new joint management model, the NSW Government is committed to:
- providing ongoing public access to the national park estate in a manner that showcases our natural and cultural heritage and positions New South Wales as a world leader in nature-based tourism
- implementing effective fire management across the estate, consistent with existing statutory obligations, including under the Rural Fires Act 1997 and our hazard reduction commitments
- implementing feral animal, weed control, threatened species protection and other on-ground land management, which protects natural and cultural values in a manner consistent with NSW national parks being one of the world's leading protected area estates.
The proposed new model will be developed in consultation with Aboriginal communities and native title holders, as well as with other stakeholders who use and value our national parks, including conservation groups, tourism bodies, local government and recreational users.
Part of Hexham Wetlands protected:
Rocky Knob, a 9.6 hectare section of the Burraghihnbihng (Hexham Wetlands), was traditionally used as a hunting and gathering place of the Pambalong Clan of the Awabakal People and one of the few undisturbed Aboriginal burial grounds that still exist, has now become the first site in Newcastle to be protected with an Aboriginal Place declaration.
https://newcastleweekly.com.au/rocky-knob-declared-newcastles-first-official-aboriginal-place/
Planting corridor:
Over 3,500 natives have been planted in a project to create new wildlife corridors in the Eurobodalla.
A project delivered in partnership with Local Land Services (LLS), Coastwatchers and EcoCrews is helping to restore habitat for native animals including the Great Glider, which is listed as a threatened species, with the creation of wildlife corridors.
AUSTRALIA
Mining Jarrah:
Two of the world’s biggest bauxite miners are seeking to clear a combined 13,672 hectares of trees and native vegetation in Western Australia’s Northern Jarrah Forest to mine shallow reserves that lie only a few metres under the surface.
“The Northern Jarrah Forest was identified as one of a handful of Australian ecosystems most at risk of climate collapse in the latest report by the UN’s panel of experts on climate change,” [Jess Beckerling] said.
“To do more damage – as this proposal would clearly do – would be an unforgivable act of self-sabotage for our state and set conservation efforts back decades.”
Logging plans the worst:
Bob Brown Foundation has expressed outrage at Forestry Tasmania’s newly released three-year logging plans which identify 15,534 hectares of native forests for logging, describing it as “the worst we have ever seen”.
Logging is planned for the World Heritage value ancient rainforests in Tasmania’s takayna / Tarkine, 500-year-old eucalyptus trees, habitat for the critically endangered swift parrots, and some of the oldest forests in the central highlands, near Tasmania’s popular Cradle Mountain and Lake St Clair World Heritage Areas, are targeted.
https://tasmaniantimes.com/2022/07/on-forestry/
Franklin be dammed:
The trailer for the movie Franklin, which recounts the campaign to stop the Franklin River being dammed, has been released.
https://if.com.au/franklin-trailer/
Visualising wildlife calls:
The University of the Sunshine Coast has an exhibition of works that visualises the calls of different species on Kabi Kabi Country using cymatics, the science of visualising acoustic energy or sound, that brings together painting, objects, moving image and sound.
Beeyali is a creative research project currently featuring in the Djagan Yaman exhibition as part of NAIDOC Week. The project began in Queensland to visualise the calls of wildlife using the science of visualising sound. …
… The work is being presented at EVA London this week and is currently on show in Djagan Yaman, Davis’ first solo exhibition in the USC Art Gallery.
SPECIES
Greater Glider under greater threat:
The Greater Glider has now been listed by the Federal Government as Endangered because of “an overall rate of population decline exceeding 50 percent over a 21-year (three generation) period, including population reduction and habitat destruction following the 2019–20 bushfires”, the Scientific Committee further noting “cumulative impacts of the 2019-20 bushfires, ongoing prescribed burning, timber harvesting and climate change will continue to put pressure on remaining greater glider habitat. Fire-logging interactions likely increase risks to greater glider populations”.
Conservation Advice for Petauroides volans (greater glider (southern and central))
The new Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek made the announcement, downplaying the role of forestry, while Prof David Lindenmayer called for urgent and serious action, and NEFA called for the Commonwealth to amend the North East NSW Regional Forest Agreement to require pre-logging surveys for koalas, greater gliders, and yellow-bellied gliders, and protection of their homes.
Prof David Lindenmayer, an ecologist at Australian National University who has extensively studied greater gliders, said while the government’s move to raise the threat level for the gliders was welcome, it had to come with urgent action.
“These are just words unless they are met with some serious action,” he said. “This shows we have been asleep at the wheel in terms of management for the last 40 years.”
The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, said the new listing would “ensure prioritisation of recovery actions to protect this iconic species”.
“The states implement prescriptions to provide for habitat protection of the greater glider in the relatively small areas of native forest that is harvested,” she said.
“The commonwealth is continuing to play a leadership role and support the coordination of conservation outcomes across the greater gliders’ range.”
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/federal/extinction-looms-for-australia-s-equivalent-of-the-panda-20220705-p5az95.html
Greater glider habitat continues to be logged by state-owned operations in Victoria and NSW under regional forest agreements which are largely exempt from the EPBC protections.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/greater-gliders-listed-endangered-across-australia-084608229.html
Mr Pugh says the Commonwealth should no longer allow the NSW Government to clear and log the remaining refuges for koalas, greater gliders, and yellow-bellied gliders if it wants to avoid their extinction.
‘The new federal Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek, needs to intervene by changing the North East NSW Regional Forest Agreement to restore the requirement for pre-logging surveys to identify where nationally listed threatened species survive, and ensure that clearing and logging is prohibited in their homes.
‘To save our species, we first need to identify where they live, protect their homes and then start restoring their habitat.’
https://www.echo.net.au/2022/07/commonwealth-needs-to-step-in-to-save-endangered-wildlife/
A $1.69 million government rescue package is already in place which includes the installation of artificial tree hollows and targeted revegetation, but the conservation group WWF-Australia said the endangered listing is one step closer to extinction and must be followed by urgent legislative action to protect their forest home.
"Greater gliders are susceptible to bushfires as they rely on mature trees with hollows to survive. This is particularly devastating as natural hollows, their homes, can take up to 100 years to form," Ms Plibersek said.
and dozens more
Greater gliders feed almost exclusively on eucalyptus leaves and buds. It is estimated the gliders lost around 35 per cent of their habitat in the Black Summer bushfires. If they did not get burnt, they appeared to die from starvation or dehydration.
“The NSW Government could remove possibly the most immediate threat to our forests and to the greater glider simply by phasing out native forest logging once and for all.” [Mr. Gambian said]
“I think there is a future for native forest logging done in a boutique way, with high value products from private native forests,” [Mr. Field] said.
“Large hollow bearing trees which are used by the gliders should be protected by law,” he said.
“We need a plan for generating the next generation of large hollow bearing trees. They’re a critical ecological resource, and the government is just not taking it seriously.”
Greater Gliders legal case:
Kinglake Friends of the Forest along with Environment East Gippsland have brought a case against VicForests in the Supreme Court for logging Greater Glider habitat, arguing there should be surveys for Greater Gliders and 18ha exclusion zones around records, with a court hearing scheduled for 7 March and a final hearing for May they are seeking to raise $50,000 through chuffed.
https://chuffed.org/project/greater-gliders-need-your-help
Inappropriate fire threatens 88% of threatened mammals:
Researchers identify inappropriate fire regimes as threatening 88% of threatened mammals – too much, too hot or not enough.
In a new paper, we reveal how “inappropriate” fire patterns put 88% of Australia’s threatened land mammals at greater risk of extinction – from ground-dwelling bandicoots to tree-climbing possums and high-flying microbats.
To start, we identified whether land mammals of conservation concern – those listed as critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable – were at risk from fire-related threats. We found that fire threatens 88% of these mammals.
Intense and severe fires usually generate a lot of heat and smoke, which can kill animals immediately or shortly afterwards. Such deaths are probably the cause of a decline in koala populations after intense and severe bushfires in temperate forests, as well as the western ringtail possum and numbat.
Animals may also die in the weeks and months after a fire due to a lack of food and shelter – especially when large and extensive fires destroy habitat over a wide area.
This was likely the case for a species of antechinus – a small mammal reliant on vegetation cover. …
In tropical savannas, frequent and intense fires affect reproduction of northern quolls, by reducing nesting resources and killing young in the pouch.
And some animals can suffer due to a lack of fire. For example, declines in some populations of northern bettongs may be due to long periods without fire which led to a decline in the grasses they eat.
Losing their gloss:
Bushfires and floods have destroyed many of the hollows Glossy Black-cockatoos call home, along with the casuarina trees they exclusively feed upon, so Glossies Northern Rivers were excited when they found a pair at Bogangar near Casuarina Beach in the Tweed Shire after months of fruitless searches across 21,000 square kilometres. It is now being considered for listing as nationally threatened.
But there is reason for optimism, with conservationists building artificial hollows and closely monitoring the birds, [Dr Valentine] said.
"It would be a shame if we didn't do everything in our power, on our watch, to help protect and conserve these birds."
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/aap/article-10982539/Rare-cockatoo-spotted-northern-NSW.html
A federal environment department spokesperson said the eastern glossy black cockatoo was not listed as a threatened species under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, but a listing assessment had been undertaken and would be considered by the minister in coming weeks.
A bitter harvest:
With Endangered Australasian Bitterns reduced to around 1300 individuals the National Landcare Program is funding 'Boosting the Bunyip Bird Yield' project, which is offering incentives to rice growers to provide additional and improved habitat on farms for the species.
https://www.areanews.com.au/story/7809057/new-guide-to-saving-endangered-bitterns/
Birds breeding:
The Lachlan River system has been in flood for more than has been seen in the last 30 to 40 years, leading to mass breeding events for colonial species such as pelicans and Straw-necked Ibis, though numbers are not what they used to be, and another drought is just around the corner.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-03/nsw-lachlan-river-wet-rains-drought-warning/101176022
Flooded homes:
Wildlife carers and organisations are urging people to look out for and help rescue displaced wildlife impacted by the floods, with burrowing animals such as wombats and echidnas expected to be the most heavily impacted as their homes are filled with floodwaters and mud, while some groups appeal for donations.
People can help rescue wildlife by downloading the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) Wildlife Rescue App before heading out onto the roads.
Flooding in NSW has left animals stressed and injured, with wallabies hit by cars, turtles washed away, possums and birds left waterlogged and baby marsupials likely drowned, wildlife workers say.
Dr Vengetas said while it was too early to know the full impact on wildlife populations, there were ways people can help. Both WWF and Aussie Ark have flood fundraisers to support their work.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/aap/article-10989821/Wildlife-stressed-injured-NSW-floods.html
Poisoning birds:
A study of bird feathers by the Hunter Environment Centre found alarming levels of arsenic, lead, selenium, and mercury in up to a dozen different species of birds among those frequenting waterways close to coal-fired power stations in the Hunter and Central Tablelands. Concentrations of metals found in 65 per cent of the feathers collected from the three contaminated lakes (Lake Liddell, Lake Macquarie, Lake Wallace) were above identified adverse health and reproduction thresholds for birds. It is also concerning that the intended control sites of Port Stephens and Myall Lakes also contained concentrations of mercury and lead above health threshold levels.
"Lead, for example, affects their brain so that they forget where their nests are and lose their nests and their shells can get damaged," [Mr Winn] said. The birds' embryos also did not survive if lead levels were too high.
The bio-accumulation of heavy metals in wild life has never really been studied, he said, and that is not taken into account in the water quality guidelines that have been developed in Australia. In NSW, very little in the way of mitigation has occurred, he said.
The Australian Electricity Commission, which represents power generators, said the environment centre's report lacked scientific credibility, though experts disagreed.
But Larissa Schneider, an environmental scientist at the Australian National University specialising in heavy metal pollution, said it would be wrong to dismiss the Hunter Community Environment Centre's "frontline work".
Dr Schneider's published works have found coal ash responsible for elevated selenium in marine organisms in Lake Macquarie.
She also used sediment core samples to show a sharp increase in heavy metal pollution with the commissioning of the power stations.
Killing pesky natives:
Concerns have been raised that in Tasmania millions of native animals, including wallabies, green rosellas, cockatoos and wombats have been killed under property protection permits which allow landowners to kill wildlife to prevent damage to crops, stock or infrastructure.
New data, supplied in answers to questions on notice, shows 859,304 native animals were killed in 2021 alone and an additional 53,352 were culled up to 6 June this year.
The total climbs to about 2.8m when data for 2020 and 2019 is included.
It includes 1,176,002 Bennetts wallabies; 1,088,117 rufous wallabies; 530,487 brushtail possums; and 168 common wombats that were recorded as having been culled in the period from 2019 to 6 June this year.
Varroa mites:
Varroa mites got into New Zealand over 22 years ago, with their spread aided by feral and unregistered hives, the consequences have been that hives require more maintenance and chemical controls, making it a lot more expensive and challenging for beekeepers, while lowering crop pollination. While most beekeepers consider it best to try to eliminate the mite in Australia, if unsuccessful the long-term consequences of eradication efforts will be massive. Though there will be more nectar available for native species this year, and getting rid of feral hives will have long-term benefits.
Major impacts have included lower crop yields, increased reliance on fertilisers to offset the effects of reduced pollination, and bigger bills for farmers who pay for hives to be brought in to pollinate their crops.
A national survey of New Zealand beekeepers running since 2015 also points to a persistent and increasing trend of colony losses each winter.
In 2021, the loss rate was more than 13 per cent – or around 110,000 colonies.
https://www.aap.com.au/news/nz-mite-lessons-for-australias-bee-sector/
But, [Dr Tobias Smith] says, in the years to come there may be one silver lining to the introduction of mites on Australian shores.
“Varroa mites will reduce numbers of feral honey bee colonies in our landscapes and therefore may benefit both native bees and managed European honey bees through reduced competition for flowers,” Smith says.
And then there was a new outbreak at Narrabri, bringing the total number of infested premises to 24, though DPI still think they can eliminate it.
https://www.newsofthearea.com.au/varroa-mite-emergency-order-extended-to-include-port-stephens-96188
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/nsw/2022/07/07/more-than-15-million-bees-dead-nsw/
As at 6pm Thursday, 1,693 hives have been euthanised at 34 infested premises between the NSW central and mid-north coasts as well as at Narrabri in the state’s northwest, representing over 17 million bees.
https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/about-us/media-centre/releases/2022/general/nsw-dpi-varroa-mite-update
How personalities affect ecosystems:
An American study of small forest mammals by the University of Maine recognises that species have different responses, with some being aggressive and others more relaxed, though they also test for the personality differences within species in order to assess how an individual’s boldness, shyness, aggressiveness, and curiosity affect their activities and thereby how they influence the structure of the ecosystem – it’s not just about saving species, it’s also about saving those individuals with the most appropriate personalities who shape future ecosystems.
What one mouse does with a seed will be different from what another mouse does. A bold mouse might cache seeds, willing to take the risk of being out in the open for longer periods. More outgoing animals run a greater risk of being caught by a predator, however, while more risk-averse ones are less likely to be eaten. That’s where Mortelliti’s small animal personality study comes in.
“What we want to know is how their personalities — boldness, shyness, aggressiveness, curiosity — affect forest regeneration,” Mortelliti said. “Is it all bolder animals that are caching seeds? What about the shy ones, that might escape predation? All of this affects the composition of forests.”
https://www.bangordailynews.com/2022/07/07/news/bangor/how-a-mouse-can-change-a-forest-joam40zk0w/
Through a large-scale field experiment conducted on small mammal seed dispersers, we show that an individual's personality affects its choice of seeds, as well as how distant and where seeds are cached. We also show that anthropogenic habitat modifications shift the distribution of personalities within a population, by increasing the proportion of bold, active, and anxious individuals and in-turn affecting the potential survival and dispersal of seeds. We demonstrate that preserving diverse personality types within a population is critical for maintaining the key ecosystem function of seed dispersal.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ele.13324
https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/fee.2418
THE DETERIORATING PROBLEM
Burning longer:
While we are now being over-whelmed by floods, we can expect an increase in, and worsening of, the droughts and fires of 2019-20 in the near future. A study found the frequency of days with extreme fire weather globally increased an average of 54 per cent from 1979-2019, particularly pronounced in western North America, Amazonia and the Mediterranean, while in Australia the increase was 56 per cent. And it is getting worse.
The results of the report show that the fire season length across Australia has increased by 27 additional days over the last 41 years (1979-2019).
Under future climate change scenarios, an increase in global mean temperatures from 1.5C to 4C by 2100 could result in the fire season length extending from 11 to 36 additional days (11 per cent to 37 per cent) compared to current conditions.
https://www.echo.net.au/2022/07/extreme-fire-weather-days-in-australia-have-doubled/
Northern Rivers Times July 7 2022
Droughting longer:
A global study of the frequency of drought days (FDD) under climate change (during the low-flow season) identifies much of southern Australia will experience significant increases in drought days by the mid-21st century (2036–2065), with the timing of the first onset of consecutive exceedance for equal to or more than five years compared to the historical maximum value for Australia not until after 2070 (regardless of the emissions scenario).
Overall, large FDD increases are projected in several drought intensification hotspot regions, including the Mediterranean, Western and Central Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, the United States, Central and southern South America, West to South Africa, and Australia. The time series of the regional average FDDs in these regions show that the drought condition frequencies have already increased compared to those recorded in the historical period and are projected to continue to increase … These increases also apply to the high-flow season in the hotspot regions; hence, crucially, abnormal low-flow conditions are expected to increase throughout the year …
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-30729-2.pdf
Supreme power:
As expected, in a 6-3 majority the US Supreme Court has limited the regulatory tools that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can use to curb greenhouse-gas emissions by prohibiting the EPA from crafting broad regulations to drive the US power industry away from coal and towards cleaner energy sources, such as wind and solar.
Amazon attacks growing:
The Brazilian Amazon lost 3,750 square kilometers of jungle since the beginning of the year, the worst numbers for this 6 month period since record-keeping began in 2016, and is experiencing the worst fires since 2007.
https://www.spacedaily.com/afp/220701175959.6rj75nym.html
TURNING IT AROUND
Misrepresenting benefits of stopping logging:
Much is being made of a recent “scientific” paper that adopts “constrained restoration options” to “conclude that additional carbon sequestration via nature restoration is unlikely to be done quickly enough to notably reduce the global peak temperatures expected in the next few decades. Land restoration is an important option for tackling climate change but cannot compensate for delays in reducing fossil fuel emissions”. Though their constraints are strangely based on the premise that only planting trees in agricultural contexts will have immediate impacts, while they assume there will be a 20 year lag before secondary forests left to regenerate will suddenly start sequestering additional carbon. They also ignore tree plantations and make strange assumptions about how much area will be subject to the various treatments – as evidenced by the comments on the article in the Conversation it is dangerous propaganda.
All talk and no action:
Many of the world’s largest companies with net-zero commitments have made little, tangible progress against tropical deforestation, according to a recent report from a U.N. climate change task force.
Many companies with net-zero commitments have made little, tangible progress against tropical deforestation, according to a recent report from the U.N. Climate Change High-Level Climate Champions, a taskforce responsible for developing stronger climate policy for the private sector.
Approximately a third of carbon emissions released each year are absorbed by forests, the report said. Their protection and restoration could result in as much as 18% emission cuts by 2030. Nevertheless, deforestation rates increased by 12% between 2019 and 2022, suggesting that companies are only taking some of the action required of them. Others aren’t making deforestation commitments at all.
“There is still a significant number of companies that haven’t set a single deforestation policy,” said Emma Thomson, the Forest 500 lead at Global Canopy, one of the co-authors of the report. “And even though we’re seeing many other companies set net-zero targets, they just aren’t being backed up by effective and ambitious deforestation commitments.”
Old forests:
Plants first arrived on land about 470 million years ago, trees with large woody roots and woody branches with leaves, and forests evolved nearly 390 million years ago.
https://www.livescience.com/when-did-first-forests-emerge
Forest Media 1 July 2022
New South Wales
Forestry Corporation have been fined $230,000 ($45,000 to be paid to Bat Society) after the Land and Environment Court convicted them of logging 23 trees in an unmarked 40m exclusion zone around a mineshaft used as a roost by Eastern Horseshoe Bats, breaching its approval and carrying out unlawful forestry activities in an exclusion zone, in Dampier State Forest near Bodalla. The EPA puts the offences down to “mapping errors”, though as the roost was identified and marked on the digital harvesting plan, the problem was that the Forestry Corporation failed to mark the boundary in the field and the contractor failed to use his GPS.
South Coast conservationists say Forestry Corporation’s $15,000 fine for illegally logging hollow-bearing trees in South Brooman State Forest does not go far enough, they want the logging to end. About Regional focusses on the prosecution for logging unburnt/lightly-burnt refugia in Yambulla State Forest. News of the Area reports on Wild Cattle Creek, focussing on Koalas.
At the behest of Byron Council, Mullumbimby Local Court has fined a resident $60k for clearing 9 trees ranging in height from 15 metres to 25 metres, $10k for unauthorised building work, and $5k for Council costs.
Results for the NSW 2020 Statewide Landcover and Tree Study show that 51,400 hectares of woody vegetation was lost, slightly less than the previous year’s total of 54,500 hectares. This excludes fire-affected areas, which have the potential to regenerate.
- There was a 44%decrease in the rate of vegetation loss due to agricultural activity from 23,400 ha in 2019 to 13,000 ha in 2020
- Annual woody vegetation harvesting for forestry in 2020 was 30,000 ha, an increase of 6,500 ha (28%) compared to 2019, this increased harvesting occurred on state forest with the rate increased by 51% when compared to 2019, though native forest harvesting decreased while plantation (pine and hardwood) increased.
- The rate of woody vegetation loss due to infrastructure increased to 8,450 ha in 2020 from 7,580 ha in 2019.
In March 2020 the walk to the summit of Wollumbin (Mt. Warning) was temporarily closed, which has now been extended for a fifth time, until October 31, enabling those who don’t want access denied to anywhere (including Uluru) to continue their campaign - Wollumbin is a site of immense spiritual significance to a variety of traditional owners who want it closed to visitors, yet the Government has failed to make the final call, and develop the identified alternative walks in the area.
Australia
An article in the Conversation argues that disruptive protests such as those by Blockade Australia are effective, with the downside being that politicians are driven to denigrate protestors while NSW, Victoria and Tasmania have/are all introducing draconian legislation to punish climate and forest protestors, arguing that politicians would be better to listen to the messages rather than punishing the messengers. An independent Tasmanian MLC is complaining that the mining company MMG was allowed to listen to briefings provided by environmental and civil groups on Tasmania’s anti-protest legislation, whereas the industry briefings were in secret, a final vote will be held when the Legislative Council returns in mid-August, with its passage depending on a single vote.
Greens senator Larissa Waters is supporting the campaign led by Save Ferny Forest to stop logging of the forest on the Sunshine Coast before it is due to become a national park in 2024. Victoria’s Conservation Regulator is assessing a number of allegations of non-compliance with timber harvesting laws in the Wombat State Forest as opposition to logging of the identified national park continues.
ABC did a factcheck on Tasmanian Liberal’s claims that young forests are superior in their ability to offset carbon emissions and that old-growth forests are actually net carbon emitters, finding these claims are incorrect, as oldgrowth forests continue to sequester carbon and store vastly more, with older trees sequestering more carbon than young ones.
Our taxes and the Australian Forest Products Association have jointly funded some pretty crappy 360-degree virtual reality (VR) videos in an attempt to capture the hearts and minds of school children and promote clearfell logging.
The Northern Territory Tiwi Plantations Corporation has begun a three year, $4.6 million project to grow a 30,000 hectare forestry estate for export, though there is mention of Midway Limited, existing plantations of 4,900 ha, logging underway and ships being loaded.
Concerns are growing as the practice of constructing cairns of rocks in natural areas grows, with natural habitats changed and scenery increasingly disrupted by rock stacking, with the practice likened to a destructive form of graffiti.
In Victoria, around Warburton, the Council is proposing an intensive network of 180 kilometres of mountain bike trails through bushland, raising expectations of a major increase in tourism, and opposition due to construction of metre wide trails through the Yarra Ranges National Park on Mount Donna Buang, rural residential bush blocks surrounded by trails, long-term rental properties being converted to holiday rentals for mountain bikers, and increased bushfire risk.
Species
ABC’s Background Briefing has a 37.5 min podcast ‘Will any koalas be left in Australia's east by 2050?’ which reports on a range of the issues affecting Koalas – NEFA gets a brief run. EDO have released a legal update that examines what the NSW uplisting of Koalas to Endangered means for decision-making and whether this will be enough to save our koalas from extinction – not from the loggers.
Environment Minister James Griffin has announced $600,000 for the Coffs Harbour and District Local Aboriginal Land Council (Gumbaynggirr community) to integrate traditional ecological knowledge into koala conservation, to support habitat restoration, cultural burning in key koala locations, Aboriginal research projects and the development of cultural training for Aboriginal Rangers. Koala Clancy Foundation is seeking $373,000 to plant 30,000 trees between Bannockburn and Inverleigh over three years with the aim of aiding the region’s koala habitat. Wildlife Recovery Australia “builds and operates mobile wildlife hospitals alongside predator-proof sanctuaries,” is another competitor in the increasingly lucrative wildlife recovery industry, it has its own TV show and is now offering Wildlife Rescue Kits to purchase online through Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital for $69.
A researcher argues that while the varroa mite will be costly to the bee industry, its establishment in Australia is just a matter of time, so its important to take a cost/benefit approach by recognising it as an effective biocontrol for feral honeybees in Australia’s natural environment.
North Coast Local Land Services are warning motorists to keep a lookout for active deer during the breeding season from June through to September, with data showing there are about 15 vehicle collisions with deer in the region each year.
The Deteriorating Problem
North American claim to have the oldest living trees is now under threat, the oldest documented living trees are bristlecone pines, reaching 4,853 years old based on tree-ring data, with the oldest giant sequoia only reaching 3,266 years. Now these records are threatened by Chilean researchers who have included counting tree rings with computer modelling to estimate a Patagonian cypress tree, also called an alerce, is at least 5,000 years old, with claims tree-rings on an intact stump show it lived for about 4,100 years. Unfortunately 19% of California’s giant sequoias have been burnt out in 2 years, and droughts and bark beetles are taking their toll on bristlecone pines.
(While these stems may be the oldest single stems, many Australian trees are clonal, meaning they resprout from their roots, with a stand of a single huon pine in Tasmania estimated to be over 10,500 years old (with the oldest stem around 2,000 years), another Tasmanian, Kings Holly (Lomatia tasmanica) can no longer set seed and instead one plant has been cloning itself for at least 43,600 years, and possibly up to 135,000 years, and closer to home the Peach Myrtle in Nightcap has been described as immortal. Yet Huon Pines and Peach Myrtle are also succumbing to fire).
Turning it Around
British Columbia’s ‘Save Old Growth’ have announced they will stop their months of causing major traffic disruptions, which resulted in confrontations with frustrated drivers, demonstrators being dragged off the roadway, a protester shattering a hip falling from a damaged structure, and a threatened class-action. Other actions include dumping manure outside the Premier’s office, interrupting an international soccer match, and being hospitalized from hunger strikes.
Some conservation scientists are warning that a global deal to protect the environment, due to be finalized at the UN biodiversity summit in Montreal in December, is under threat after negotiations stalled during international talks in Nairobi last week. They are calling on global leaders to rescue the talks — and biodiversity — from the brink. Others are more hopeful that, although progress has been slow, a deal will be struck by the end of the year.
The United States Supreme Court is widely expected to turn its ideological wrecking ball on the country’s greenhouse gas emission controls, leading a group of climate scientists and advocates to petition the EPA to regulate greenhouse gasses under the Toxic Substances Control Act rather than the Clean Air Act (the focus of a current Supreme Court case).
Peter Sainsbury cites a new study that warns that we need to reduce all greenhouse gases, not just CO2, and account for the increased warming from a reduction in sulphates, to have a chance of limiting heating to 1.5 or 2oC – more reasons to use trees to remove CO2.
Praised as guardians of tropical forests, indigenous peoples have accused governments and NGOs of failing to follow up billion-dollar pledges made at November’s COP26 UN climate summit to enlist their help to halt forest losses by 2030, including by granting them more money and control over ancestral lands.
Live Science has a good no-nonsense article about the benefits of forest bathing, summarising its Japanese origins, some of the research showing its beneficial affects and how to practice it. Bustle also considers its multiple benefits.
Dailan Pugh
NEW SOUTH WALES
More breaches:
Forestry Corporation of NSW (FCNSW) have been fined $230,000 ($45,000 to be paid to Bat Society) after the Land and Environment Court convicted FCNSW for logging 23 trees in an unmarked 40m exclusion zone around a mineshaft used as a roost by Eastern Horseshoe Bats, breaching its approval and carrying out unlawful forestry activities in an exclusion zone, in Dampier State Forest near Bodalla.
- The Prosecutor also submitted, although the actual harm to the bats was minor (albeit the risk of harm was not to be so categorised in the Prosecutor’s submission), there were two other elements of actual harm that require to be considered. The first of these was that 23 trees were cut down from an area where tree‑harvesting was not permitted. In addition, the failure to abide by the terms of the Corporation’s licence also effected harm to the integrity of the regulatory system which operated to protect the environment during forestry operations.
- In this regard, I am satisfied that, although the actual harm was (as agreed) minor, the combination of the risk of harm and the damage to the integrity of the regulatory system established through the licensing regime to which the Corporation was subjected (and which it breached) means that, contrary to Mr Hemmings’ submissions, it is not appropriate to regard all of these “harm” matters, when bundled up, to be regarded as being at the low end of the low range as submitted by Mr Hemmings. How the overall assessment of the objective elements of the Corporation’s offending conduct is to be characterised is dealt with in a later section of this decision.
… This past record of lower level infringements demonstrates, I am satisfied, that, in the past, the Corporation cannot be regarded as having been a good corporate citizen. However, having regard to the extent of the Corporation’s activities, as described by Mr Chaudhary as set out above, I am satisfied that this aspect should not weigh heavily against the Corporation. Indeed, given the matters later set out as extracted from Mr Chaudhary’s affidavit concerning the steps that the Corporation is taking to avoid future transgressions (coupled with the orders for further training that the parties have agreed to is also later discussed) means I am satisfied that the Corporation is seeking to change its ways.
- As a consequence of these moderations of starting penalty to reflect the fact that the Corporation’s offending arose out of a single course of conduct, the total overall penalty to be imposed on the Corporation is $230,000 (before deduction of the contribution to the Bat Society project).
https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/18164bdfee25398416c600f7
The EPA puts the offences down to “mapping errors”, though as the roost was identified and marked on the digital harvesting plan, the problem was that the Forestry Corporation failed to mark the boundary in the field and the contractor failed to use his GPS.
This follows FCNSW’s convictions earlier this month for four breaches at Wild Cattle Creek State Forest and a $15,000 fine for allegedly breaching conditions in South Brooman State Forest. Together, fines and costs from these incidents have cost FCNSW more than $530,000.
FCNSW has also been ordered to undertake an audit of its field mapping and marking activities including understanding the level of experience and competency required to comply with the law. Any recommendations arising from the audit around training must be followed.
The Court also ordered FCNSW to pay the EPA’s investigation costs of $8,000.
https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2022/epamedia220629
Nick Hopkins from the Coastwatchers Association Inc … "Forestry seems to be unable to operate without repeatedly breaching its license to log our forests."
"If it was a private corporation that was proven to be unable to operate compliantly with its licence, it would've lost its licences years ago," he said.
… breaches backlash continues:
South Coast conservationists say Forestry Corporation’s $15,000 fine for illegally logging hollow-bearing trees in South Brooman State Forest does not go far enough, they want the logging to end.
NSW independent MP Justin Field was also disappointed.
"It's woefully inadequate because Forestry Corporation are serial offenders," he said.
Ms Frank said the big goal was to end native logging in NSW.
Greens NSW MP and spokesperson for forests Sue Higginson said the campaign around the South Brooman State Forest was consistent with many around NSW since the 2019/20 bushfires.
“The fires changed everything and we have well and truly reached the time that we must stop logging our public native forest estate,” she said.
About Regional focusses on the prosecution for logging unburnt/lightly-burnt refugia in Yambulla State Forest.
News of the Area reports on Wild Cattle Creek, focusing on Koalas.
https://www.newsofthearea.com.au/forestry-corporation-fined-over-logging-at-wild-cattle-creek-95419
$60,000 fine for clearing nine trees
At the behest of Byron Council, Mullumbimby Local Court has fined a resident $60k for clearing 9 trees ranging in height from 15 metres to 25 metres, $10k for unauthorised building work, and $5k for Council costs.
Ralph James, Legal Counsel, said that the court found that the impact of the clearing, and the construction of an informal shower and toilet area, had a negative impact on the natural environment and that the clearing of native vegetation and earthworks modified the site which impacted native habitats and drainage
https://www.echo.net.au/2022/06/byron-shire-resident-fined-60000-for-tree-clearing/
Forestry take clear lead:
Results for the NSW 2020 Statewide Landcover and Tree Study show that 51,400 hectares of woody vegetation was lost. Woody vegetation loss was slightly less than the previous year’s total of 54,500 hectares. This excludes fire-affected areas, which have the potential to regenerate.
- There was a 44%decrease in the rate of vegetation loss due to agricultural activity from 23,400 ha in 2019 to 13,000 ha in 2020
- Annual woody vegetation harvesting for forestry in 2020 was 30,000 ha, an increase of 6,500 ha (28%) compared to 2019, this increased harvesting occurred on state forest with the rate increased by 51% when compared to 2019, though native forest harvesting decreased while plantation (pine and hardwood) increased.
- The rate of woody vegetation loss due to infrastructure increased to 8,450 ha in 2020 from 7,580 ha in 2019.
“There is little point throwing hundreds of millions at the land sector for natural capital and carbon sequestration when nothing is being done about the thousands of hectares of potentially illegal land clearing,” [Justin Field] said.
Nature Conservation Council chief executive Chris Gambian added that native forests in the state could absorb about 44 tonnes of carbon dioxide per hectare annually. He said the 2020 figures for clearing could have killed up to 4.6 million animals.
“After the government weakened land clearing laws in 2017, deforestation rates doubled and have remained at these dangerously high levels ever since,” he said. “These figures, and the rising number of threatened species, shows the laws completely fail to deliver on that promise.
Wollumbin closure stumbles on:
In March 2020 the walk to the summit of Wollumbin (Mt. Warning) was temporarily closed, which has now been extended for a fifth time, until October 31, enabling those who don’t want access denied to anywhere (including Uluru) to continue their campaign - Wollumbin is a site of immense spiritual significance to a variety of traditional owners who want it closed to visitors, yet the Government has failed to make the final call, and develop the identified alternative walks in the area.
AUSTRALIA
Denigration and draconian laws the downside to protests:
An article in the Conversation argues that disruptive protests such as those by Blockade Australia are effective, with the downside being that politicians are driven to denigrate protestors while NSW, Victoria and Tasmania have/are all introducing draconian legislation to punish climate and forest protestors, arguing that politicians would be better to listen to the messages rather than punishing the messengers.
Disruptive protests like these make an impact. They form the iconic images of social movements that have delivered many of the rights and freedoms we enjoy today.
They attract extensive media coverage that propel issues onto the national agenda. And, despite media coverage to the contrary, research suggests they don’t reduce public support for climate action.
But disruptive protest also consistently generates one negative response: attempts to criminalise it.
But yet again in 2022, the freedom to protest in Tasmania is under threat. The Police Offences Amendment (Workplace Protection) Bill 2022 proposes fines of up to $21,625 and 18 months jail for peaceful protest.
Activities such as handing out flyers, holding a placard or sharing a petition could fall within the offences.
Tasmania is not an outlier. After the Port of Botany and Sydney climate blockades in March this year, NSW passed the Roads and Crimes Legislation Amendment Bill 2022.
Almost 40 civil society groups called to scrap the bill, which used vague and broad wording to expand offences with up to two years in jail and a $22,000 fine.
Similarly, the Andrews government in Victoria is introducing the Sustainable Forests Timber Amendment (Timber Harvesting Safety Zones) Bill 2022, which raises penalties on anti-logging protest offences to $21,000 or 12 months imprisonment.
[Adani] also reportedly bankrupted senior spokesperson Adrian Burragubba in 2019, sued one climate activist for intimidation, conspiracy and breaches of contract, surveilled his family, and is pursuing him for $600 million (now reduced to $17m) in damages.
Courts have used anti-protest legislation to instead highlight the importance of peaceful protest as a legitimate form of political communication. They have struck down legislation, released activists from remand, overturned unreasonable bail conditions and reduced excessive fines.
And in general, research shows the public does not support repressive protest policing.
The majority of Australians support more ambitious climate action. Many agree with Blockade Australia’s statement that “urgent broad-scale change” is necessary to address the climate crisis.
Politicians may be better served by focusing their efforts on this message, rather than attacking the messengers.
.. anti-protestor legislation:
An independent Tasmanian MLC is complaining that the mining company MMG was allowed to listen to briefings provided by environmental and civil groups on Tasmania’s anti-protest legislation, whereas the industry briefings were in secret, a final vote will be held when the Legislative Council returns in mid-August, with its passage depending on a single vote.
Ferny Forest protest continues:
Greens senator Larissa Waters is supporting the campaign led by Save Ferny Forest to stop logging of the forest on the Sunshine Coast before it is due to become a national park in 2024.
As reported by Sunshine Coast News, the community, led by the Save Ferny Forest group, has been maintaining momentum against the harvesting with protests at the site on Steve Irwin Way every Friday afternoon and an online petition.
“Furthermore, the First Nations owners of this land, the Gubbi Gubbi people, have requested the immediate cessation of these plans to log Ferny Forest due to its immense cultural significance and heritage,” [Senator Waters] stated.
https://www.sunshinecoastnews.com.au/2022/06/29/ferny-forest-logging-larissa-waters/
Wombat muddling on:
Victoria’s Conservation Regulator is assessing a number of allegations of non-compliance with timber harvesting laws in the Wombat State Forest as opposition to logging of the identified national park continues.
Pants on fire:
ABC did a factcheck on Tasmanian Liberal’s claims that young forests are superior in their ability to offset carbon emissions and that old-growth forests are actually net carbon emitters, finding these claims are incorrect, as oldgrowth forests continue to sequester carbon and store vastly more, with older trees sequestering more carbon than young ones.
Belinda Medlyn, a professor at the University of Western Sydney who studies how forests respond to atmospheric carbon dioxide, told CheckMate she could say "unequivocally" that "old-growth forests are not carbon emitters".
"There is zero evidence to show that forests start to emit [CO2] as they age, and considerable evidence to show that they may continue to take [it] up," she said, adding that when it came to which forests were more effective carbon sinks, people often confused the rate of sequestration with the total amount stored.
Professor Mackey and Dr Keith pointed to a host of studies (e.g. here, here, here and here) which showed that, compared to primary and old-growth forests, "the long-term average carbon stock of regrowth harvested forests is 30-70 per cent lower".
And the evidence shows it is the oldest trees that do much of the heavy lifting — with the largest 1 per cent accounting for half the total carbon stored in above-ground living forest biomass.
Capturing kids with VR:
Our taxes and the Australian Forest Products Association have jointly funded some pretty crappy 360-degree virtual reality (VR) videos in an attempt to capture the hearts and minds of school children and promote clearfell logging.
ForestLearning’s hugely successful ForestVR™ technology has expanded with ten new engaging, immersive and educational 360-degree virtual reality (VR) video experiences able to be viewed on any school technology such as iPads, laptops, smart boards or VR headsets.
Students can also discover how forest science is used every day to sustainably manage and regenerate these environments for today and all generations to come for a range of outcomes. Students will be introduced to managers of these forests to learn about protective processes related to the environment, biodiversity, recreation, Indigenous Australian cultural practices and heritage. In addition, forest managers will share details on how these multi-use forests help provide sustainably managed wood products.
Tiwi exports:
The Northern Territory Tiwi Plantations Corporation has begun a three year, $4.6 million project to grow a 30,000 hectare forestry estate for export, though there is mention of Midway Limited, existing plantations of 4,900 ha, logging underway and ships being loaded.
https://www.nit.com.au/tiwi-led-forestry-project-aims-to-grow-30000-hectare-forestry-estate/
Rocking graffiti:
Concerns are growing as the practice of constructing cairns of rocks in natural areas grows, with natural habitats changed and scenery increasingly disrupted by rock stacking, with the practice likened to a destructive form of graffiti.
Careful what you wish for:
In Victoria, around Warburton, the Council is proposing an intensive network of 180 kilometres of mountain bike trails through bushland, raising expectations of a major increase in tourism, and opposition due to construction of metre wide trails through the Yarra Ranges National Park on Mount Donna Buang, rural residential bush blocks surrounded by trails, long-term rental properties being converted to holiday rentals for mountain bikers, and increased bushfire risk.
Opposition to the project has been so fierce the council was prompted to complete an exhaustive Environmental Effects Statement and take part in four weeks of public hearings earlier this year.
More than 2,700 individuals or organisations made submissions.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-26/mountain-bike-plan-tensions-on-melbournes-fringe/101183868
SPECIES
Stuffing Koalas:
ABC’s Background Briefing has a 37.5 min podcast ‘Will any koalas be left in Australia's east by 2050?’ which reports on a range of the issues affecting Koalas – NEFA gets a brief run.
… Endangered in danger:
EDO have released a legal update that examines what the NSW uplisting of Koalas to Endangered means for decision-making and whether this will be enough to save our koalas from extinction – not from the loggers.
There are no direct implications of uplisting the koala from vulnerable to endangered on the rules regulating forestry operations in NSW (for example, Integrated Forestry Operations Approvals (IFOAs) or the Private Native Forestry Code of Practice). This is because the rules apply uniformly to threatened species (whether vulnerable or endangered), and specific protections for koalas are not affected by a change in the conservation status of the koala.
However, in light of the uplisting of the koala from vulnerable to endangered, we recommend that koala protections are strengthened under forestry rules. This could include making koala habitat off limits to forestry. This could be done, for example, by the relevant Minister/s amending relevant IFOAs in accordance with the Forestry Act 2012 (NSW) and the Private Native Forestry Code of Practice in accordance with Part 5B of the Local Land Services Act 2013 (LLS Act).
https://www.edo.org.au/2022/06/27/nsw-follows-suit-and-lists-koalas-as-endangered/
Gumbaynggirr Koala culture:
Environment Minister James Griffin has announced $600,000 for the Coffs Harbour and District Local Aboriginal Land Council (Gumbaynggirr community) to integrate traditional ecological knowledge into koala conservation, to support habitat restoration, cultural burning in key koala locations, Aboriginal research projects and the development of cultural training for Aboriginal Rangers.
“The traditional custodians of this land intrinsically understand how to care for their Country,” he said.
“Coffs Harbour is leading the way when it comes to protecting the future of this iconic species and I am proud that we are continuing to support local Aboriginal knowledge in our conservation efforts,” said Mr Singh.
https://www.newsofthearea.com.au/600000-investment-in-local-aboriginal-koala-conservation-95887
Koala Clancy Foundation is seeking $373,000 to plant 30,000 trees between Bannockburn and Inverleigh over three years with the aim of aiding the region’s koala habitat.
https://timesnewsgroup.com.au/goldenplains/news/koala-group-expands-efforts/
Wildlife Rescue industry:
Wildlife Recovery Australia “builds and operates mobile wildlife hospitals alongside predator-proof sanctuaries,” is another competitor in the increasingly lucrative wildlife recovery industry, it has its own TV show and is now offering Wildlife Rescue Kits to purchase online through Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital for $69.
Varroa mite be good:
A researcher argues that while the varroa mite will be costly to the bee industry, its establishment in Australia is just a matter of time, so its important to take a cost/benefit approach by recognising it as an effective biocontrol for feral honeybees in Australia’s natural environment.
Feral European honeybee populations are recognised as a key threatening process to Australia’s native biodiversity, with impacts felt across the country. Feral bees are abundant and efficient pollinators, and compete with native birds, insects and mammals (such as pygmy possums) for nectar from flowers.
Honeybees avoid, or only partially pollinate, some native plants. This means a high concentration of honeybees could shift the make-up of native vegetation in a region. They also pollinate invasive weeds such as gorse, lantana and scotch broom, which are particularly expensive to control in the wake of bushfires.
When the varroa mite breached New Zealand, feral honeybees declined by about 90% within a few years.
Encounters with deer can be dear:
North Coast Local Land Services are warning motorists to keep a lookout for active deer during the breeding season from June through to September, with data showing there are about 15 vehicle collisions with deer in the region each year.
THE DETERIORATING PROBLEM
Oldgrowth trees:
North American claim to have the oldest living trees is now under threat, the oldest documented living trees are bristlecone pines, reaching 4,853 years old based on tree-ring data, with the oldest giant sequoia only reaching 3,266 years. Now these records are threatened by Chilean researchers who have included counting tree rings with computer modelling to estimate a Patagonian cypress tree, also called an alerce, is at least 5,000 years old, with claims tree-rings on an intact stump show it lived for about 4,100 years.
Wildfires worsened by our fossil fuel emissions have wiped out up to 19 percent of California’s giant sequoias in just the last two years.
Hotter droughts and bark beetles are for the first time in recorded history killing bristlecones, according to a recent study published in the scientific journal Forest Ecology and Management.
While these stems may be the oldest single stems, many Australian trees are clonal, meaning they resprout from their roots, with a stand of huon pine in Tasmania estimated to be over 10,500 years old (with the oldest stem around 2,000 years), another Tasmanian, Kings Holly (Lomatia tasmanica) can no longer set seed and instead one plant has been cloning itself for at least 43,600 years, and possibly up to 135,000 years, and closer to home the Peach Myrtle in Nightcap has been described as immortal.
TURNING IT AROUND
Protesting Canada’s oldgrowth:
British Columbia’s ‘Save Old Growth’ have announced they will stop their months of causing major traffic disruptions, which resulted in confrontations with frustrated drivers, demonstrators being dragged off the roadway, a protester shattering a hip falling from a damaged structure, and a threatened class-action. Other actions include dumping manure outside the Premier’s office, interrupting an international soccer match, and being hospitalized from hunger strikes.
Biodiversity threatened as talks falter:
Some conservation scientists are warning that a global deal to protect the environment, due to be finalized at the UN biodiversity summit in Montreal in December, is under threat after negotiations stalled during international talks in Nairobi last week. They are calling on global leaders to rescue the talks — and biodiversity — from the brink. Others are more hopeful that, although progress has been slow, a deal will be struck by the end of the year.
The framework consists of 4 broad goals, including reining in species extinction, and 21 targets — most of them quantitative — such as protecting at least 30% of the world’s land and seas. Without a deal, estimates say, one million plant and animal species could go extinct in the next few decades because of climate change, disease and human actions, among other triggers.
Regulating CO2 as a toxic substance:
The United States Supreme Court is widely expected to turn its ideological wrecking ball on the country’s greenhouse gas emission controls, leading a group of climate scientists and advocates to petition the EPA to regulate greenhouse gasses under the Toxic Substances Control Act rather than the Clean Air Act (the focus of a current Supreme Court case).
More reason for trees:
Peter Sainsbury cites a new study that warns that we need to reduce all greenhouse gases, not just CO2, and account for the increased warming from a reduction in sulphates, to have a chance of limiting heating to 1.5 or 2oC – more reasons to use trees to remove CO2.
a new study shows that focusing only on reducing CO2 over the next 25 years is great for reducing warming, in the longer term but may lead to increased warming in the short term and could lead to warming exceeding 2 degrees by 2050. But if we combine mitigation of CO2 emissions with mitigation of SCLP emissions, especially methane and another greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide (N2O), global warming will be slowed more quickly than decarbonisation alone and breaching 2 degrees can be avoided. Indeed, strong attention to the CO2 and non-CO2 gases over the next 20 years could reduce the rate of warming between 2030 and 2050 by 50 per cent. The study authors conclude that comprehensive CO2 and targeted non-CO2 mitigation strategies are needed to tackle both near-term and long-term warming. Each approach is necessary, neither is sufficient on its own.
https://johnmenadue.com/environment-can-capitalism-deliver-the-future-we-want/
Unmet promises to indigenous peoples to protect forests:
Praised as guardians of tropical forests, indigenous peoples have accused governments and NGOs of failing to follow up billion-dollar pledges made at November’s COP26 UN climate summit to enlist their help to halt forest losses by 2030, including by granting them more money and control over ancestral lands.
In recent years, many studies have shown that granting land rights to indigenous peoples is a particularly cost-effective approach to combat climate change and protect biodiversity.
Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air to grow, making them natural buffers against global warming.
But tropical primary rainforests are being lost at a rate of 10 football pitches a minute, according to Global Forest Watch - a platform that provides data and monitors forests.
https://www.eco-business.com/news/indigenous-peoples-warn-of-global-delay-on-forest-protection-push/
Forest bathing benefits:
Live Science has a good no-nonsense article about the benefits of forest bathing, summarising its Japanese origins, some of the research showing its beneficial affects and how to practice it. Bustle also considers its multiple benefits.
So far, research has shown that forest bathing can improve several aspects of a person's health. For example, research published in February 2021 in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (opens in new tab) showed a decrease in systolic blood pressure after 12 healthy volunteers practiced forest bathing for a two-hour stint. In a research article published in October 2018 in the journal Frontiers in Public Health (opens in new tab), scientists showed improvements in heart rate variability — a measure of cardiovascular health — in 485 male participants while walking in a forest for just 15 minutes.
Research published in February 2018 in the journal Biomedical and Environmental Sciences (opens in new tab), found reduced biomarkers of chronic heart failure, inflammation and oxidative stress in elderly chronic heart failure patients after they participated in two four-day forest bathing trips. Researchers also found that a five-day forest trip improved immune system health, as indicated by an increase in natural killer cells, which are part of the body's defence against cancer, they reported in March 2018 in the journal Oncotarget (opens in new tab).
https://www.livescience.com/forest-bathing
https://www.bustle.com/wellness/what-is-forest-bathing-benefits
Forest Media 24 June 2022
New South Wales
All charges were dismissed in Kyogle Court today Friday 24 June for the four forest protectors arrested in November for defending Cherry Tree State Forest from logging. Malveena Martyn, Naomi Shine, Ian Gaillard and Dee Mould, collectively known as the "Cherry Tree Four" who had their final day in court after over six months of legal action were relieved and proud to have had their efforts exonerated by the court.
After the court imposed $285,600 in fines and costs for the Forestry Corporation for harming Koalas, rainforest and a rainforest buffer in Wild Cattle Creek State Forest, the EPA announced they are prosecuting the Forestry Corporation for illegally logging 53 trees in a lightly burnt and an unburnt refugia in the Yambulla State Forest after the Black Summer Bushfires, and then the EPA issued a Penalty Infringement Notice and fine for logging an unidentified number of hollow-bearing trees when logging resumed after a Stop Work Order was issued for logging hollow-bearing trees in South Brooman State Forest. The NCC called for an independent review of the Forestry Corporation given they had been prosecuted and fined three times in the past six days for alleged illegal logging operations in koala habitat and fire-affected forests. The Wire has audio of an interview with Chris Gambian.
The Mandarin, aimed at Australian public sector leaders and executives, has covered the $285,600 fine for the Forestry Corporation for harming Koalas - without mentioning rainforests. The Northern Rivers Times ran the EPA’s press release about the Wild Cattle Creek breaches. The Echo ran with conservationists’ responses (including NEFA), including the impact on rainforests.
The Clarence Valley News has an article calling for an end to logging of public native forests for biodiversity, carbon sequestration and economics.
In an example of cracking down on protestors, after armed undercover police dressed in camouflage refused to identify themselves and claimed to have been “pushed and shoved” at a Blockade Australia camp they claimed they were “fearing for their lives” and called for urgent assistance from 100 police from all over the Sydney Metropolitan Area including PolAir, the Public Order and Riot Squad, Raptor Squad and Operations Support Group and set up a crime scene, arresting 7 people. Blockade Australia deny they were violent or slashed tyres.
#Fridays4Forests action outside parliament house received more coverage, it was to demonstrate that people will vote for our forests and against any party that fails to protect our koalas forests, our water catchments, and our climate.
In its pre-budget cash splash, the NSW Government announced it is committing $56.4 million to construction of a new Arc Rainforest Centre and a hanging boardwalk in Dorrigo National Park, and construction of a 46 km Dorrigo Escarpment Great Walk involving three suspension bridges, new camping areas, and four walkers’ hut precincts – which they say will be managed by NPWS.
Also that farmers will get windfalls, under a $206 million program farmers will access up to $135,000 if they voluntarily opt in to the scheme to reduce their carbon emissions and protect biodiversity under a green accreditation scheme. At the same time the Government is trying to increase logging of private forests by giving $28 million to “facilitate and expand” Farm Forestry (Private Native Forestry), including gaining certification.
Australia
As Governments ramp up penalties for protestors, Extinction Rebellion brought out 'Blinky' the burning koala to protest against Victoria’s proposed tougher punishments (12 months jail time, $21,000 fines) for those who interrupt logging sites. Meanwhile, the Tasmanian upper house passed changes to the Police Offences Act, mainly the offence of trespass, to significantly increase penalties for protestors (of any kind), with fines for a person obstructing a business doubled up to $8,650 or up to 12 months jail, causing "a serious risk" to the safety of themselves or someone else goes up to $12,975 or 18 months jail (do it again and its up to $21,625 or two-and-a-half years jail), and public nuisance, increases from $519 to $1,730. These have yet to go through the formality of being passed by the lower house.
A report ‘Tasmania’s Forest Carbon: From Emissions Disaster to Climate Solution’ by forest ecologist Jennifer Sanger, in collaboration with The Wilderness Society and the Tasmanian Climate Collective, has found greenhouse gas emissions from native forest logging are equivalent to about 4.65 million tonnes of carbon each year, making it the state's highest emitting industry, while if native forest logging was ended 75 million tonnes of carbon could be absorbed by the state's production forests by 2050. Of course Forestry Australia refuted claims that native forest harvesting in Tasmania has impacted negatively on the climate.
Controversy over logging in Wombat State Forest in Victoria continues, with the forest slated for conversion to a national park, it’s being logged under the pretence of “forest recovery” and “salvage logging”, conservationists are outraged and traditional owners divided. The finding of a population of Greater Gliders in Wombat State Forest in a Victorian National Parks Association survey has intensified efforts to stop the logging.
Tanya Plibersek says the damning 5 year national environmental report card suppressed by the former Coalition government, tells an “alarming story” of decline, native species extinction and cultural heritage loss, will be released on July 19, though is making cautious progress in her new role.
Aljazeera has an interview with former Threatened Species Commissioner Gregory Andrews who has warned Australia’s biodiversity is the “worst it’s ever been” and more needs to be done if Australia is to save its unique flora and fauna, such as addressing climate change, stopping logging of native forests, and stopping land clearing.
The World Wide Fund for Nature-Australia has welcomed the Queensland Government’s budget commitment of $262.5 million, including $200 million for property purchases, for expanding Queensland’s national parks and protected areas.
The Guardian has an article about the growing number of commercial developments in national parks across Australia, including a proposal to construct hut accommodation along the Light to Light Walk, south of Eden, with further developments proposed for the Great Southern Walk and Gardens of Stone.
Species
Koalas again dominate the media. Simon Reeve has produced a film called “Koalas the Hard Truths” which looks in documentary fashion at the plight of koalas and the humans who care for them, with its first screening at Parliament House on June 22 for NSW politicians and members of the public. The Guardian has an article about the decline of Koalas, identifying habitat loss as the primary threat and that the IFAW petition calling for the status of koalas to be uplisted to endangered garnered more than 250,000 signatures globally. The ABC has a podcast on the combination of retro virus and chlamydia on koalas, both of which may be aggravated by stress – such as chopping and bulldozing their trees. The Australian Koala Foundation has sent their Koala Protection Act to the new environment minister Tanya Plibersek in the hope of getting interest in national laws to stop cutting down koala feed trees, though they are not optimistic. The Clarence Valley News has a story about the defeat of the Great Koala National Park Bill after the ALP voted it down. Lismore voted in June to request a more Koala friendly design for a housing development in Goonellabah after the council’s ecologist had found the designs submitted put the local koala population at risk of extinction, with Koala feed trees proposed for removal and a road in an ecologically protected zone, though a recent meeting created confusion with a decision to defer the matter until July instead of requesting a Koala friendly design. As the 20 year anniversary of the Port Stephens Comprehensive Koala Plan of Management nears closer, Port Stephens Council has secured $845,000 from the NSW Government to construct fencing and an underpass at their worst Koala black spot. Until 15 July expressions of interest are sought for Koala Conservation and Protection – Community Grants – Round 1 which provides grants from $50,000 to up to $200,000 for small-scale community projects and local activities that support the recovery and protection of the Koala. Forestry Corporation of NSW has delivered 25,000 koala food tree seedlings to the Friends of the Koala and Bangalow Koalas to establish habitat on private land – it’s interesting that they regard Blackbutt as a feed tree.
If it’s not Koalas, its genes. A genetic study has found that insurance populations of the endangered Tasmanian devil, in zoos and on Maria Island off the east coast of Tasmania, are as genetically diverse as wild populations. A genetic study of the small Endangered Northern Rivers emu population has confirmed that they are genetically distinct from other populations from which they have been isolated for centuries, though their low genetic variation has led to proposals to introduce emus from elsewhere. With fewer than 3,000 Pookila mice thought to be left in the wild in Victoria they have become the latest target of a captive breeding program aimed at improving their genetics.
The Deteriorating Problem
Due to changes in high-altitude winds (jet stream) resulting from climate change, in both the northern and southern hemispheres, the paths of the weather systems that bring rain in the middle latitudes have been moving away from the equator and towards the poles, causing a decrease in the number of low-pressure systems bringing rain and the drop in rainfall during April and May in southeast Australia, which combine with the air over parts of inland southeast Australia becoming significantly drier since the 1990s and areas of strongly rotating air moving further east and south (over the Tasman Sea) resulting in a significant decrease in late autumn rainfall in southeast Australia.
An ongoing La Niña event that has contributed to flooding in eastern Australia and exacerbated droughts in the United States and East Africa could persist into 2023, according to the latest forecasts. A ‘triple dip’ La Niña — lasting three years in a row — has happened only twice since 1950. Some researchers are warning that climate change could make La Niña-like conditions more likely in future, contrary to current climate models.
Pearls and Irritations has an article by David Shearman welcoming action on climate change but lamenting the rapid demise of biodiversity and its ecological services not being addressed and acted on, particularly the elephant in the room that unlimited population and economic growth is possible on a finite planet.
The world’s first biodiversity-adjusted sovereign credit ratings show how ecological destruction affects public finances across 26 countries, these downgrades would increase the annual interest payment on debt by up to US$53 billion a year, leaving many developing nations at significant risk of sovereign debt default (in effect, bankruptcy), with the assessment only covering fisheries, timber and pollinators.
A study in Boreal forests found that increasing soil nutrition by fertilisation makes trees more hostile to their fungal partners, restructuring the root-associated fungal community from being dominated by specialist myccorhyzal fungal species that are highly dependent on the carbon-containing sugars from the trees to more versatile species.
American national parks are being increasingly affected by fire, flood, melting ice sheets, rising seas and heat waves, as climate change gathers momentum, threatening some of their core values.
Turning it Around
The next meeting of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) will now run from 5 to 17 December in Montreal in Canada, with the aim of finalising COP15.
A study reported in Nature concludes that companies use of renewable energy certificates (RECs) to report reductions in emissions from purchased electricity purchases are unlikely to lead to additional renewable energy production, leading to an inflated estimate of the effectiveness of mitigation efforts.
38 scientists have written a public letter to EU governments and the European Parliament over concerns around the Bioenergy Provisions of the Fit for 55 Plan, warning that promoting biomass leads to additional wood harvest for bioenergy that is likely to increase global warming for decades to centuries, while increasing the extensive use of agricultural land for bioenergy.
Dailan Pugh
NEW SOUTH WALES
Cherry Tree charges dismissed:
All charges were dismissed in Kyogle Court today Friday 24 June for the four forest protectors arrested in November for defending Cherry Tree State Forest from logging. Malveena Martyn, Naomi Shine, Ian Gaillard and Dee Mould, collectively known as the "Cherry Tree Four" who had their final day in court after over six months of legal action were relieved and proud to have had their efforts exonerated by the court.
[Lawyer Eddie Lloyd] "In submissions today, the Magistrate accepted that we were living in a climate crisis and agreed that these climate change warriors were just trying to protect endangered & threatened species from death by Forestry Corp logging in Cherry Tree State Forest. All charges were dismissed.
Once more into the breach:
After the court imposed $285,600 in fines and costs for the Forestry Corporation for harming Koalas, rainforest and a rainforest buffer in Wild Cattle Creek State Forest, the EPA announced they are prosecuting the Forestry Corporation for illegally logging 53 trees in a lightly burnt and an unburnt refugia in the Yambulla State Forest after the Black Summer Bushfires, and then the EPA issued a Penalty Infringement Notice and fine for logging an unidentified number of hollow-bearing trees when logging resumed after a Stop Work Order was issued for logging hollow-bearing trees in South Brooman State Forest.
Forestry Corporation of NSW (FCNSW) has been fined $15,000 for allegedly failing to comply with a post bushfire condition imposed to protect critical habitat in a forest near Batemans Bay.
The Site Specific Operating Condition required FCNSW to permanently retain all hollow bearing trees. Hollow bearing trees are important to many native animals in the forest, including threatened species that are dependent on these trees for their survival.
EPA Acting Executive Director Regulatory Operations Regional Greg Sheehy said these conditions were aimed at protecting our environment from further harm after the forest was damaged by fires.
“The requirement to retain all hollow bearing trees was clear and it’s concerning that better systems were not put in place to ensure compliance.
In July 2020 the EPA issued FCNSW with a Stop Work Order to stop the harvesting of trees in part of the forest for 40 days, after an inspection found hollow bearing trees that were either damaged or felled.
The penalty followed the resumption of logging in that area, after FCNSW were required to put in place additional checks to ensure they met the conditions.
$15,000 is the largest fine the EPA is able to issue under the legislation.
The NCC called for an independent review of the Forestry Corporation given they had been prosecuted and fined three times in the past six days for alleged illegal logging operations in koala habitat and fire-affected forests.
[Chris Gambian] “Where is the responsible minister, Dugald Saunders, during all this? He should publicly condemn the reckless and lawless behaviour of this agency, but we haven’t heard a peep out of him.
“The government must establish a comprehensive independent review of Forestry Corporation to ensure it acts lawfully and sustainably.
https://www.miragenews.com/epa-pings-forestry-corp-third-time-in-six-days-806305/
The EPA have announced they are prosecuting the Forestry Corporation for illegally logging 53 trees in a lightly burnt and an unburnt refugia (Category 1 Environmentally Significant Area), which they failed to mark the boundary of, in the Yambulla State Forest after the Black Summer Bushfires.
James Tremain linked the Yambulla breaches with the Wild Cattle Breaches, citing NCC’s call for a comprehensive independent review of Forestry Corporation to ensure it acts lawfully and sustainably.
[Chis Gambian] On Friday, Forestry Corp [FCNSW] was fined for wiping out significant koala habitat. On Monday, they are being prosecuted for logging forests that were ruled out of bounds after the fires. What more evidence does the Government need before it orders a comprehensive independent review of Forestry Corporation to ensure it acts lawfully and sustainably?
The Wire has audio of an interview with Chris Gambian.
https://www.thewire.org.au/story/trees-chopped-so-nsw-government-fines-itself/
The Mandarin, aimed at Australian public sector leaders and executives, has covered the $285,600 fine for the Forestry Corporation for harming Koalas - without mentioning rainforests.
The Northern Rivers Times ran the EPA’s press release about the Wild Cattle Creek breaches.
Northern Rivers Times June 23 2022
The Echo ran with conservationists’ responses (including NEFA), including the impact on rainforests.
Echo June 22 2022
Time to stop logging:
The Clarence Valley News has an article calling for an end to logging of public native forests for biodiversity, carbon sequestration and economics.
https://clarencevalleynews.com.au/voices-for-the-earth-35/
Getting heavy on protestors:
In an example of cracking down on protestors, after armed undercover police dressed in camouflage refused to identify themselves and claimed to have been “pushed and shoved” at a Blockade Australia camp they claimed they were “fearing for their lives” and called for urgent assistance from 100 police from all over the Sydney Metropolitan Area including PolAir, the Public Order and Riot Squad, Raptor Squad and Operations Support Group and set up a crime scene, arresting 7 people. Blockade Australia deny they were violent or slashed tyres.
People on the property, some of them members of climate activist group Blockade Australia, say earlier that morning they stumbled across two armed individuals near their camp, dressed in camouflage gear and who refused to identify themselves.
The two men, according to witnesses, jumped into an unmarked car and sped off, hitting two people in the process, but did not immediately get away.
Police say the officers were surrounded by activists as they sheltered in their car, their tyres were damaged and they "feared for their lives".
Mr Rolles denies any suggestion that the vehicle's tyres were slashed, or tyre valves were removed.
The group also denies any use of violence.
"The police claim made on [Sunday] that officers experienced fear or felt threatened is disingenuous," the group's statement said.
More coverage of Fridays4Forests:
#Fridays4Forests action outside parliament house received more coverage, it was to demonstrate that people will vote for our forests and against any party that fails to protect our koalas forests, our water catchments, and our climate.
https://www.echo.net.au/2022/06/fridays4forests-take-koala-and-forest-protection-to-sydney/
Dorrigo visitor facilities:
The NSW Government is committing $56.4 million in the budget to construction of a new Arc Rainforest Centre and a hanging boardwalk in Dorrigo National Park, and construction of a 46 km Dorrigo Escarpment Great Walk involving three suspension bridges, new camping areas, and four walkers’ hut precincts – which they say will be managed by NPWS.
National park management and visitation generates $18 billion in economic activity annually and supports over 74,000 jobs, with 75 per cent of economic benefit occurring in regional areas.
https://www.sydneytimes.net.au/magnificent-new-multiday-walk-puts-nsw-on-global-ecotourism-map/
For more information, visit https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/parks-reserves-and-protected-areas/park-management/community-engagement/walking-tracks-and-trails-in-national-parks/dorrigo-great-walk
Rewarding “sustainable” farming:
Under a $206 million program to be revealed in Tuesday’s state budget, farmers will access up to $135,000 if they voluntarily opt in to the scheme to reduce their carbon emissions and protect biodiversity under a green accreditation scheme.
This on top of the $106.7 million over three years for the Biodiversity Credits Supply Fund that will reward landholders who generate and boost the supply of biodiversity offset credits.
The budget will also see $598 million invested over the next 10 years into the National Parks and Wildlife Service, which will see critical infrastructure and fleet upgrades and 250 permanent jobs generated, 200 of which will be firefighters.
This will be part of further investments into NSW’s parks, that will boost the economy through tourism. Such as $56.4 million over four years into a new Arc Rainforest Centre and Dorrigo Escarpment Great Walk in the Dorrigo National Park.
Northern Rivers Times June 23 2022
At the same time the Government is trying to increase logging of private forests by giving $28 million to “facilitate and expand” Farm Forestry (Private Native Forestry), including gaining certification.
This investment will also fund a pilot certification scheme to support landholders seeking certification for their timber products under the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification standards. This will increase market access, improve social licence and incentivise the production of sustainable timber in Australia.
https://www.nsw.gov.au/media-releases/record-28-million-boost-for-farm-forestry
https://www.timberbiz.com.au/28m-farm-forestry-package-for-nsw/
https://monaropost.com.au/grassroots/boost-for-farm-forestry
Northern Rivers Times June 23 2022
AUSTRALIA
Protesting protest laws:
Extinction Rebellion brought out 'Blinky' the burning koala to protest against Victoria’s proposed tougher punishments (12 months jail time, $21,000 fines) for those who interrupt logging sites.
Tasmania following suit:
The Tasmanian upper house passed changes to the Police Offences Act, mainly the offence of trespass, to significantly increase penalties for protestors (of any kind), with fines for a person obstructing a business doubled up to $8,650 or up to 12 months jail, causing "a serious risk" to the safety of themselves or someone else goes up to $12,975 or 18 months jail (do it again and its up to $21,625 or two-and-a-half years jail), and public nuisance, increases from $519 to $1,730. These have yet to go through the formality of being passed by the lower house.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-24/anti-protest-laws-a-step-closer-in-tasmania/101173690
Forests part of the solution:
A report ‘Tasmania’s Forest Carbon: From Emissions Disaster to Climate Solution’ by forest ecologist Jennifer Sanger, in collaboration with The Wilderness Society and the Tasmanian Climate Collective, has found greenhouse gas emissions from native forest logging are equivalent to about 4.65 million tonnes of carbon each year, making it the state's highest emitting industry, while if native forest logging was ended 75 million tonnes of carbon could be absorbed by the state's production forests by 2050.
Dr Sanger's report, which has not been formally peer-reviewed, argues almost two-thirds of the carbon from a logged native forest is released into the atmosphere within two years — 30 per cent from slash burning, 10 per cent in mill waste, and 24 per cent from paper products with a short life span.
Some of the forest carbon has a much longer life span — 30 per cent is woody debris left onsite which breaks down over 50 years, while five per cent is stored long-term as engineered timber, and one per cent as sawn timber.
Dr Sanger said if Tasmania followed Victoria and Western Australia's lead and ended native forest logging, 75 million tonnes of carbon could be absorbed by the state's production forests by 2050.
https://www.thetreeprojects.com/forestcarbon
Forestry Australia has refuted claims that native forest harvesting in Tasmania has impacted negatively on the climate.
“With young trees absorbing more carbon and old trees storing more carbon, a diverse multi-age managed forest provides a holistic solution to climate change.
https://www.timberbiz.com.au/forestry-australia-refutes-claims-native-forestry-harms-climate/
Logging Victorian parks in waiting:
Controversy over logging in Wombat State Forest in Victoria continues, with the forest slated for conversion to a national park, its being logged under the pretence of “forest recovery” and “salvage logging”, conservationists are outraged and traditional owners divided.
Last month, as bushwalkers ascended Babbington Hill, on Dja Dja Wurrung Country north-west of Melbourne, they were shocked by what they encountered. Hectares of Wombat State Forest had been razed. A vital ecosystem of trees had vanished, leaving no understorey of ferns and sedges, no rare fungi. Debris sat in piles on the denuded forest floor, cut through with compressed tyre tracks.
Months earlier, the Andrews government had approved the area for national park status. This would give it protection from logging. But a convoy of heavy machinery – a bulldozer, two Traxcavators, a log hauler, 30-tonne CAT trucks and a Tigercat harvester – had moved in before the protective status took effect
… diminishing Greater Gliders:
The finding of a population of Greater Gliders in Wombat State Forest in a Victorian National Parks Association survey has intensified efforts to stop the logging.
“Many threatened species including the greater glider depend on large hollow-bearing trees for nesting,” says Blake. “Logging operations remove trees, which if undisturbed, would formulate the next generation of hollow-bearing trees in the landscape. Ultimately logging promotes severe long-term declines of species like the greater glider, it isolates and fragments animal populations, and risks localised extinctions of our threatened fauna.”
“VicForests are attempting to fulfil native timber shortfalls with Wombat Forest habitat, mainly because the supply of timber from forest areas in the east of Victoria has been cut due to landscape scale fires in 2019/2020, community legal actions, and the over commitment of dwindling native timber resources by the government,” says Jordan. “Securing protection of the habitat of some of Victoria’s most threatened plant and animal life within Wombat Forest can’t come soon enough.”
https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2022/06/greater-gliders-left-out-on-a-limb/
Cautious action on environment:
Tanya Plibersek says the damning 5 year national environmental report card suppressed by the former Coalition government, tells an “alarming story” of decline, native species extinction and cultural heritage loss, will be released on July 19, though is making cautious progress in her new role.
“[It] tells a very alarming story about environmental decline in Australia, and about lost cultural heritage, including shocking events like the Juukan Gorge destruction,” she said. “It tells a damning story of neglect by the previous government, and we’ve got a lot of work to do to fix that up
She would formally respond to a review of the EPBC Act, completed in the previous term of parliament by former consumer watchdog chief Graeme Samuel, after speaking with Samuel and consulting with environment, business and First Nations groups and state, territory and local governments.
Ms Plibersek – who is the longest serving woman in the House of Representatives – said while she wasn’t expecting to be shifted to the new portfolio, she was “delighted” to be serving as Environment and Water Minister and would remain in parliament “for the long haul”.
“We saw at the last election that the environment is a huge issue for a lot of Australian voters and (we need to) make sure that we tackle the big outstanding issues, the things that have gotten worse over the last decade, not better,” she said in a wide-ranging interview.
“We need to make sure we are explaining to Australia that we can have both – we can actually have a strong, growing economy and better protect our environment,” she said. “We also need to make sure we’re not allowing the perfect to become the enemy of the good. We want to progress.
“I’m going to take my time and do proper consultation to make sure we’re talking to stakeholders and bringing them with us. I don’t want to start putting timeframes on it just yet,” Plibersek said in an interview.
More action needed to save our species:
Aljazeera has an interview with former Threatened Species Commissioner Gregory Andrews who has warned Australia’s biodiversity is the “worst it’s ever been” and more needs to be done if Australia is to save its unique flora and fauna, such as addressing climate change, stopping logging of native forests, and stopping land clearing.
The second is habitat degradation… We’ve already degraded, deforested and reduced the habitat of our wildlife significantly for farming and agriculture and urban development. If we want to keep our wildlife… we need to stop logging native forests, and we need to stop land clearing.
Labor definitely has stronger policy platforms, but not strong enough to prevent extinction and protect nature to the extent that’s needed.
Funding is really important, but it’s been used as a ‘greenwashing’ exercise by governments, and particularly by the former government. Whenever they were asked, for example, about a particular species, they would just say “Oh, we’ve provided $50 million for koalas.” … Funding alone won’t fix the problem, we also need to deal with climate change and habitat degradation, and have stronger institutions.
For example, with koalas, we’re providing funding to plant more trees, but we’re chopping down the trees in the first place …
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/15/australias-first-threatened-species-commissioner
Queensland park expansion welcomed:
The World Wide Fund for Nature-Australia has welcomed the Queensland Government’s budget commitment of $262.5 million, including $200 million for property purchases, for expanding Queensland’s national parks and protected areas.
“Queensland has the least developed network of protected areas of any state or territory in Australia, despite being home to amazing wildlife and ecosystems that support more than 1,000 threatened species.
“The 2020 national assessment of protected areas found only 8.71% of Queensland is within protected or conserved areas. This figure pales in comparison to the 42.3% in Tasmania, 24.9% in the Northern Territory and 23.3% in Western Australia.
“Today’s funding is a massive step in the right direction. It will move the Queensland Government closer to achieving its protected area target of 17%.
Privatising parks:
The Guardian has an article about the growing number of commercial developments in national parks across Australia, including a proposal to construct hut accommodation along the Light to Light Walk, south of Eden, with further developments proposed for the Great Southern Walk and Gardens of Stone.
Along with the Light to Light Walk, NSW has proposed cabins and “glamping” sites for the Great Southern Walk near Sydney, as well as the construction of Australia’s longest zipline and accommodation at the Gardens of Stone walk near Lithgow.
It’s Tasmania, though, that is the most advanced in this space, with 138 commercial leases granted to tourism providers in national parks and reserves. Thirty of these, including private accommodation sites, complement the state’s extensive public hut network.
Buckley says there are fewer than 250 individual examples of private tourism accommodation or infrastructure in public protected areas in the entire world.
“These kinds of developments proposed … I don’t think they’re good for conservation, I don’t think it’s good for equitable public access to parks and I don’t think it’s good for the tourism industry.”
SPECIES
Koalas again dominate the media … with a documentary launched:
Simon Reeve has produced a film called “Koalas the Hard Truths” which looks in documentary fashion at the plight of koalas and the humans who care for them, with its first screening at Parliament House on June 22 for NSW politicians and members of the public.
https://southwestvoice.com.au/koalas-film/
… worldwide Koala concern:
The Guardian has an article about the decline of Koalas, identifying habitat loss as the primary threat and that the IFAW petition calling for the status of koalas to be uplisted to endangered garnered more than 250,000 signatures globally.
… disease ridden Koalas:
The ABC has a podcast on the combination of retro virus and chlamydia on koalas, both of which may be aggravated by stress – such as chopping and bulldozing their trees.
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/what-the-duck/koalaaids/13928290
… a plea for national Koala laws:
The Australian Koala Foundation has sent their Koala Protection Act to the new environment minister Tanya Plibersek in the hope of getting interest in national laws to stop cutting down koala feed trees, though they are not optimistic.
The foundation's chair, Deborah Tabart, said she had lobbied 14 federal environment ministers over 33 years for change, to the point where her group drafted its own legislation to give to the government.
Ms Tabart sent new Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek a copy of the proposed changes last week, but was not overly confident much would change.
"To be frank, I think it scares both sides of politics because it really gets to the nub of the issue," Ms Tabart said.
"The act automatically says, 'If this is koala habitat then you can't touch it' — and the only way you can touch it is if you prove that your activity is benign, which I think if you are a responsible industry you could do."
https://www.laprensalatina.com/australian-activists-urge-govt-to-adopt-koala-protection-act/
… continuing coverage of defeat of Great Koala National Park:
The Clarence Valley News has a story about the defeat of the Great Koala National Park Bill after the ALP voted it down.
https://clarencevalleynews.com.au/politics-wins-over-koalas-great-koala-national-park-bill-defeated/
… Lismore dithering over Koala killing:
Lismore voted in June to request a more Koala friendly design for a housing development in Goonellabah after the council’s ecologist had found the designs submitted put the local koala population at risk of extinction, with Koala feed trees proposed for removal and a road in an ecologically protected zone, though a recent meeting created confusion with a decision to defer the matter until July instead of requesting a Koala friendly design.
https://www.echo.net.au/2022/06/lismore-council-flirts-with-koala-killer-status/
… Koala grants:
Until 15 July expressions of interest are sought for Koala Conservation and Protection – Community Grants – Round 1 which provides grants from $50,000 to up to $200,000 for small-scale community projects and local activities that support the recovery and protection of the Koala.
… fixing a black spot:
As the 20 year anniversary of the Port Stephens Comprehensive Koala Plan of Management nears closer, Port Stephens Council has secured $845,000 from the NSW Government to construct fencing and an underpass at their worst Koala black spot.
https://www.miragenews.com/koala-funding-marks-20-years-of-conservation-in-803857/
https://insidelocalgovernment.com.au/port-stephens-expands-koala-polan/
… Forestry getting more PR:
Forestry Corporation of NSW has delivered 25,000 koala food tree seedlings to the Friends of the Koala and Bangalow Koalas to establish habitat on private land – it’s interesting that they regard Blackbutt as a feed tree.
The mix of koala-preferred species this year includes Forest Red Gum, Tallowwood, Swamp Mahogany, Grey Gum, Dunn’s White Gum and Black Butt. These will be distributed between Friends of the Koala Lismore and Bangalow Koalas to areas of highest priority across current and future projects.
The seedlings were grown at Forestry Corporation’s Grafton nursery, which last year produced 3.2 million seedlings for plantation reestablishment. This year the Grafton nursery is on track to deliver 3.5 million seedlings for forest reestablishment in support of sustainable timber production.
Captive Tasmanian Devils genetically diverse:
A genetic study has found that insurance populations of the endangered Tasmanian devil, in zoos and on Maria Island off the east coast of Tasmania, are as genetically diverse as wild populations.
At their height, Tasmanian devils – which are only found in their namesake state – were found at densities of 1.3 devils per km2. Populations across most of the state have declined by an estimated 80 percent since 1996 due to a contagious cancer, devil facial tumour disease (DFTD). The disease is not the only issue facing devils: they are also threatened by roadkill, habitat destruction, and climate changes. Although there have been no local extinctions as a result of DFTD, populations remain sparse.
Making Endangered Emus genetically diverse:
A genetic study of the small Endangered Northern Rivers emu population has confirmed that they are genetically distinct from other populations from which they have been isolated for centuries, though their low genetic variation has led to proposals to introduce emus from elsewhere.
https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2022/06/nsw-north-coast-emus-in-dire-need-of-a-saviour/
And now Pookila mice:
With fewer than 3,000 Pookila mice thought to be left in the wild in Victoria they have become the latest target of a captive breeding program aimed at improving their genetics.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-21/pookila-mouse-captive-breeding-program-begins/101169946
THE DETERIORATING PROBLEM
Why south-east Australia is drying:
Due to changes in high-altitude winds (jet stream) resulting from climate change, in both the northern and southern hemispheres, the paths of the weather systems that bring rain in the middle latitudes have been moving away from the equator and towards the poles, causing a decrease in the number of low-pressure systems bringing rain and the drop in rainfall during April and May in southeast Australia, which combine with the air over parts of inland southeast Australia becoming significantly drier since the 1990s and areas of strongly rotating air moving further east and south (over the Tasman Sea) resulting in a significant decrease in late autumn rainfall in southeast Australia.
The drought periods since 1997 have killed huge numbers of river fish, reduced the viability of broad acre and pastoral farming and other economic industries, and reduced river flows and sustainable access to water in many areas. In a future warming climate, these drought periods are expected to continue.
… while La Niña may be becoming more frequent:
An ongoing La Niña event that has contributed to flooding in eastern Australia and exacerbated droughts in the United States and East Africa could persist into 2023, according to the latest forecasts. A ‘triple dip’ La Niña — lasting three years in a row — has happened only twice since 1950. Some researchers are warning that climate change could make La Niña-like conditions more likely in future, contrary to current climate models.
Population and economic growth the problem:
Pearls and Irritations has an article by David Shearman welcoming action on climate change but lamenting the rapid demise of biodiversity and its ecological services not being addressed and acted on, particularly the elephant in the room that unlimited population and economic growth is possible on a finite planet.
Our western societies live under the illusion that unlimited economic growth is possible on a finite planet; until we understand this fallacy, there is little hope that the planet can sustain us.
As noted more than 50 years ago by the pioneer of Evolutionary Biology, E.O. Wilson “We are in a bottleneck of overpopulation and wasteful consumption that could push half of Earth’s species to extinction in this century.” “The raging monster upon the land is population growth” We have ignored the recommendations of the Earth Charter (2000) and failed to produce a population policy in Australia.
Within the community the environmental organisations have a considerable following and many achievements for example in preventing biodiversity loss through action on iconic and threatened species. However the increasing number of extinctions represents the tip of the iceberg of thousands of other species moving to extinction. Their organisational mission should also surely relate to educating on the fundamental causes, population and economic growth; in general these are absent from their platforms.
https://johnmenadue.com/ecological-services-sustainable-future/
Cost of ecological destruction:
The world’s first biodiversity-adjusted sovereign credit ratings show how ecological destruction affects public finances across 26 countries, these downgrades would increase the annual interest payment on debt by up to US$53 billion a year, leaving many developing nations at significant risk of sovereign debt default (in effect, bankruptcy), with the assessment only covering fisheries, timber and pollinators.
The world’s first biodiversity-adjusted sovereign credit ratings show how ecological destruction affects public finances – driving downgrades, debt crises and soaring borrowing costs, according to a team of economists led by the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, University of Cambridge.
Loss of plant and animal species may already be set to cause major sovereign downgrades, with China and Indonesia on course to drop two notches as early as 2030 under a business-as-usual scenario.
If parts of the world see a “partial ecosystems collapse” of fisheries, tropical timber production and wild pollination – as simulated by the World Bank – then more than half the 26 nations studied would face downgrades, with India falling four notches and China plummeting by six on the 20-notch scale.
Across the 26 countries, these downgrades would increase the annual interest payment on debt by up to US$53 billion a year, leaving many developing nations at significant risk of sovereign debt default – in effect, bankruptcy.
“As nature loss reduces economic performance, it will become harder for countries to service their debt, straining government budgets and forcing them to raise taxes, cut spending, or increase inflation. This will have grim consequences for ordinary people.”
The report is published today by the Finance for Biodiversity Initiative, and will be discussed at a public webinar in September 2022.*
“Economies reliant on ecosystems face a choice: pay now, by investing in nature, or pay later through higher borrowing costs and spiraling debt,” said study co-author Dr Matt Burke, Senior Lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University.
“The ‘pay now’ option generates long-term returns for people, business and nature. The ‘pay later’ option has significant downside risks, with little or no upside.”
“Developing countries are already saddled with crippling debt burdens driven by Covid-19 and soaring prices, and loss of nature will push these nations closer to the edge,” said co-author Dr Patrycja Klusak, affiliated researcher at Cambridge’s Bennett Institute and Associate Professor at the University of East Anglia.
Read the report: Nature Loss and Sovereign Credit Ratings
https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/blog/biodiversity-loss-sovereign-credit-ratings/
Fertilisation breaks down fungal symbiosis with trees:
A study in Boreal forests found that increasing soil nutrition by fertilisation makes trees more hostile to their fungal partners, restructuring the root-associated fungal community from being dominated by specialist myccorhyzal fungal species that are highly dependent on the carbon-containing sugars from the trees to more versatile species.
The researchers from Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå University and Science for Life Laboratory compared a forest that was fertilized continuously over 25 years with a non-fertilized forest. They analyzed the gene activity in tree roots and in more than 350 fungal species over the course of a growing season and revealed that the fertilized trees changed their communication strategy and became more hostile to their fungal partners. As a result, the fungal community shifted from being dominated by specialist to more versatile species.
"In nutrient-poor boreal forests, trees are reliant on root-associated myccorhyzal fungi for their nutrient supply and maintain this partnership through the exchange of valuable sugars," says Simon Law, first author of the study and former postdoc in Vaughan Hurry's group at Umeå Plant Science Center. "Soil fertilization disrupts this sensitive trading relationship, causing trees to divert these sugars to their own growth and defense, with profound implications for the fungal community."
https://phys.org/news/2022-06-fertilization-reshapes-tree-fungi-relationship-boreal.html
https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2118852119
American national parks threatened:
American national parks are being increasingly affected by fire, flood, melting ice sheets, rising seas and heat waves, as climate change gathers momentum, threatening some of their core values.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/15/us/yellowstone-national-park-floods.html?unlocked_
TURNING IT AROUND
The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity to meet again in December:
The next meeting of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) will now run from 5 to 17 December in Montreal in Canada, with the aim of finalising COP15.
Renewable Energy Certificates more greenwashing:
A study reported in Nature concludes that companies use of renewable energy certificates (RECs) to report reductions in emissions from purchased electricity purchases are unlikely to lead to additional renewable energy production, leading to an inflated estimate of the effectiveness of mitigation efforts.
Current greenhouse gas accounting standards allow companies to use renewable energy certificates (RECs) to report reductions in emissions from purchased electricity (scope 2) as progress towards meeting their science-based targets. However, previous analyses suggest that corporate REC purchases are unlikely to lead to additional renewable energy production. Here we show that the widespread use of RECs by companies with science-based targets has led to an inflated estimate of the effectiveness of mitigation efforts. When removing the emission reductions claimed through RECs, companies’ combined 2015–2019 scope 2 emission trajectories are no longer aligned with the 1.5 °C goal, and only barely with the well below 2 °C goal of the Paris Agreement. If this trend continues, 42% of committed scope 2 emission reductions will not result in real-world mitigation. Our findings suggest a need to revise accounting guidelines to require companies to report only real emission reductions as progress towards meeting their science-based targets.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-022-01379-5
Scientists fight against European bioenergy:
38 scientists have written a public letter to EU governments and the European Parliament over concerns around the Bioenergy Provisions of the Fit for 55 Plan, warning that promoting biomass leads to additional wood harvest for bioenergy that is likely to increase global warming for decades to centuries, while increasing the extensive use of agricultural land for bioenergy.
Unfortunately, the bioenergy provisions of the Fit for 55 plan, by treating biomass as “carbon neutral,” encourage Europe not just to burn waste biomass but to harvest and burn more wood from forests and to devote millions of hectares of agricultural land to bioenergy. Doing so would increase Europe’s global carbon footprint substantially. Although burning biomass releases even more carbon than burning fossil fuels, the greenhouse gas rules in these proposed laws ignore this loss of carbon. As a result, those who burn biomass are credited with reducing carbon emissions regardless of these emissions, of reduced carbon storage from increased wood harvest, and of the carbon lost in native habitats as farmland expands globally to replace foregone food production in Europe. As hundreds of scientists have previously cautioned the European Parliament, this approach leads to additional wood harvest for bioenergy that is likely to increase global warming for decades to centuries even if forests are harvested “sustainably” and allowed to grow back.
Forest Media 17 June 2022
New South Wales
The Land and Environment Court imposed fines and costs totalling $285,600 on the Forestry Corporation for illegally logging a Koala High Use Area, rainforest and a rainforest buffer in Wild Cattle Creek State Forest. Justice Robson found the removal of 4 feed trees and construction of logging tracks within a Koala High Use Area would “beyond reasonable doubt… likely to have had an adverse impact” causing “actual harm”, and the logging of 2 trees in a Warm Temperate Rainforest buffer “resulted in ecological impacts and environmental harm … which exacerbates the potential for bushfire penetration into the warm temperate rainforest”. This led to a media flurry, with conservationists call for Koala habitat to be protected.
ASIC contacted the NCC to advise that following preliminary enquiries it had decided to refer Hunter-based Sweetman Renewables’ claim it had signed a $90 million contract to supply woodchips to the Japanese energy company Sinanen as part of its fundraising campaign, to a specialist team from Australia's Corporate Watchdog to consider allegations that engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct. Sinanen denied the deal and described the claim as "deplorable". Sweetmans were intending to supply Redbank with woodchips, with media coverage of Redbank’s court loss continuing.
The announcement of a $1.2 billion investment by the NSW govt in renewable energy was welcomed by the North Coast Environment Council’s Vice-President Susie Russell, provided it does not come at the expense of nature, identifying the need to immediately rule out wood-fired power stations as a renewable energy source, and ensure native vegetation is not cleared for windfarms, pumped-hydro or power lines.
“Fridays4Forest” had its first gathering outside NSW Parliament House to highlight the plight of koalas and native forests. News of the Area has an article about the extension of the Wood Supply Agreements, citing Justin Field and NCC. The Echo has an article citing NEFA.
The 2022-23 NSW Budget will deliver a major boost to fire management in national parks through a $598 million investment, delivering 250 permanent jobs and critical infrastructure upgrades. Treasurer Matt Kean has committed $32.9 million in Tuesday's budget to deliver a biosecurity regime to protect the Lord Howe Island from rats and other invasive species. The NSW government has reached an $8.9 million deal with Bush Heritage Australia and South Endeavour Trust to make annual payments through the Biodiversity Conservation Trust to fund conservation works on two properties they own in the Paroo River catchment.
Jerry Vanclay argues for relocating Lismore out of harms way, though identifies reforestation of catchments above Lismore (and deforestation below Lismore) as the most effective way of mitigating flood damage.
Across NSW, Regional Landcare Networks have been funded to develop networking, education and communication activities with private landholders as part of the Partnering in Private Land Conservation Program, which aims to work collaboratively to build understanding and skills regarding biodiversity, educate private landholders on conservation efforts, and increase participation in private land conservation. Founder the Dunbogan Bush Care Group on the Mid North Coast, Sue Baker, has been awarded an OAM for her rehabilitation of degraded bushland.
Australia
Mona has an installation by Fiona Hall and AJ King ‘Exodust – Crying Country’ showing the devastation wrought on forests by logging and post-logging burns.
Alinta CEO Jeff Dimery is off to Europe to investigate using biomass to replace brown coal to burn in the Loy Yang B power station in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley.
The Queensland Government is equivocating over its commitment to end native forest logging on public land throughout the South East Queensland Planning Area by 2024, with the Queensland Conservation Council providing a report identifying 68,543 hectares across 19 state forests for protection.
A new report by Dr Sanger, in collaboration with The Wilderness Society and the Tasmanian Climate Collective, has found greenhouse gas emissions from Tasmania’s native forest logging are equivalent to about 4.65 million tonnes of carbon each year, making it the state's highest emitting industry, whereas if they stop logging 75 million tonnes of carbon could be absorbed by the state's production forests by 2050.
Environment Groups are calling on the Federal Government for urgent action on their promised environmental reforms, including the creation of an Environmental Protection Agency, a National Water Commission, and an overhaul of federal environmental protection laws by issuing a full response to the Samuel Review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. Former Cabinet Minister and long serving Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon has joined the Australian Forest Products Association board as an independent non-executive director, which will facilitate their access to the new Government.
In a soon to be published interview, Queensland Chief Scientist Hugh Possingham is very annoyed with his fellow scientists as well as environmentalist and conservationists – and some of us are annoyed with him for his naïve recommendations on private land conservation in NSW.
Species
A study of the critically endangered southern bent-wing bat, whose populations are centred around 3 maternity caves, found that they will be near extinct within 36 years, with declines of up to 97%, due to clearing of natural vegetation, drying of wetlands and increasing droughts due to climate heating. Heatwaves can cause the death of animals en masse, and can weaken the survivors with long-term consequences. A study of Purple-crowned Fairy Wrens found that heatwaves can damage the DNA of nestling young, meaning they age earlier, die younger and produce less offspring.
Last winter, thousands of dead and dying frogs were found across Australia, and it seems to be happening again, with the amphibian chytrid fungus a likely contributor.
The finding of eight endangered Dunnarts in the stomachs of feral cats after the fires on Kangaroo Island has worried researchers that they are targeting the survivors in fire refuges, leading them to establish a feral cat exclusion area, and increase their effort to eradicate cats from the island. Leeton residents have called for great responsibility by cat owners and the local council to limit the impact of freely roaming cats, citing new Canberra rules to keep cats indoors or in enclosures at all times.
It is estimated the Tasmania's native animal roadkill of marsupials, birds and reptiles reaches 500,000 annually, with calls for greater mitigation measures. Meanwhile conditions placed on the Riley Creek mine in the Tarkine wilderness to prevent vehicles from operating between dusk and dawn to reduce roadkill of species such as the Tassie Devil and quolls, were quietly lifted by the EPA with no public consultation, with legal action threatened.
Sue Arnold calls on the new Commonwealth Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to take meaningful action for Koalas, starting with requesting the Auditor General undertake an audit of taxpayer-funded grants for koalas by the Morrison Government given the lack of visible results ensuring their ongoing survival. CNA (Channel News Asia) has a lengthy article about the compounding threats faced by Koalas, focussing on south-east Queensland. The Victorian Conservation Regulator is investigating after 13 koalas were found dead from unknown causes in a blue gum plantation near Hamilton, no logging was happening.
About 120 Greater Glider nest boxes, with improved insulation, have been installed in fire-affected forests in NSW’s Tallaganda National Park, and another 120 in East Gippsland, in response to a third of their habitat being burnt and a housing crisis caused by the loss of mature hollow trees.
In a questionable move, Aussie Ark is proposing to translocate captive Koalas into their fenced predator-proof 1500-hectare Mongo Valley Wildlife Sanctuary in the Northern Rivers region, with the claim that the protected enclosure will ‘rewild’ them. As part of The Wild Deserts project a group of golden bandicoots have been transferred from the Matuwa Kurrara Kurrara Indigenous Protected Area in the central Western Australian desert to the Stuart National Park feral animal exclusion area in far-west New South Wales.
A combined wild dog 1080 aerial baiting program between the Local Lands Services and the National Parks and Wildlife Service is distributing 165,000 baits over national parks, state forests and private properties in an area ranging from Niangala through to Glen Innes, Tenterfield, Emmaville and Nullamanna districts on the Northern Tablelands.
The Deteriorating Problem
Sixty five million people in the western USA are facing “severe to extreme drought” conditions as the worst megadrought in a millennium continues to decimate river flows, spawn intense fires, kill people and result in record temperatures, which will get worse as the world heats.
Dailan Pugh
NEW SOUTH WALES
Forestry Corporation fined $285,600:
The Land and Environment Court imposed fines and costs totalling $285,600 on the Forestry Corporation for illegally logging a Koala High Use Area, rainforest and a rainforest buffer in Wild Cattle Creek State Forest. For the removal of 4 feed trees and construction of logging tracks within a Koala High Use Area, Justice Robson states:
“I find beyond reasonable doubt that the felling of the large Eucalyptus trees and the construction or operation of snig tracks were highly likely to have had an adverse impact by reducing the size and the quality of the habitat available to the breeding female and offspring. As such, I accept the position adopted by the prosecutor and find that there has been actual harm.”
“… I accept Dr Crowther’s evidence that the harm is related to the size of the removed trees, their significance for food and shelter, and the fact that koalas often revisit trees within their home range”.
For logging 3 trees in mapped rainforest and 2 trees in a 20m exclusion zone around it, Justice Robson stated:
I find in accordance with Dr Kooyman’s evidence that the exclusion zone was dominated by warm temperate rainforest (as Mr Peake conceded), and I consider that the removal of the two trees and the disturbance of an area at least of 120m² resulted in ecological impacts and environmental harm. I accept Dr Kooyman’s evidence that this would have a deleterious effect on the rainforest in that it causes disruption, opens the edges of the forest, causes changes in microclimates and causes drying, which exacerbates the potential for bushfire penetration into the warm temperate rainforest (Bentley at [174]-[175]).
https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/18145ef040e3b57a3d583217
[Mark Graham] "It's confirmation of what we've known for a long while, which is that the Forestry Corporation systematically and flagrantly breaches the few safeguards that it operates under," he said.
The Nature Conservation Council is calling on the government to conduct a comprehensive independent review of the Forestry Corporation to ensure it acts lawfully and sustainably.
In a statement, a FCNSW spokesperson said they acknowledge the organisation had made some mapping and marking errors during an operation in Wild Cattle Creek State Forest in 2018.
Nature Conservation Council of NSW chief executive Chris Gambian said the corporation was a repeat offender that had been fined six times since April 2020 for various breaches,
“Fines, no matter how large, can never replace critical koala habitat destroyed by (the) forestry corporation,” he said, adding that the government should establish a review of the corporation.
Greens MLC and former environmental lawyer Sue Higginson called the forestry corporation a serial offender, adding it should no longer be controlling public native forest estates.
“(The) Forestry Corporation has proved it can not be trusted and its cavalier attitude to threatened species and their habitats must end,” she said.
The fine was also welcomes by the North East Forest Alliance, which urged the government to reinstate no-logging buffer zones around rainforests.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/science/environment/2022/06/16/logging-koala-habitat-did-harm/
https://www.juneesoutherncross.com.au/story/7783582/logging-in-koala-habitat-did-actual-harm/
https://www.beagleweekly.com.au/post/more-fines-for-forestry-corporation-nsw
https://www.lithgowmercury.com.au/story/7783582/logging-in-koala-habitat-did-actual-harm/?cs=9676
https://www.portnews.com.au/story/7783582/logging-in-koala-habitat-did-actual-harm/?cs=12
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7783582/logging-in-koala-habitat-did-actual-harm/?cs=14264
https://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/7783582/logging-in-koala-habitat-did-actual-harm/
EPA Executive Director Regulatory Operations Carmen Dwyer said this is a clear message to the forestry industry.
"Strict operating rules are in place to protect precious wildlife, such as the Koala Exclusion Zones, which are a critical part of preserving the habitat of koalas to ensure their survival in this forest," he said.
"Disregarding the rules and harvesting trees in these areas can put animals under increased stress."
FCNSW Fines
May 2022 – $138,000 – Wild Cattle Creek State Forest
Apr 2022 – $45,000 – Mogo State Forest
Feb 2021 – $15,000 – Olney State Forest
Feb 2021 – $30,000 – Ballengarra State Forest
Mar 2021 – $33,000 – Boyne, Bodalla and Mogo State Forest
Apr 2020 – $31,100 – Tantawangalo and Bago State Forest
https://www.miragenews.com/fines-will-never-replace-critical-koala-habitat-801984/
[Dailan Pugh] “To log the highest quality Koala habitat is no longer an offence so the Forestry Corporation can continue to cause actual harm to Koalas unchecked.
“The evidence is clear that Koala habitat must be protected from logging, the Ministers for Forestry and Environment must immediately restore the need to look before they log and protect Koala High Use Areas.
“With a third of NSW’s rainforests burnt in the 2019-2020 wildfires, this finding emphasises the need to exclude logging from wide buffers around all rainforests (not just warm temperate rainforest) to reduce the threat of their being burnt in future fires.
Were Sweetmans misleading investors?
ASIC contacted the NCC on June 2 to advise that following preliminary enquiries it had decided to refer Hunter-based Sweetman Renewables’ claim it had signed a $90 million contract to supply woodchips to the Japanese energy company Sinanen as part of its fundraising campaign, to a specialist team from Australia's Corporate Watchdog to consider allegations that engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct. Sinanen denied the deal and described the claim as "deplorable".
Sweetmans were intending to supply Redbank with woodchips, with media coverage of Redbank’s court loss continuing.
Nature Conservation Council Chief Executive Chris Gambian said: "The court's decision is very welcome but this project still poses a very live threat to native forests and wildlife.
"Biomass from native forest timber has no social license in NSW, and never will. The community campaign against this proposal will be relentless - we will not rest until this proposal is withdrawn."
https://www.singletonargus.com.au/story/7777617/redbank-appeal-dismissed/
Renewables must not cost the earth:
The announcement of a $1.2 billion investment by the NSW govt in renewable energy was welcomed by the North Coast Environment Council’s Vice-President Susie Russell, provided it does not come at the expense of nature, identifying the need to immediately rule out wood-fired power stations as a renewable energy source, and ensure native vegetation is not cleared for windfarms, pumped-hydro or power lines.
There is no point saving the climate if we have sacrificed nature to get there.
“The government must also specify that the components of the projects that receive government funding are fully recyclable in a form that can be reused. No more burying wind turbine blades in landfill or shredding solar panels. If they are to benefit from public funding then they must not create another environmental problem when it is time to replace them.
https://clarencevalleynews.com.au/renewables-must-not-come-at-natures-expense/
Friday for forests goes to Sydney:
“Fridays4Forest” had its first gathering outside NSW Parliament House to highlight the plight of koalas and native forests.
North East Forests campaigner Sean O’Shannessy said the government’s mismanagement of the logging industry and development “has put our koalas at risk of imminent extinction”.
“We are living in a climate crisis and we are seeing more extremes every day causing destruction to our way of life.
“Our forests are the lungs of our earth. They hold the ground together in a flood and cool the ground in a heat wave.”
https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/fridays4forests-protest-comes-nsw-parliament
Reaction to extending Wood Supply Agreements continues:
News of the Area has an article about the extension of the Wood Supply Agreements, citing Justin Field and NCC.
The Echo has an article citing NEFA.
‘Extending Wood Supply Agreements at pre-fire levels is clearly unsustainable in multiple ways and an act of gross irresponsibility’ Mr. Pugh said.
Echo June 15 2022
https://www.echo.net.au/2022/06/nsw-government-irresponsible-in-extending-logging/
More funding for fire fighting on national parks:
The 2022-23 NSW Budget will deliver a major boost to fire management in national parks through a $598 million investment, delivering 250 permanent jobs and critical infrastructure upgrades.
[Mr Griffin] “This will ensure NPWS can increase hazard reduction activity, strengthen remote area firefighting capability, and is supported to continue its critical work protecting communities and the environment from the threat of bushfires.”
The funding boost will deliver:
- 250 permanent jobs from July 2023, including 200 firefighters and 50 roles to meet new statutory requirements for protecting Assets of Intergenerational Significance (AIS) across the national parks estate
- $27.7 million over four years to upgrade the radio network
- $4.5 million over four years for safety upgrades to the NPWS fleet
“With more than 200 Assets of Intergenerational Significance already declared, this dedicated funding will deliver fire management, feral animal control and other measures needed to protect the most important natural and cultural assets in our national parks estate,” Mr Griffin said.
For more information on the Strategy, visit https://www.climatechange.environment.nsw.gov.au/nsw-climate-change-adaptation-strategy.
More funds for Lord Howe Island:
Treasurer Matt Kean has committed $32.9 million in Tuesday's budget to deliver a biosecurity regime to protect the Lord Howe Island from rats and other invasive species.
Before a $15.5 million aerial-baiting rodent control program was introduced to the island in 2019, large rat populations had pushed multiple plant species to near-extinction.
The pest control program had already led to a doubling of the population of Lord Howe Woodhens and supported the regeneration of other native animal and plant species.
The funding will upgrade rat-prevention infrastructure and support quarantine programs including detector dogs and other methods used to inspect boats and planes arriving at Lord Howe.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/aap/article-10924535/33m-Lord-Howe-Island-biosecurity.html
Funding conservation on private properties:
The NSW government has reached an $8.9 million deal with Bush Heritage Australia and South Endeavour Trust to make annual payments through the Biodiversity Conservation Trust to fund conservation works on two properties they own in the Paroo River catchment.
The government’s Biodiversity Conservation Trust has 2180 conservation agreements with private landowners to protect 2.3 million hectares of land, a commitment of $160 million so far.
“Without private conservation, we are not going to be able to overcome the extinction crisis that we’re facing,” Higginson said.
“We are losing species, we’re losing ecosystems or ecosystems are becoming diminished and they’re deteriorating, and the public land conservation network can only achieve so much.”
Higginson, who negotiated conservation agreements for landowners in her former career as an environmental lawyer, said in-perpetuity agreements were preferable but called for more transparency about where public funds were going.
Trees best flood mitigation:
Jerry Vanclay argues for relocating Lismore out of harms way, though identifies reforestation of catchments above Lismore (and deforestation below Lismore) as the most effective way of mitigating flood damage.
What would work is restoring vegetation on the floodplains above Lismore, and clear vegetation on the floodplains below Lismore. Why? Because vegetation can make a five-fold difference in water velocity. If we reforest floodplains to the north through projects like tree plantations for koalas, horticulture and rainforest restoration, we would slow the floods significantly. If we clear more areas on the floodplains below Lismore, we would also speed up the clearance of floodwaters from the river. These two methods combined would lower the height of the flood peak. These interventions are also tolerant of imprecise assumptions and extreme situations, and are not prone to sudden failure.
Landowner education:
Across NSW, Regional Landcare Networks have been funded to develop networking, education and communication activities with private landholders as part of the Partnering in Private Land Conservation Program, which aims to work collaboratively to build understanding and skills regarding biodiversity, educate private landholders on conservation efforts, and increase participation in private land conservation.
Key objectives of the project include:
- Building understanding and capacity between the BCT and local Landcare groups to complement each other's knowledge and skills and plan how to work together.
- Building biodiversity conservation knowledge with landholders through communication and education initiatives. This will be delivered through grant funding to eligible groups who wish to participate.
- Increase the participation of landholders in private land conservation programs.
https://www.forbesadvocate.com.au/story/7781146/landcare-have-a-look-at-conservation/
Gong for bushcare:
Founder the Dunbogan Bush Care Group on the Mid North Coast, Sue Baker, has been awarded an OAM for her rehabilitation of degraded bushland.
AUSTRALIA
Artful interpretation:
Mona has an installation by Fiona Hall and AJ King ‘Exodust – Crying Country’ showing the devastation wrought on forests by logging and post-logging burns.
Over three weeks, they gathered the burnt soil, Eucalyptus regnans stumps and branches, and lakri (man ferns), bringing them to the gallery and piecing the wrecked country back together. It’s a multisensorial recreation of the trauma that the forestry industry continues to wreak across lutruwita: first by the logging, and then by the high intensity burns that are ignited to devour the aftermath.
“These trees had suffered significantly over multiple generations, from the time white men first stepped on that country,” King says. “So for us to be on this country that had been just desecrated, not just once but consistently – burnt in ways that permanently scarred the landscape – we felt that pain every day we went down there.”
Hall, who moved to Tasmania seven years ago, says “forest genocide is in the Tasmanian psyche”.
“A lot of visitors from elsewhere may be aware of the logging, but not of the post-logging burning; the funeral pyre that happens after the logging. It’s like rubbing salt into a wound.”
Burning biomass in Victoria:
Alinta CEO Jeff Dimery is off to Europe to investigate using biomass to replace brown coal to burn in the Loy Yang B power station in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley.
“We have to have an alternative. Some might say nuclear and I sort of say well, good luck to you, people. That’s, you know, pie in the sky. But there are other alternative fuels like biomass that have been successfully integrated overseas.”
RE asked if it was a similar proposal to that of Drax in the UK, the best known of the coal generators that have turned to biomass, albeit with much questioning about whether it has an impact on actually cutting emissions, and on forests in the US, where much of its feedstock is sought.
Queensland equivocating over policy to end logging public forests by 2024:
A report by the Queensland Conservation Council was provided to the Queensland Government in support of policy commitments to end native forest logging on public land throughout the region by 2024, it identifies 68,543 hectares across 19 state forests in the South East Queensland Planning Area for protection.
Tasmanian native forests can make a difference to climate heating:
A new report by Dr Sanger, in collaboration with The Wilderness Society and the Tasmanian Climate Collective, has found greenhouse gas emissions from Tasmania’s native forest logging are equivalent to about 4.65 million tonnes of carbon each year, making it the state's highest emitting industry, whereas if they stop logging 75 million tonnes of carbon could be absorbed by the state's production forests by 2050.
Dr Sanger's report, which has not been formally peer-reviewed, argues almost two-thirds of the carbon from a logged native forest is released into the atmosphere within two years — 30 per cent from slash burning, 10 per cent in mill waste, and 24 per cent from paper products with a short life span.
Dr Sanger said if Tasmania followed Victoria and Western Australia's lead and ended native forest logging, 75 million tonnes of carbon could be absorbed by the state's production forests by 2050.
She said that would be equivalent to taking every car off the road in Australia for a year, shutting down Australia's dirtiest power plant, Yallourn, eight years early, or converting 236,000 homes to solar.
"If we protected our forests, especially the forests that are re-growing from previous logging, they're drawing down significant amounts of carbon from the atmosphere, and if we protect them that means the carbon is going to be stored long-term," Dr Sanger said.
Environmental action requested:
Environment Groups are calling on the Federal Government for urgent action on their promised environmental reforms, including the creation of an Environmental Protection Agency, a National Water Commission, and an overhaul of federal environmental protection laws by issuing a full response to the Samuel Review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
Plibersek said one of the “big messages” from the federal election was that Australians want to see more action on the environment and climate change.
“I’ve only just got my feet under the desk, but I’ll say this: the environment is back under Labor - we are going to do some great things.
“When the prime minister offered me this portfolio, he said the environment and water will be top priorities for our government – what a refreshing change after a decade of the Liberal party not giving a stuff about either,” she said.
Gaining clout with ALP:
Former Cabinet Minister and long serving Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon has joined the Australian Forest Products Association board as an independent non-executive director, which will facilitate their access to the new Government.
AFPA chairman Greg McCormack said.
“Joel brings to our organisation two extremely important attributes. He is a passionate supporter of forest industries right around Australia and understands intimately how we can assist the new Albanese Government deliver both greater climate change initiatives and more timber for our builders and renovators.”
Mr McCormack said that Mr Fitzgibbon’s experience in both strategic vision and policy development would provide valuable input for the AFPA Board and in dealings with all levels of the Government and the Public Service in the delivery of the $300 million in new initiatives Labor committed to during the election.
“As a respected figure in Australian politics, his expertise will be an invaluable addition to the depth of knowledge on the Board at a time we are engaging with the new Parliament, striving to deliver on policy commitment,” Mr McCormack said.
https://www.timberbiz.com.au/former-labor-cabinet-minister-fitzgibbon-joins-afpa-board/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/aap/article-10917671/Ex-Labor-MP-joins-forest-industry-board.html
https://www.gloucesteradvocate.com.au/story/7780905/ex-labor-mp-joins-forest-industry-board/
Possingham lambasts conservationists:
In a soon to be published interview, Queensland Chief Scientist Hugh Possingham is very annoyed with his fellow scientists as well as environmentalist and conservationists – and some of us are annoyed with him for his naïve recommendations on private land conservation in NSW.
They are too conservative, don’t debate respectfully, are too obsessed with growing their own organisations and can’t compromise a bit.
SPECIES
Microbat threatened by clearing and climate:
A study of the critically endangered southern bent-wing bat, whose populations are centred around 3 maternity caves, found that they will be near extinct within 36 years, with declines of up to 97%, due to clearing of natural vegetation, drying of wetlands and increasing droughts due to climate heating.
Our new research has found the critically endangered southern bent-wing bat is continuing to decline. Its populations are centred on just three “maternity” caves in southeast South Australia and southwest Victoria, where the bats give birth and raise their young.
Unfortunately, 90% of natural vegetation in the southern bent-wing bat’s range has been cleared and most of the region’s wetlands have either been drained and converted to agricultural land, or are drying out due to a combination of groundwater extraction and a drying climate.
Climate heating threatening birds survival:
Heatwaves can cause the death of animals en masse, and can weaken the survivors with long-term consequences. A study of Purple-crowned Fairy Wrens found that heatwaves can damage the DNA of nestling young, meaning they age earlier, die younger and produce less offspring.
Our study, published today, describes how exposure to hot and dry conditions can damage the DNA of nestling birds in their first few days of life. This can mean they age earlier, die younger and produce less offspring.
Nestlings exposed to hot, dry conditions during their first days of life had shorter telomeres. This suggests surviving heat stress may shorten their protective DNA buffer and make the birds age more quickly. Indeed, our previous research demonstrated nestlings with shorter telomeres tend to die younger, and subsequently have fewer offspring.
Keeping cool is also costly for parent birds. Like us, birds often seek out shade and become less active in extreme heat. Instead of sweating, they open their beaks to pant and spread their wings to cool off.
But these behaviours leave a parent bird with less time to forage, defend the nest or feed offspring – activities required for the population to survive. We are investigating whether this exacerbates the effects of telomere shortening.
[Professor Peters] “I would say that in terms of the sensitivity of the telomeres to stress, mammals certainly are also known to do that, humans as well,” she told Yahoo News Australia.
“We can be born with shorter telomeres if our mother had a very hard time in pregnancy.
“Mammals of course, are a little bit more buffered because they do quite a lot of the growing, more of the growing inside the mother.
“But there's nothing that makes me want to say: No, this wouldn't happen in mammals, it's unique to birds.”
https://au.news.yahoo.com/climate-change-causing-endangered-aussie-birds-die-early-044945587.html
Frogs dying out:
Last winter, thousands of dead and dying frogs were found across Australia, and it seems to be happening again, with the amphibian chytrid fungus a likely contributor.
Right from the very first frog deaths last year, our number one suspect has been the amphibian chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis). This pathogen is a known frog killer, responsible for causing frog population declines and species extinctions around the world, including in Australia.
The fungus attacks the skin of frogs, which is their Achilles heel – frogs use their skin to breathe, drink and control electrolytes. Deaths of frogs due to this pathogen are often at cooler temperatures.
Our testing has revealed the amphibian chytrid fungus is certainly involved in this mass death event. Most of the hundreds of dead frogs tested so far have tested positive for the pathogen.
To help us understand the scale and cause of any frog deaths this winter, please send any reports of sick or dead frogs to the Australian Museum’s citizen science project FrogID via [email protected]
Please include your location and, if possible, photos of the frog(s).
Cats threaten animals survival:
The finding of eight endangered Dunnarts in the stomachs of feral cats after the fires on Kangaroo Island has worried researchers that they are targeting the survivors in fire refuges, leading them to establish a feral cat exclusion area, and increase their effort to eradicate cats from the island.
A study of the stomach contents of cats trapped on the island in the months following the fires found the remains of eight dunnarts from the 86 cats sampled, according to a study published in Scientific Reports today.
"We have to see that as a screenshot basically, because from the mouth of the cat to the other end takes about 24 hours," Dr Lignereux said.
"So eight dunnarts in seven cats doesn't sound like a lot, but it's a massive pressure."
A total of 263 different prey items were found in the cats' stomachs altogether, including an endangered southern brown bandicoot.
"The cats that are already there, they're just killing the last remaining dunnart in the refuge areas after the fire."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2022-06-17/feral-cats-killing-kangaroo-island-dunnarts/101156628
Leeton residents have called for great responsibility by cat owners and the local council to limit the impact of freely roaming cats, citing new Canberra rules to keep cats indoors or in enclosures at all times.
From July 1 2022, new cats in all Canberra suburbs must be kept in doors or enclosures at all times to reduce their impact on native species and the environment.
Owners will also have to leash and accompany their cats when outside.
https://www.irrigator.com.au/story/7783020/calls-to-control-our-cats/
Vehicles need curfews too:
It is estimated the Tasmania's native animal roadkill of marsupials, birds and reptiles reaches 500,000 annually, with calls for greater mitigation measures. Meanwhile conditions placed on the Riley Creek mine in the Tarkine wilderness to prevent vehicles from operating between dusk and dawn to reduce roadkill of species such as the Tassie Devil and quolls, were quietly lifted by the EPA with no public consultation, with legal action threatened.
"We see more calls every single year than we've seen the year before. And unfortunately, that number shows no sign of going backwards," Greg says.
It's not just the number of wildlife dying that is startling, but the suffering they endure.
"What they don't realise is how hearty our animals are. So these animals can survive for weeks in that condition," says Greg.
Commonwealth asked to act on Koalas:
Sue Arnold calls on the new Commonwealth Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek to take meaningful action for Koalas, starting with requesting the Auditor General undertake an audit of taxpayer-funded grants for koalas by the Morrison Government given the lack of visible results ensuring their ongoing survival.
However, in the political framework of major parties, it would appear the koala is useful for promotion and propaganda purposes but a significant barrier to urban development and the ongoing wipe-out of native forests and coastal forest ecosystems to supply the timber, building and woodchip industries.
Both the L-NP and Labor voted against the creation of the [Great Koala] park. The vote was 30-7. A complete reversal of Labor’s policy. In 2015, NSW Labor Leader Luke Foley promised to establish the park, saying his party had a clear plan to protect koalas.
Industrial logging of remaining native forests in the state is the death knell for primary koala hubs. Communities in the south and north coast forests have exhaustively campaigned in an Olympic effort to stop the slaughter.
Koala decline:
CNA (Channel News Asia) has a lengthy article about the compounding threats faced by Koalas, focussing on south-east Queensland.
[Tabart] “If we don't just do the simple thing of stopping the cutting down of trees now, then I just can't see a secure future. And so that's why I want better legislation. None of the legislation in our country is sufficient to stop that simple chainsaw,” she said.
“Most of the things that are happening to koalas now are because their trees are cut down. They end up being homeless, they starve to death, they get sick and then they die ... The decline is massive.”
More Victorian Koalas die:
The Victorian Conservation Regulator is investigating after 13 koalas were found dead from unknown causes in a blue gum plantation near Hamilton, no logging was happening.
Re-homing Greater Gliders:
About 120 Greater Glider nest boxes, with improved insulation, have been installed in fire-affected forests in Tallaganda National Park, and another 120 in East Gippsland, in response to a third of their habitat being burnt and a housing crisis caused by the loss of mature hollow trees.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/science/environment/2022/06/15/fire-hit-gliders-new-forest-homes/
https://www.northernriversreview.com.au/story/7781872/fire-hit-gliders-offered-new-forest-homes/
Is this really necessary?:
Aussie Ark is proposing to translocate captive Koalas into their fenced predator-proof 1500-hectare Mongo Valley Wildlife Sanctuary in the Northern Rivers region, with the claim that the protected enclosure will ‘rewild’ them.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/science/environment/2022/06/15/project-rewild-koalas/
https://www.southernriverinanews.com.au/national/project-aims-to-rewild-protected-koalas/
Another translocation:
As part of The Wild Deserts project a group of golden bandicoots have been transferred from the Matuwa Kurrara Kurrara Indigenous Protected Area in the central Western Australian desert to the Stuart National Park feral animal exclusion area in far-west New South Wales.
165,000 aerial 1080 baits dropped over Northern Tablelands:
A combined wild dog 1080 aerial baiting program between the Local Lands Services and the National Parks and Wildlife Service is distributing 165,000 baits over national parks, state forests and private properties in an area ranging from Niangala through to Glen Innes, Tenterfield, Emmaville and Nullamanna districts on the Northern Tablelands.
https://www.tenterfieldstar.com.au/story/7777584/165000-wild-dog-baits-spread/
https://www.armidaleexpress.com.au/story/7777584/165000-wild-dog-baits-spread/
THE DETERIORATING PROBLEM
The drying, dying west:
Sixty five million people in the western USA are facing “severe to extreme drought” conditions as the worst megadrought in a millennium continues to decimate river flows, spawn intense fires, kill people and result in record temperatures, which will get worse as the world heats.
More than a dozen states all across the West, making up nearly half of the Lower 48, have at least some areas in severe, extreme and even “exceptional drought”—the agency’s highest rating for severity.
Federal forecasters warned over the weekend that “dangerous heat” was contributing to a slew of wildfires in California, New Mexico and Arizona. And many officials worry it’s a sign of another intense summer fire season ahead.
The [Colarado] river’s flow has declined at least 20 percent since 2000 and is expected to decline more than 9 percent for every degree Celsius of warming, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
In February, scientists published a study that found that global warming has exacerbated the region’s dry conditions so much that the last two decades are now the driest the region has seen in 1,200 years.
https://us2.campaign-archive.com/?e=6624c72df8&u=7c733794100bcc7e083a163f0&id=a8a9aae260
Forest Media 10 June 2022
New South Wales
Catherine Cusack has twitted texts between her and Gladys Berejiklian over the Koala Kill Bill to prove she had no knowledge of a deal brokered between then Environment Minister Matt Kean and former Nationals leader John Barilaro, whereby she claimed his energy policy was traded for Koalas – Koalas may have the distinction of being a physical victim of climate inaction and an early political victim of climate action. Matt Kean was quick to deny any deal.
The state’s Upper House this week debated the Greens bill to establish a Great Koala National Park, Greens MP Cate Faehrmann saying the bill was crucial in protecting the now endangered Koalas. While the Government and opposition speakers in the upper house were effusive about the need to protect Koalas they wouldn’t support the bill, with the ALP claiming it was because it would require finances which the Government wouldn’t commit to - but the ALP wouldn’t commit to the park. Catherine Cusack gave an impassioned speech in support, deriding her party’s Koala conservation efforts while doubling-down on her accusations that the Koala Kill Bill was the result of an underhanded deal done by Matt Kean.
The Northern Rivers Times has a lengthy article about how delighted Big Rivers Timbers and Notaras & Sons were to be given the certainty of 5 extra years of resources so they can now invest in upgrading their equipment - who wouldn’t be delighted with being given millions of dollars worth of timber for nothing? NCC and NEFA labelled it “reckless” and “an act of gross irresponsibility”, respectively. The ABC also gave the story a good run, with less emphasis on the loggers.
In response to the extension of WSAs Catherine Cusack has launched a change.org petition calling on Bunnings to stop buying NSW Native Timber product and help save koalas; https://www.change.org/p/bunnings-stop-buying-nsw-native-timber-and-save-koala-habitat? Sign up and pass on now!
The NSW Government has announced new forestry regulations which are open for consultation until 1 July. The penalties have doubled for most protest and green policing activities, for example entering a closed forest, failure to comply with directions of an authorised officer, damage or interfere with a sign, will increase from $2000 to $4000 while approaching within 100m of an operating machine will stay the same at $20,000:
An article focuses on the values of the mid north coast forests and the need for citizen science to hold the Forestry Corporation to account and protect forests, referencing proposed training by Bob Brown Foundation in July.
Coastwatchers have obtained more than half a million dollars of funding over the next three years for projects on the south coast to heal and regenerate the region through a variety of grants provided to Great Eastern Ranges.
State Environment Minister James Griffin announced the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust has signed a partnership with Telstra to offset roughly two million tonnes worth of greenhouse gas emissions a year while creating a new income stream for landholders and support for natural habitats.
Australia
Concerns are growing over a bill before the Victorian parliament to impose whopping 12 months’ jail, or $21,000 in fines to deter “dangerous” protesters from stopping “workers going home to their families each day”, or indeed undertaking forest audits.
After a decade of attrition, the Federal Government’s decision to establish a new super-department covering climate change, energy, the environment and water, responsible to 2 ministers, in itself will make it a challenge to follow through on their environmental and climate promises.
West Australia’s ending of logging of public native forests seems far from settled, with the loggers waiting to find out in the 10-year Forest Management Plan, expected to be released in October, how much logging under the guise of thinning will be allowed for firewood and other products.
The chair of the Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee (ERAC), David Byers, defended the design of the Emissions Reduction Fund and rejected claims by his predecessor Andrew Macintosh that most of the carbon offset units issued under the scheme were not backed by actual emissions reductions, but Macintosh refused to back down and awaits the promised review by the new Federal Government.
Species
In the Snowy Mountains many hollows used by Turquoise Parrots were burnt in the Dunns Road fire, though the species was able to survive in small unburnt sections of bushland, now artificial hollows are being used to aid their recovery so they can repopulate the burnt areas.
A contentious wind farm is proposed for Robbins Island off Tasmania's north-western tip, within the known migration pathway for the orange-bellied parrot, with just 70 adult breeding birds left in the wild, leading to conflict between State and Federal environment agencies, with the State EPA supporting the proposal.
A $1.5 million trial funded by WIRES and Landcare, with in-kind support from the Queensland University of Technology, will give drones to 5 landcare groups to undertake surveys, with the data collected later sent to the QUT to be scanned by an AI algorithm to identify Koalas, and the results returned to the groups. On June 4 the Far South Coast Landcare Association hosted a meeting of 70 people to hear the results of recent koala monitoring efforts, as well as learning about cultural burning and other environmental works to try and recover the grossly depleted remaining Koalas.
Large numbers of koalas are being routinely euthanised in Victoria’s southwest by industry, government, and veterinarians as habitat loss, mostly plantation logging, impacts their health. Koalas feeding on leaves coated in fluoride in plantations surrounding Alcoa’s Portland Aluminium are suffering from fluoride poisoning which causes tooth and jaw deformities and weakened bones.
The Queensland government’s announcement that they have allocated almost $40 million to protect native animals across the state, with most to be spent on koalas, was welcomed by some, though the Australian Koala Foundation's Deborah Tabart said the new funding was a "band-aid solution" that did not address the real reason the koalas were endangered – cutting down their feed trees.
The Victorian wildlife watchdog is investigating the deaths of more than 100 long-billed corellas, likely from poison (either intentionally or indirectly through rodenticides) which were found near Barmah on the Murray River. This follows the death of more than 300 Corellas between Tocumwal and Cobram along the Murray River reported in Forest Media on 29 April.
The Deteriorating Problem
One of the world’s primary ocean currents is the “Atlantic meridional overturning circulation” that moves warmer tropical waters to Europe, warming them and cooling tropical areas, though the current is weakening which scientists assess could result in more retention of heat in this region with a more La Niña-like state which would mean more flooding rains over eastern Australia and worse droughts and bushfire seasons over southwest United States.
In 2009, the influential Stockholm Resilience Centre first published its planetary boundaries framework and now scientists have applied it to Australia for 5 boundaries, finding we have already overshot three of these - biodiversity, land-system change and nitrogen and phosphorus flows – while also approaching the boundaries for freshwater use and climate change.
A study in Queensland’s tropical rainforests has confirmed the world-wide trend of increasing dominance of lianas as a result of climate change, leading to structural degradation.
There is a scary video about America’s ghost forests, one of the consequences of rising sea-levels.
Turning it Around
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has released its 2022 State of the World’s Forests, identifying that we are still losing forests at a rate of about 10 million ha per year, halting deforestation could reduce CO2 emissions by 14 percent of what is needed up to 2030 to keep planetary warming below 1.5 °C while safeguarding more than half the Earth’s terrestrial biodiversity, and restoring degraded land through afforestation and reforestation could cost-effectively take 0.9–1.5 GtCO2 e per year out of the atmosphere between 2020 and 2050. The emphasis remains on sustainable use and there is still no focus on what could be achieved by protecting remnant forests and transitioning to plantations.
A study published in Science estimated the minimum land area to secure important biodiversity areas, ecologically intact areas, and optimal locations for representation of species ranges and ecoregions would require 44% of earth’s terrestrial area being the focus of conservation attention ranging from protected areas to land-use policies.
In India a recent Supreme Court order stated that every protected forest, national park and wildlife sanctuary across the country should have a mandatory eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of minimum one-km starting from their demarcated boundaries, within which commercial mining, setting up of sawmills and industries causing pollution, the establishment of major hydroelectric projects, production of any hazardous substances, undertaking activities related to tourism like flying over the national park area by aircraft and hot air balloons, discharge of effluents and solid waste in natural water bodies or terrestrial areas have been proposed to be made prohibited activities.
Dailan Pugh
NEW SOUTH WALES
Koalas victims of climate action:
Catherine Cusack has twitted texts between her and Gladys Berejiklian over the Koala Kill Bill to prove she had no knowledge of a deal brokered between then Environment Minister Matt Kean and former Nationals leader John Barilaro, whereby she claimed his energy policy was traded for Koalas – Koalas may have the distinction of being a physical victim of climate inaction and an early political victim of climate action. Matt Kean was quick to deny any deal.
[Catherine Cusack tweet] Was a great energy policy. The cost was koalas and that’s unacceptable. Was secret and makes it even greater disgrace. Idk what happened to him I can only state my position.
Ms Cusack said on Twitter she was posting the messages to prove she “had no knowledge of the disgusting deal (then-environment minister Matt Kean) did with the Nationals".
She said the agreement "virtually condemns NSW koalas to extinction”.
“I grasped it last weekend when (Mr Kean) bragged about his deal with Barilaro,” she wrote, also accusing him of having "traded koalas".
Ms Faehrmann commended Ms Cusack for putting koalas "over the self-interest of the Liberal Party".
“If the Liberals did a dirty deal with the National Party to get the ‘koala wars’ off the front page, a deal which threw koalas under a bus, then the public has the right to know," she told Yahoo News Australia in a statement.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-08/wednesday-am-briefing/101132312
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/nsw/2022/06/08/liberal-mps-koala-fight-texts/
NSW Treasurer Matt Kean has denied claims from an outgoing Liberal colleague that he did a political deal that "virtually condemns NSW koalas to extinction".
"I think it's a matter of public record that my relationship with (former NSW Nationals Leader) John Barilaro nearly broke the government over the stance I took to protect koalas."
https://www.gleninnesexaminer.com.au/story/7771842/nsw-treasurer-denies-claims-on-koala-deal/?cs=12
https://www.perthnow.com.au/politics/liberal-mps-koala-fight-revealed-in-texts-c-7090461
https://www.forbesadvocate.com.au/story/7771842/nsw-treasurer-denies-claims-on-koala-deal/?cs=12
https://www.greatlakesadvocate.com.au/story/7771842/nsw-treasurer-denies-claims-on-koala-deal/?cs=12
"And I said, 'Why did Gladys even send you up here?' [Mr Kean] pretty much shrugged. He asked me what I was offered in exchange for my vote and I said, 'nothing'.
"And he said. 'Well no wonder you won't vote for it, what do you want?' and I said 'Well you can't do deals on koalas,' and he said 'Catherine, how else do decisions get made?' — like I was some kind of stupid little two-year-old."
Mr Kean, who is now Treasurer, in question time on Thursday rejected Ms Cusack's account of their conversation.
"I wholeheartedly reject the recollection of events by Ms Cusack, I think it is clearly some wild fantasy dreamed up at night," he said.
A rogue Liberal MP has criticised the NSW government's koala policy as "sheer madness" but the premier says the coalition has done "more to protect koalas than any government before us".
Outgoing Liberal MLC Catherine Cusack told parliament's upper house on Wednesday the government's koala policy is accelerating the destruction of their habitat.
"The NSW Koala Strategy is based on the idea that we can buy our way out of the problems created by private native forestry, native forest and native vegetation clearing -- which is accelerating destruction by a factor of three," Ms Cusack said.
"The plan sees volunteers and wildlife funds planting and revegetating areas for the future, while across the road established trees that are being used by koalas are being cut down--and it is subsidised by taxpayers.
"This is sheer madness."
https://www.hepburnadvocate.com.au/story/7773487/perrottet-defends-koala-plan-amid-fallout/?cs=12
https://www.perthnow.com.au/politics/perrottet-defends-koala-plan-amid-fallout-c-7104460
Great Koala National Park goes down:
The state’s Upper House this week debated the Greens bill to establish a Great Koala National Park, Greens MP Cate Faehrmann saying the bill was crucial in protecting the now endangered Koalas. While the Government and opposition speakers in the upper house were effusive about the need to protect Koalas they wouldn’t support the bill, with the ALP claiming it was because it would require finances which the Government wouldn’t commit to - but they wouldn’t commit to the park. Catherine Cusack gave an impassioned speech in support, deriding her party’s Koala conservation efforts while doubling-down on her accusations that the Koala Kill Bill was the result of an underhanded deal done by Matt Kean.
https://www.nbnnews.com.au/2022/06/06/great-national-koala-park-bill-to-be-debated-this-week/
‘Politics has once again won out over the future of koalas in NSW with the government and opposition voting against a Greens bill to establish a Great Koala National Park on the mid-north coast to protect koala habitat at threat from logging,’ said Cate Faehrmann Greens MP and koala spokesperson.
‘As a result of Ms Cusack, once again, crossing the floor to vote in support of koalas we had an opportunity to get some of the best protection for koalas in place that this state has ever seen. But it wasn’t to be.
https://www.echo.net.au/2022/06/nsw-labor-and-coalition-vote-against-great-koala-park/
"As we stand here today in NSW now, koalas that live in the wild are on track to be extinct by 2050," Ms Sharpe said.
She said Labor was committed to improving koala numbers and would deliver a fully costed plan ahead of the 2023 state election.
https://www.denipt.com.au/national/perrottet-defends-koala-plan-amid-fallout-2/
Redbank on the ropes:
The Newcastle Herald had an article on Redbank’s knockback by the Court, citing Justin Field and Chris Gambian (NCC).
[Justin Field] "There needs to be a clear regulatory statement by the NSW Environment Minister James Griffin that native forests will not be allowed to be burnt for energy.
[Chris Gambian] "Biomass from native forest timber has no social license in NSW, and never will. The community campaign against this proposal will be relentless - we will not rest until this proposal is withdrawn."
[Susie Russell. NCEC] “It is now up to the NSW and Commonwealth Governments to make the regulatory changes to prohibit native forest wood being classed as a renewable energy source, and thus remove the perverse incentive introduced by Tony Abbott, that called burning trees ‘green’.”
North East Forest Alliance spokesperson Dailan Pugh said: “In this climate emergency, cutting down the trees we urgently need to capture and store our carbon emissions, and burning them to release their stored carbon, is sheer madness.
https://www.miragenews.com/courts-redbank-ruling-is-reprieve-for-native-796527/
Loggers delighted with present:
The Northern Rivers Times has a lengthy article about how delighted Big Rivers Timbers and Notaras & Sons were to be given the certainty of 5 extra years of resources so they can now invest in upgrading their equipment - who wouldn’t be delighted with being given millions of dollars worth of timber for nothing? NCC and NEFA labelled it “reckless” and “an act of gross irresponsibility”, respectively.
Northern Rivers Times, 9 June 2022
The ABC also gave the story a good run, with less emphasis on the loggers.
"We thought they would at least reduce the amount of timber volumes, because they know the trees aren't there and yet they've just rolled the contracts over to continue logging at pre-fire levels," Mr Pugh said.
We're in a dire situation that we need to start addressing right now, not wait another five years."
"We're putting millions of dollars into maintaining this industry but we can make more money out of forests through carbon sequestration and storage, tourism and increasing water yields as older forests get more water into dams and urban water supplies."
Tell Bunnings to stop it:
Catherine Cusack has launched a change.org petition calling on Bunnings to stop buying NSW Native Timber product and help save koalas; https://www.change.org/p/bunnings-stop-buying-nsw-native-timber-and-save-koala-habitat?
The NSW Government has extended all North Coast Native Forest Timber licenses for 5 years, including koala habitat to make power poles, pallets and tomato sticks. Bunnings is a major customer fuelling demand that is vicariously killing koalas by destroying their habitat.
Please support NSW Nature Council’s call on Bunnings to stop buying NSW Native Timber product and help save koalas.
Protesting fines to be doubled:
The NSW Government has announced new forestry regulations which are open for consultation until 1 July. The penalties have doubled for most protest and green policing activities, for example entering a closed forest, failure to comply with directions of an authorised officer, damage or interfere with a sign, will increase from $2000 to $4000 while approaching within 100m of an operating machine will stay the same at $20,000:
https://www.nsw.gov.au/have-your-say/proposed-forestry-regulation-2022
https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/forestry/proposed-forestry-regulation
The penalties have increased, the fines are set at 20 penalty units though the value of the units depends on the offence. These include failure to comply with directions of an authorised officer or enter a forest area contrary to a sign (5.1, 6.3 penalty units increased from $100 to $200), approaching within 100m of equipment (68.1. penalty unit $1,000), damage or interfere with a sign or road (10.2 penalty unit $200), risk to safety (9.1 penalty unit $200).
A land manager may delegate their functions to a Public Sector employee
Citizens to the rescue:
An article focuses on the values of the mid north coast forests and the need for citizen science to hold the Forestry Corporation to account and protect forests, referencing proposed training by Bob Brown Foundation in July.
Local communities are responding to the increased logging in various ways – through forming “friends” groups to protect the forests, and through proposing ecologically, socially and economically viable alternatives to native forest logging, including the Great Koala National Park, the Gumbaynggirr Good Koala Country plan, and a smaller, overlapping plan at the Kalang River Headwaters. The case for such plans is all the more compelling given that industrial native forest logging in NSW operates at a loss of millions of dollars a year.
Concerned citizens on the Mid North Coast and beyond are also using popular online mapping platforms and verifying activities on the ground to hold forestry companies, agencies and contractors to account. These “citizen scientists” are saving forests through their interventions by identifying illegal logging and preventing the clearing of remnant native vegetation. The technology is simple but powerful. Using satellite imagery, citizens overlay forestry logging plans and historical imagery and determine land use change over time, sometimes within days. Collaborating online and in the forest, city dwellers and local residents are coming together to stop the destruction. Anybody can help after a few brief lessons, wherever they live.
https://southsydneyherald.com.au/citizen-scientists-protect-biodiversity-in-nsw/
Fixing the south-east:
Coastwatchers have obtained more than half a million dollars of funding over the next three years for projects on the south coast to heal and regenerate the region through a variety of grants provided to Great Eastern Ranges.
Projects have been specially crafted to complement and build-on existing conservation efforts in the region. These include:
- Restoration of habitat on burnt and unburnt private properties such as the planting of trees and shrubs, traditional burning to manage weeds, and the installation of nest boxes to replace lost trees hollows.
- The creation of wildlife corridors to help local animals to recover and reestablish themselves in the region. This includes the South Coast’s dwindling koala population which is sliding towards local extinction.
- Engaging landholders to record the animals and plants that share their land to help inform conservation priorities and needs.
- Surveys of spotted-tailed quolls and Congo’s threatened greater glider population.
- Encouraging landholders to get involved in Land for Wildlife to help protect important habitat.
NSW helps Telstra offset carbon:
State Environment Minister James Griffin announced the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust has signed a partnership with Telstra to offset roughly two million tonnes worth of greenhouse gas emissions a year while creating a new income stream for landholders and support for natural habitats.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/aap/article-10891531/Telstra-dials-nature-offset-carbon.html
https://www.sconeadvocate.com.au/story/7770479/telstra-dials-into-nature-to-offset-carbon/
AUSTRALIA
Stopping terrorizing of forestry workers:
Concerns are growing over a bill before the Victorian parliament to impose whopping 12 months’ jail, or $21,000 in fines to deter “dangerous” protesters from stopping “workers going home to their families each day”, or indeed undertaking forest audits.
As president for Lawyers for Forests, I have handled dozens of cases involving protest activity in Victoria’s native forests for over a decade and I am not aware of a single instance of protesters preventing forestry workers from going home safely to their families.
This bill has nothing to do with forest worker safety and everything to do with preventing public scrutiny of VicForests’ activities while further criminalising legitimate community protest and citizen science surveying.
Rather than shutting down their rogue logging agency, the state government has chosen to introduce these extraordinary penalties, to stop concerned citizens from surveying for endangered species. If this bill is passed, we have to ask whether the Victorian government is really working for the community interest in protecting public forests and the right to public assembly, or the interests of the logging industry.
Is the super environment department too big?
After a decade of attrition, the Federal Government’s decision to establish a new super-department covering climate change, energy, the environment and water, responsible to 2 ministers, in itself will make it a challenge to follow through on their environmental and climate promises.
Even if Plibersek’s move from education in opposition to environment in government was a political demotion for her, as some have suggested, placing the environment portfolio in the hands of someone so senior and well-regarded is a boon for the environment.
Having the environment in the broadest sense represented in Cabinet by two experienced and capable ministers is doubly welcome. It signifies a return to the main stage for our ailing natural world after years of relative neglect under the Coalition government.
Both ministers have a packed policy agenda, courtesy of Labor’s last minute commitment to creating an environmental protection agency, as well as responding to the urgent calls for change in the sweeping [2020 review] of Australia’s national environmental law (https://epbcactreview.environment.gov.au/resources/final-report).
That’s not half of it. Bowen is also tasked with delivering the government’s high-profile 43% emissions cuts within eight years, which includes the Rewiring the Nation effort to modernise our grid. He will also lead Australia’s bid to host the world’s climate summit, COP29, in 2024, alongside Pacific countries.
Plibersek also has to tackle major water reforms in the Murray Darling basin and develop new Indigenous heritage laws to respond to the parliamentary inquiry into the destruction of ancient rock art site Juukan Gorge by Rio Tinto.
West Australian logging unresolved:
West Australia’s ending of logging of public native forests seems far from settled, with the loggers waiting to find out in the 10-year Forest Management Plan, expected to be released in October, how much logging under the guise of thinning will be allowed for firewood and other products.
Despite the end to large-scale harvesting, some timber will still be taken from forests.
Native timber that is a by-product of "forest management activities" — such as thinning for fire protection or clearing for energy and mining projects — will still be logged.
Ms Farina said planning for many businesses had stalled while they waited for the report.
"We can't get a clear indication from government as to what its commitment is with respect to ensuring there is sufficient [native] product going forward," she said.
There is expected demand for 100,000 tonnes of firewood per year, and another 150,000 tonnes is needed to power manufacturing plants that rely on it, Ms Farina says.
"It's difficult to see where that's going to come from if we're only thinning small-diameter trees and only doing small-scale thinning," she said.
Emissions offsets OK?:
The chair of the Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee (ERAC), David Byers, defended the design of the Emissions Reduction Fund and rejected claims by his predecessor Andrew Macintosh that most of the carbon offset units issued under the scheme were not backed by actual emissions reductions, but Macintosh refused to back down and awaits the promised review by the new Federal Government.
But on Thursday, Macintosh doubled down on his criticisms, saying both ERAC and the CER had “shown a fundamental lack of understanding” of the human-induced regeneration method and the two bodies were “clearly afraid of scrutiny on this issue.”
“The main integrity issue associated with the method is that the CER is allowing projects to be credited for growing trees that were already there when the projects commenced,” Macintosh said.
Macintosh was replaced by Byers, who previously served as the interim CEO and deputy CEO of the Minerals Council of Australia, and as CEO of the oil and gas lobby group APPEA.
SPECIES
Recreating hollows for Turquoise Parrots lost in fires:
In the Snowy Mountains many of hollows used by Turquoise Parrots were burnt in the Dunns Road fire, though the species was able to survive in small unburnt sections of bushland, now artificial hollows are being used to aid their recovery so they can repopulate the burnt areas.
"It's a hollow-nesting species, and often these hollows are less than 3 metres off the ground, which would have been the first things to burn in the bushfires," Mr Gunn said.
"Breeding for the species in some areas will now be incredibly difficult or non-existent, and this could take decades to recover without human intervention."
"The animals would have sought shelter there during the fires, and then those populations will radiate out from those unburnt areas after the fires to repopulate the burnt areas.
Threatening wind farm:
A contentious wind farm is proposed for Robbins Island off Tasmania's north-western tip, within the known migration pathway for the orange-bellied parrot, with just 70 adult breeding birds left in the wild, leading to conflict between State and Federal environment agencies, with the State EPA supporting the proposal.
Documents prepared by Tasmania's orange-bellied parrot (OBP) program last August found the wind farm could create migration barriers, kill birds that collide with the infrastructure, reduce critical habitat, modify or destroy habitat to the extent that the species is likely to decline and interfere with recovery of the species
Finding Koalas remotely:
A $1.5 million trial funded by WIRES and Landcare, with in-kind support from the Queensland University of Technology, will give drones to 5 landcare groups to undertake surveys, with the data collected later sent to the QUT to be scanned by an AI algorithm to identify Koalas, and the results returned to the groups.
https://www.standard.net.au/story/7767171/drones-and-tech-keeping-track-of-koalas/
Talking south coast Koalas:
On June 4 the Far South Coast Landcare Association hosted a meeting of 70 people to hear the results of recent koala monitoring efforts, as well as learning about cultural burning and other environmental works to try and recover the grossly depleted remaining Koalas.
According to the Australian Koala Foundation (AKF), in Eden-Monaro 61.6 per cent of original koala habitat remains, yet the population in the entire region is estimated to be down to 175-250 koalas.
Ms O'Connell said a small, low density koala population spanned the upper reaches of Dignams Creek near Gulaga Mountain, in Biamanga National Park, and there were clusters of known koalas there and in Murrah Flora Reserve.
Killing Koalas directly:
Large numbers of koalas are being routinely euthanised in Victoria’s southwest by industry, government, and veterinarians as habitat loss, mostly plantation logging, impacts their health.
She’s exhausted from ferrying koalas to the vet, as well as rescuing and caring for the animals, which she finds displaced after logging.
Frustrated and feeling like she’s not receiving any support from authorities, she's shared a series of heartbreaking images of recent rescues. Almost all of the koalas pictured were euthanised.
“I feel that nobody wants to address the issue in the southwest because of the timber industry, and the jobs it brings,” she said.
"Logging coups keep coming down and koalas they've got nowhere to go."
Killing Koalas indirectly:
Koalas feeding on leaves coated in fluoride in plantations surrounding Alcoa’s Portland Aluminium are suffering from fluoride poisoning which causes tooth and jaw deformities and weakened bones.
"When you take in a large amount of fluoride over an extended period of time, what happens is the fluoride deposits in mineralised tissues in the body … things like bones and teeth, typically," Dr Hufschmid said.
"The fluoride builds up in those tissues and the body can't excrete them at the same rate they're building up."
She said fluorosis in animals caused teeth to deteriorate badly over time, while in bones the mineral slowly replaced calcium.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-09/koalas-fluorosis-aluminium-smelter-portland-study/101126398
Another Koala cash splash:
The Queensland government’s announcement that they have allocated almost $40 million to protect native animals across the state, with most to be spent on koalas, was welcomed by some, though the Australian Koala Foundation's Deborah Tabart said the new funding was a "band-aid solution" that did not address the real reason the koalas were endangered – cutting down their feed trees.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-05/qld-koala-rescue-funding/101127140
Another mass bird poisoning:
The Victorian wildlife watchdog is investigating the deaths of more than 100 long-billed corellas, likely from poison (either intentionally or indirectly through rodenticides) which were found near Barmah on the Murray River. This follows the death of more than 300 Corellas between Tocumwal and Cobram along the Murray River reported in Forest Media on 29 April.
“These birds are dropping dead out of trees, in mid air and falling into the Murray River and puddles due to excessive thirst which is again, a symptom of poisoning,” she said.
In 2019, sixty corellas fells from the sky in Adelaide after a suspected poisoning event.
Little corellas are also culled by some local governments in Western Australia, where they are considered a pest. The City of Rockingham, on Perth’s southern fringe, has rolled out specially designed wheelie bin traps which it says have aided in the capture and euthanasia of more than 1,000 of the birds.
THE DETERIORATING PROBLEM
A wetter future?
One of the world’s primary ocean currents is the “Atlantic meridional overturning circulation” that moves warmer tropical waters to Europe, warming them and cooling tropical areas, though the current is weakening which scientists assess could result in more retention of heat in this region with a more La Niña-like state which would mean more flooding rains over eastern Australia and worse droughts and bushfire seasons over southwest United States.
A collapse of the North Atlantic and Antarctic overturning circulations would profoundly alter the anatomy of the world’s oceans. It would make them fresher at depth, deplete them of oxygen, and starve the upper ocean of the upwelling of nutrients provided when deep waters resurface from the ocean abyss. The implications for marine ecosystems would be profound.
Crossing boundaries:
In 2009, the influential Stockholm Resilience Centre first published its planetary boundaries framework and now scientists have applied it to Australia for 5 boundaries, finding we have already overshot three of these - biodiversity, land-system change and nitrogen and phosphorus flows – while also approaching the boundaries for freshwater use and climate change.
In around 50% of our river catchments, we already have concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus past the safe level for the health of the environment.
Unfortunately, biodiversity is among the boundaries Australia has already overshot. The number of species threatened by our activities is growing, and many of our endangered animals are at risk of extinction.
Agriculture, forestry and other land use industries also have a critical role to play in reducing emissions and sequestering carbon. But the land use sector is under increasing pressure from growing populations, the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events.
https://www.climateworkscentre.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/LUF_PB-summary-report_FINAL.pdf
A viney future:
A study in Queensland’s tropical rainforests has confirmed the world-wide trend of increasing dominance of lianas as a result of climate change, leading to structural degradation.
Lianas are increasing in abundance in many tropical forests. This increase can alter forest structure and decrease both carbon storage and tree diversity via antagonistic relationships between lianas and their host trees. Climate change is postulated as an underlying driver of increasing liana abundances, via increases in dry-season length, forest-disturbance events, and atmospheric CO2 concentrations; all factors thought to favour lianas. … These results suggest that liana reproduction and abundance are likely to increase under predicted future climate regimes, with potentially important impacts on the survival, growth, and reproduction of resident trees and thus the overall health of Australian tropical rainforests.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2022.787950/full
Scary ghosts:
There is a scary video about America’s ghost forests, one of the consequences of rising sea-levels.
TURNING IT AROUND
State of Forests:
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has released 2022 State of the World’s Forests, identifying that we are still losing forests at a rate of about 10 million ha per year, halting deforestation could reduce CO2 emissions by 14 percent of what is needed up to 2030 to keep planetary warming below 1.5 °C while safeguarding more than half the Earth’s terrestrial biodiversity, and restoring degraded land through afforestation and reforestation could cost-effectively take 0.9–1.5 GtCO2 e per year out of the atmosphere between 2020 and 2050. The emphasis remains on sustainable use and there is still no focus on what could be achieved by protecting remnant forests and transitioning to plantations.
Forests are resources of global significance.
� They cover 31 percent of the Earth’s land surface (4.06 billion ha) but the area is shrinking, with 420 million ha of forest lost through deforestation between 1990 and 2020. The rate of deforestation is declining but was still 10 million ha per year in 2015–2020.
Forests are crucial for mitigating climate change.
� Trees and forests are major means for combating climate change. Forests contain 662 billion tonnes of carbon, which is more than half the global carbon stock in soils and vegetation. Despite a continued reduction in area, forests absorbed more carbon than they emitted in 2011–2020 due to reforestation, improved forest management and other factors.
Three pathways involving forests and trees offer means by which societies, communities and individual landowners, users and managers can derive more tangible value from forests and trees while addressing environmental degradation, recovering from crises, preventing future pandemics, increasing resilience and transforming economies:
-
Halting deforestation and maintaining forests could avoid emitting 3.6 +/- 2 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2 e) per year between 2020 and 2050, including about 14 percent of what is needed up to 2030 to keep planetary warming below 1.5 °C, while safeguarding more than half the Earth’s terrestrial biodiversity.
2. Restoring degraded lands and expanding agroforestry – 1.5 billion ha of degraded land would benefit from restoration, and increasing tree cover could boost agricultural productivity on another 1 billion ha. Restoring degraded land through afforestation and reforestation could cost-effectively take 0.9–1.5 GtCO2 e per year out of the atmosphere between 2020 and 2050.
3. Sustainably using forests and building green value chains would help meet future demand for materials – with global consumption of all natural resources expected to more than double from 92 billion tonnes 2017 to 190 billion tonnes in 2060 – and underpin sustainable economies.
https://www.fao.org/3/cb9360en/cb9360en.pdf
44% of earth needs protection to conserve biodiversity:
A study published in Science estimated the minimum land area to secure important biodiversity areas, ecologically intact areas, and optimal locations for representation of species ranges and ecoregions would require 44% of earth’s terrestrial area being the focus of conservation attention ranging from protected areas to land-use policies.
In this study, we estimate the minimum land area to secure important biodiversity areas, ecologically intact areas, and optimal locations for representation of species ranges and ecoregions. We discover that at least 64 million square kilometers (44% of terrestrial area) would require conservation attention (ranging from protected areas to land-use policies) to meet this goal. More than 1.8 billion people live on these lands, so responses that promote autonomy, self-determination, equity, and sustainable management for safeguarding biodiversity are essential. Spatially explicit land-use scenarios suggest that 1.3 million square kilometers of this land is at risk of being converted for intensive human land uses by 2030, which requires immediate attention.
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abl9127
A pre-print version is at:
Buffering parks in India:
In India a recent Supreme Court order stated that every protected forest, national park and wildlife sanctuary across the country should have a mandatory eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of minimum one-km starting from their demarcated boundaries, within which commercial mining, setting up of sawmills and industries causing pollution, the establishment of major hydroelectric projects, production of any hazardous substances, undertaking activities related to tourism like flying over the national park area by aircraft and hot air balloons, discharge of effluents and solid waste in natural water bodies or terrestrial areas have been proposed to be made prohibited activities.
Forest Media 3 June 2022
New South Wales
News of the Area gave good coverage to the launch of NEFA’s Save Oldgrowth Trees campaign, running our full media release and a photo of the action at Coffs Harbour.
Good News: a win in the Land and Environment Court - Verdant Technology's appeal against Singleton Council's refusal to accept their burning biomass in their Redbank power plant has been lost, principally because the judge considered that the disposal of coal tailings was a fundamental element of the original proposal, whereas the revised proposal is to replace this with biomass. Now they have to do a new DA and EIS. Muswellbrook and Singleton have been identified as having some of the most polluted air in the country, while a GP blames coal-fired power stations the Mineral’s Council blames domestic woodheaters – it seems to me that the Redbank wood fired power station will exasperate breathing problems.
Wood Supply Agreements for State forests set to expire in 2023 have been extended until 2028, effectively entrenching them for a further 5 years, or at least requiring massive payouts to get them out earlier. To add to this free multi-million dollar gift, the NSW Government has announced another $60 million to fix roads on State forests for logger’s access, while claimed to also benefit beekeepers and tourists.
Australia
The Victorian government has introduced its Sustainable Forests Timber Amendment (Timber Harvesting Safety Zones) Bill 2022 into Parliament with the aim of deterring logging protest activities by imposing fines of up to $21,000 or 12 months’ jail.
About 220,000 hectares of previously logged West Australian forest could still be subject to tree removal beyond the 2024 logging ban “for environmental health” as trees compete for water in a drying climate, and loggers push for government subsidised commercial thinning.
In March, Ley signed off on decisions to remove the requirement for recovery plans for 176 plants, animals and habitats with the move quietly published by the environment department after the election was called in April.
Australian Forest Products Association say they look forward to working with the Albanese Government to implement their ambitious forest policy agenda to deliver more than $300 million in new investment to grow and innovate the sector.
In Victoria Bayside City Council is planting more than 2,200 trees a year on Council land while increasing and protecting other forms of vegetation to create a cooler, greener and more wildlife-friendly suburbs.
A recent case in the Massachusetts Supreme Court which found that an attempt by ExxonMobil to use anti-SLAPP legislation does not apply to lawsuits brought by the government, has prompted Greenpeace Australia to call for governments in Australia that haven’t done so, to get on with enacting anti-SLAPP laws.
Species
Scientists are concerned that platypus are declining due to cattle trampling stream banks, inadequate environmental flows, droughts, floods, erosion following wildfires, yabby traps (opera house), discarded fishing lines and plastic (ie six pack holders), and while they have been recommended as listing as vulnerable, there is not the data on population decline to support the listing.
A "Significant" population of koalas has been discovered in Kosciuszko National Park at higher elevations than previously known. The Cores, Corridors and Koalas project is led by Great Eastern Ranges (GER) with funding from WWF-Australia, with support from Aussie furniture company Koala and Aussie Hair, with the aim of planting 150,000 trees to restore and connect vital habitat for koalas and other forest-dependent wildlife across four fire-devastated landscapes in the NSW South Coast, Border Ranges, Greater Blue Mountains and Coffs Coast Hinterland.
A Victoria Government planned “low-intensity burn” in state’s south-west incinerated at least two koalas and left two so severely dehydrated and burnt they had to be euthanised, despite it being evident from high density of scats that Koalas were present and DELWP inspectors being on hand “to mitigate impacts on wildlife”, with the Koalas not found until days later by bushwalkers. DELWP described it as ‘disappointing’, while a local described it as 'Bloody disgusting'. A paper identifying a June 2020 assessment of the number of Koalas that were rescued from the 2019/20 fires identified that 209 koalas came into care due to the bushfires, and of these, 106 were either euthanised or died, 74 were released, and the remainder were still in care, but due for release soon – I question whether some of the multi-millions pumped into wildlife rescue after the fires would have been better spent on habitat protection.
CNET has a detailed article about Koalas and their plight, identifying that modern Koalas only date back 350,000 years but are the last survivors of an evolutionary branch dating back 20 million years, including postulations about what their ecological role is and what would happen if we lost them, one theory is that when they were more plentiful their consumption of eucalypt leaves may have reduced the threat of wildfires.
Tweed Council has a project began in October last year to restore 6ha of high-conservation value foraging habitat for the grey-headed flying-fox on six private properties at Tomewin, Urliup and Numinbah.
The Deteriorating Problem
Amid a climate change induced enduring drought in the American West, two fires merged to create the largest wildfire in the New Mexico’s history, so far burning 1,300 square kilometers and destroying at least 330 homes, with both fires traced back to planned burns set by U.S. forest managers.
Man-made cellulosic fibers (MMCFs), mostly made from eucalypts, are the new product being touted by the fashion industry as a sustainable product, set to grow from 6 to 10 million tonnes per annum over the next 15 years, though questions are being asked as to whether they are now wearing oldgrowth trees.
Since 1977 researchers have been mist-trapping rainforest understorey birds in the 22,000-hectare Soberanía National Park in the Republic of Panama, finding 40 out of 57 bird resident species (70%) declined in abundance over 44 years, with 35 species losing more than 50% of their initial abundances. Scientists consider that some declines could be related to the increasing isolation of the reserve, though consider the principal cause may be climate change.
Turning it Around
An article by Geoffrey Lean in the Guardian gives a potted history of the long and slow struggle to agree global solutions to emerging global environment problems since the UN’s first-ever international environmental conference in Sweden on 5 June 1972, whose 50th anniversary is on World Environment Day. The Bulletin has an article extolling the multitude of values of America’s olgrowth trees, along with the need to retain and restore them.
The Prince of Wales has been supporting SUPERB (Systemic solutions for upscaling of urgent ecosystem restoration for forest-related biodiversity and ecosystem services) involving more than 100 forest science and practice organizations in 20 countries and including 12 large-scale forest restoration demonstration sites across Europe.
A one hour doco tells the story of the planetary movement to bring Rights Of Nature legislation into law.
Dailan Pugh
NEW SOUTH WALES
Save Oldgrowth Trees:
News of the Area gave good coverage to the launch of NEFA’s Save Oldgrowth Trees campaign, running our full media release and a photo of the action at Coffs Harbour.
THE North East Forest Alliance (NEFA) launched its ‘Save Oldgrowth Trees’ campaign last Friday to pressure the NSW Government to implement its own scientific advice to protect and restore old growth trees throughout State Forests in response to the widespread losses of tree hollows in the 2019/20 wildfires.
To launch the campaign NEFA supporters gathered outside the electoral offices of Member for Coffs Harbour Gurmesh Singh at 10am to publicise their support for the immediate implementation of the Natural Resources Commission (NRC) recommendations.
Redbank Loses:
Good News: a win in the Land and Environment Court - Verdant Technology's appeal against Singleton Council's refusal to accept their burning biomass in their Redbank power plant has been lost, principally because the judge considered that the disposal of coal tailings was a fundamental element of the original proposal, whereas the revised proposal is to replace this with biomass. Now they have to do a new DA and EIS. The judge stating:
- In this case, for the reasons I have found, the disposal of coal tailings was a fundamental element of the proposal, which if altered to a material degree would have the potential to alter an essential or material component of the development the subject of the 1994 DC. The replacement of the fuel source of coal tailings with biomass would be such a change. However, that is not what the Modification Application proposes in this case. The fundamental question here is whether the change proposed is so material that the modified development as proposed in the Modification Application is no longer substantially the same development.
… Accordingly, notwithstanding the retention of the physical capacity to burn coal tailings as fuel, the Modification Application in the form proposed alters the development in such a fundamental manner that it loses the essential and material relationship to the disposal of coal tailings and the associated mine operations that it cannot be characterised as being substantially the same development as the 1994 DC.
For the reasons outlined above, I am not satisfied that the development to which the Modification Application relates is substantially the same development as the development for which the development was originally granted. Accordingly, I have no power to grant the approval sought pursuant to s 4.56 of the EP&A Act and the appeal must be dismissed.
https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/18121985286fdbe1d758652c
Redbank to add to chronic air pollution:
Muswellbrook and Singleton have been identified as having some of the most polluted air in the country, while a GP blames coal-fired power stations the Mineral’s Council blames domestic woodheaters – it seems to me that the Redbank wood fired power station will exasperate breathing problems.
THE Hunter Valley is breathing in "extreme" levels of air pollution which consistently breach international health standards and are driving the nation towards a climate change "health emergency", scientists and medicos say.
Muswellbrook and Singleton have been subjected to air quality that has consistently breached international guidelines for safe levels of pollution every year for the past seven years, since 2015.
The NSW Minerals Council disputes the relative value of the data, and the direct links being made to coal mining-related activity, saying that air quality is also affected by rain and smoke from woodsmoke heaters.
"The data also shows that for PM2.5 - the smallest particles of greatest health concern - another primary driver of exceedences is smoke from domestic woodheaters. The CSIRO Upper Hunter Fine Particle Characterisation study found that woodsmoke was the biggest contributor to PM2.5 in Muswellbrook, averaging 62 per cent of PM2.5 in the winter months."
Wood Supply Agreements extended:
Wood Supply Agreements for State forests set to expire in 2023 have been extended until 2028, effectively entrenching them for a further 5 years, or at least requiring massive payouts to get them out earlier.
Timber processors on the flood-affected NSW North Coast have been given certainty to invest in their businesses and equipment, following the NSW Government’s announcement of a five-year extension to existing wood supply agreements.
Deputy Premier Paul Toole said the additional five-year deal has aligned the expiry date for all timber supply contracts right across the region, and confirmed the government’s support for the hardwood timber sector.
“Most agreements on the North Coast were due to end in 2023, while others run through to 2028, but now these critical timber mills have all been put on the same timeline to help provide investment and business certainty,” Mr Toole said.
Yet more support for loggers:
The NSW Government has announced another $60 million to fix roads on State forests for logger’s access, while claimed to also benefit beekeepers and tourists.
“We have seen first-hand the impact the floods have had on the timber industry in the North Coast, which contributes significantly to the local economy and provides hundreds of jobs to locals,” Mr Saunders said.
“This funding will mean our timber producers will have access to more logs for processing, and, at the same time, will ensure community access for a range of activities like bee-keeping, four-wheel driving, camping and mountain biking.”
https://www.nswnationals.org.au/boost-for-north-coast-forest-roads/
AUSTRALIA
Victorian logging protestors targeted:
The Victorian government has introduced its Sustainable Forests Timber Amendment (Timber Harvesting Safety Zones) Bill 2022 into Parliament with the aim of deterring logging protest activities by imposing fines of up to $21,000 or 12 months’ jail.
“Protests are becoming increasingly dangerous – particularly for workers – which is why this legislation will support them to get on with their job and minimise disruption to the industry,” [Minister for Agriculture, Mary-Anne Thomas] said.
Meanwhile, the Victorian Greens have accused the government of trying to boot peaceful and non-violent protesters out of the way so it could log more, and have vowed to fight the Bill.
https://midlandexpress.com.au/latest-news/2022/05/31/government-moves-on-national-parks/
The Devil’s in the detail:
About 220,000 hectares of previously logged West Australian forest could still be subject to tree removal beyond the 2024 logging ban “for environmental health” as trees compete for water in a drying climate, and loggers push for government subsidised commercial thinning.
The recently released report on the scientific and practical aspects of managing forests and woodlands that will underpin the next 10-year forest management plan says “ecological thinning” should be focused on 220,000 hectares of previously logged forest.
“As far as the next forest management plan is concerned, unless ‘ecological thinning’ is embraced and pushed on a landscape scale, backed by commercial utilisation of the felled trees, we might as well turn the whole of our South West native forests into a national park,” [Forestry Australia WA branch committee member John Clarke] said.
WA Forest Alliance convener Jess Beckerling said the group was happy thinning had been ruled out for national parks but concerned logging could occur under the guise of ecological thinning.
The Devil doesn’t need a plan:
In March, Ley signed off on decisions to remove the requirement for recovery plans for 176 plants, animals and habitats with the move quietly published by the environment department after the election was called in April.
“On what sort of planet does the commonwealth think they don’t need a recovery plan for a Tasmanian devil, one of the ecologically most important species in existence or the critically endangered Christmas Island flying fox, a species entirely under commonwealth control and one of Australia’s most likely next extinctions,” [Wilderness Society, Tim Beshara] said.
Responding on Thursday to Ley’s decision, Plibersek said: “This is alarming. I have asked my new department for an urgent briefing.”
Among the 176 are the critically endangered nightcap oak, which was affected by the 2019-20 bushfires, the critically endangered Cumberland Plain woodland, regularly cleared for development in western Sydney, and several Christmas Island species, including the critically endangered Christmas Island flying fox.
Loggers welcome Albanese:
Australian Forest Products Association say they look forward to working with the Albanese Government to implement their ambitious forest policy agenda to deliver more than $300 million in new investment to grow and innovate the sector.
During the election campaign, Federal Labor matched the Coalition’s pledge to deliver:
- $100 million for a National Institute for Forest Products Innovation (NIFPI) to be headquartered in Launceston
- $86 million in grants to support the establishment costs of new timber plantations
- $112.9 million in innovation grants for timber processors to make the most of our existing resource and create new manufacturing jobs
“On top of this, Labor also committed $10 million for skills and training programs for our sector, and backed native forestry jobs with a commitment to no more forest lock-ups. We look forward to working with the Albanese Government to realise the full potential of Australia’s renewable forest industries.
https://www.alp.org.au/policies/better-future-for-our-regions
Reforesting Suburbia:
In Victoria Bayside City Council is planting more than 2,200 trees a year on Council land while increasing and protecting other forms of vegetation to create a cooler, greener and more wildlife-friendly suburbs.
There are many reasons to love trees. Trees and vegetation make an important contribution to the liveability of our suburbs, encouraging outdoor activity and interaction and playing a crucial role in creating a healthy environment.
Trees draw carbon from the atmosphere, remove air pollutants, improve the look of our streets and provide shade. They and other vegetations are crucial habitat for wildlife, help to purify water, decrease salinity in soils and limit the effects of erosion.
https://www.bayside.vic.gov.au/news/baysides-urban-forest
Need for more anti-SLAPP laws:
A recent case in the Massachusetts Supreme Court which found that an attempt by ExxonMobil to use anti-SLAPP legislation does not apply to lawsuits brought by the government, has prompted Greenpeace Australia to call for governments in Australia that haven’t done so, to get on with enacting anti-SLAPP laws.
Strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP) are a legal tactic utilised by larger corporations to silence critics and hinder freedom of expression. Anti-SLAPP legislation involves protections against corporate bodies from undertaking expensive and time-consuming litigation to force a smaller party to cease their activities, including the threat of such litigation.
Lawyers Weekly has written extensively on the issue of SLAPP, stating that to protect freedom of expression and to deter such malicious acts, some states of Australia, Canada and the US have enacted anti-SLAPP legislation. This enables the court to rule certain findings of larger corporations as frivolous, leading to the subsequent dismissal of the lawsuit unless there has been good faith.
[Brooke Dellavedova, general counsel for Greenpeace Australia Pacific] “There has been a growing trend of strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPP suits, which are bought by powerful entities against advocacy organisations or activists, to intimidate and censor them,” she said.
SPECIES
Platypus decline not a priority:
Scientists are concerned that platypus are declining due to cattle trampling stream banks, inadequate environmental flows, droughts, floods, erosion following wildfires, yabby traps (opera house), discarded fishing lines and plastic (ie six pack holders), and while they have been recommended as listing as vulnerable, there is not the data on population decline to support the listing.
"Droughts and floods that have a long sequence can really push populations beyond tipping points. Say you have a massive drought and then a bushfire, a local platypus population might go extinct.
"Because there is no capacity for platypuses to recolonise that area from other areas, then we'll see these populations that just disappear.
Fragmentation of the environment with dams, weirs and roads also threaten the freshwater species, which live in burrows that they build in the banks of creeks, rivers and ponds.
https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/7755088/platypus-bill-of-health-faces-troubled-waters/
Koalas getting high:
A "Significant" population of koalas has been discovered in Kosciuszko National Park at higher elevations than previously known.
Ms Marsh said the higher altitude made the habitat "a little bit different" to where koalas were usually found and meant they could be climate change resilient.
"Some of the lower areas might end up a little bit too hot for koalas because they are quite heat-sensitive.
"So having koalas living at higher elevations, hopefully those populations are going to be a bit of a stronghold for koalas."
Planting Koala corridors:
The Cores, Corridors and Koalas project is led by Great Eastern Ranges (GER) with funding from WWF-Australia, with support from Aussie furniture company Koala and Aussie Hair, with the aim of planting 150,000 trees to restore and connect vital habitat for koalas and other forest-dependent wildlife across four fire-devastated landscapes in the NSW South Coast, Border Ranges, Greater Blue Mountains and Coffs Coast Hinterland.
Control burning Koalas:
A Victoria Government planned “low-intensity burn” in state’s south-west incinerated at least two koalas and left two so severely dehydrated and burnt they had to be euthanised, despite it being evident from high density of scats that Koalas were present and DELWP inspectors being on hand “to mitigate impacts on wildlife”, with the Koalas not found until days later by bushwalkers.
DELWP described it as ‘disappointing’, while a local described it as 'Bloody disgusting'
Koala fire rescues:
A paper identifying a June 2020 assessment of the number of Koalas that were rescued from the 2019/20 fires identified that 209 koalas came into care due to the bushfires, and of these, 106 were either euthanised or died, 74 were released, and the remainder were still in care, but due for release soon – I question whether some of the multi-millions pumped into wildlife rescue after the fires would have been better spent on habitat protection.
Koalas the last of their kind:
CNET has a detailed article about Koalas and their plight, identifying that modern Koalas only date back 350,000 years but are the last survivors of an evolutionary branch dating back 20 million years, including postulations about what their ecological role is and what would happen if we lost them, one theory is that when they were more plentiful their consumption of eucalypt leaves may have reduced the threat of wildfires.
https://www.cnet.com/science/climate/features/a-world-without-koalas/
Planting Flying Fox forage:
Tweed Council has a project began in October last year to restore 6ha of high-conservation value foraging habitat for the grey-headed flying-fox on six private properties at Tomewin, Urliup and Numinbah.
https://www.echo.net.au/2022/05/flying-fox-habitat-project-is-soaring-in-the-tweed/
THE DETERIORATING PROBLEM
Drought fires ravage America’s west:
Amid a climate change induced enduring drought in the American West, two fires merged to create the largest wildfire in the New Mexico’s history, so far burning 1,300 square kilometers and destroying at least 330 homes, with both fires traced back to planned burns set by U.S. forest managers.
"The pain and suffering of New Mexicans caused by the actions of the U.S. Forest Service – an agency that is intended to be a steward of our lands – is unfathomable," New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement.
Making trees fashionable
Man-made cellulosic fibers (MMCFs), mostly made from eucalypts, are the new product being touted by the fashion industry as a sustainable product, set to grow from 6 to 10 million tonnes per annum over the next 15 years, though questions are being asked as to whether they are now wearing oldgrowth trees.
MMCFs include viscose, lyocell, modal, and acetate. Around 98% of these fibers are made from wood (usually eucalyptus), 1% is from bamboo, and less than 1% are from cellulose-rich waste (but Evrnu, Renewcell, Infinited Fiber, and others are working hard to raise that percentage). While the innovators forge this path, the MMCF market is set to grow from 6 to 10 million tonnes within 15 years, with recycled MMCFs (rMMCFs) likely to reach only a fraction of this volume.
So what types of MMCFs will hoover up this growth opportunity? Right now 40-45% will come from “conventional/unknown sources/processes”, which is shorthand for possibly toxic production methods and using ancient/endangered forest wood. And here exists a critical paradox: while next-gen MMCFs offer huge potential to replace damaging incumbent materials, stakeholders risk emboldening a market that is not ready to deliver on its low-impact promises, and may cause more harm before it realizes its potential for good.
Birds declining in parks:
Since 1977 researchers have been mist-trapping rainforest understorey birds in the 22,000-hectare Soberanía National Park in the Republic of Panama, finding 40 out of 57 bird resident species (70%) declined in abundance over 44 years, with 35 species losing more than 50% of their initial abundances. Scientists consider that some declines could be related to the increasing isolation of the reserve, though consider the principal cause may be climate change.
These findings add to a “small but growing body of evidence for significant long-term declines in biodiversity in undisturbed tropical forests—replicating previous findings from the Ecuadorian and Brazilian Amazon,” said Alexander Lees …
TURNING IT AROUND
World Environment Day:
An article by Geoffrey Lean in the Guardian gives a potted history of the long and slow struggle to agree global solutions to emerging global environment problems since the UN’s first-ever international environmental conference in Sweden on 5 June 1972, whose 50th anniversary is on World Environment Day.
Value of oldgrowth trees.
The Bulletin has an article extolling the multitude of values of America’s olgrowth trees, along with the need to retain and restore them.
Large deeply rooted trees also tap groundwater resources unavailable to shallow-rooted plants. During drier months, roots lift deep soil water up to shallow, drier portions of soil and release it, sharing water to the ecosystem, including neighboring plants of different species.
A study in old growth ponderosa pine found that during July and August this process accounted for approximately 35% of total daily water usage from the upper soil, adding weeks of water during drought. This allows the ecosystem to continue photosynthesis, storing more carbon and cooling the forest canopy as water evaporates from foliage.
Large trees are cornerstones of diversity and resilience for the entire forest community, and they provide many services important to society. We would do well to protect large trees where we can, and a sufficient supply of those that will soon reach large diameter.
Reforesting Europe:
The Prince of Wales has been supporting SUPERB (Systemic solutions for upscaling of urgent ecosystem restoration for forest-related biodiversity and ecosystem services) involving more than 100 forest science and practice organizations in 20 countries and including 12 large-scale forest restoration demonstration sites across Europe.
The Circular Bioeconomy Alliance was established by the Prince of Wales in 2020. It provides “knowledge-informed support as well as a learning and networking platform to connect the dots between investors, companies, governmental and non-governmental organizations and local communities to advance the circular bioeconomy while restoring biodiversity globally.”
https://www.romania-insider.com/prince-charles-forest-restauration-ro-may-2022/
Rights of Nature:
A one hour doco tells the story of the planetary movement to bring Rights Of Nature legislation into law.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuFNmH7lVTA
Forest Media 27 May 2022
After the depressing Morrison Government, the election of the Albanese Government, and good showing for the Greens and Teals, have generated a sense of optimism, and an expectation for real action on climate heating and threatened species (amongst many other issues). The challenge for us is to get political recognition of forests as part of the solution for addressing climate heating and saving species, and if we want to influence the March NSW elections and formative period of the Albanese Government we have to do this in the next 6 months.
New South Wales
NEFA has launched its Save Oldgrowth Trees campaign to convince the NSW Government to implement the Natural Resources Commission’s advice to protect and restore oldgrowth trees throughout State forests in response to the widespread losses of tree hollows in the 2019/20 wildfires that 174 of NSW’s animal species depend on for dens, nests and roosts. NEFA held small gatherings outside the offices of local members for Tweed, and Coffs Harbour to launch the campaign, which is aimed at getting members of parliament and the public to write to the Ministers for Environment and Forestry to implement the NRC’s advice. Join the campaign at https://www.nefa.org.au/hollow_housing_crisis
The Echo interviewed Sue Higginson after her first week in parliament, in which she identified protecting “our native forests once and for all” as one of her principal goals.
The state government has announced a $10 million subsidy as part of its Hardwood Timber Haulage Subsidy Program, to cover transport at $30 per tonne of timber, to help the flood-affected timber industry in 18 NSW LGAs declared disaster zones in northern NSW. Until 30 June the community are invited to review and provide feedback on updated forest management plans for the softwood plantations and coastal hardwood forests managed by Forestry Corporation of NSW. To view the forest management plans, ask questions, or make a submission, visit www.forestrycorporation.com.au.
The results of the Federal election have north shore State Liberals worried about the rise of independents. Matt Kean has spoken out on the need to take climate change and women seriously - we just need to get forests up there. Justin Field reminds us that despite Matt Kean, the NSW Government is not really progressive, with terrible records on new gas and coal mines, Murray-Darling water, land clearing and wars against Koalas, thanks to being under the control of the National Party
On the mid-north coast the Uniting Church has started a Faith Ecology Network aimed at stopping the logging of native forests, which they hope will spread throughout north-east NSW.
Australia
There has been so much commentary on the Federal election, including relating to climate heating and threatened species, that I have not attempted to do it justice.
While we now undoubtedly have an Albanese Government, the exact makeup has yet to be decided. At the time of writing the ABC identified ALP had 75 seats in the house of reps, needing 76 for a majority so they may well make it, though they have a pool of at least 3 Greens and 12 independents to seek support from for legislation.
In the Senate there are 76 members, and it’s likely that the Greens will be in a balance of power position with the ALP needing their support to get legislation through:
- the ALP have 23 with 3 more likely, the Greens have 9 with 3 more likely, and the green independent David Pocock is also likely – giving 32, and likely 39
- Jackie Lambie is in there with 1 and 1 more likely.
- the Coalition have 30 with 1 more likely and 2 possible, One Nation have 1 and one more likely, UAP have one possible – giving 31, and likely 33, and possibly 36
On the north coast
- It appeared for a while that Richmond may be won by the Greens, though at this stage ALP have a clear lead and will get in with National preferences, the Greens are running second but the Nationals may come second with a number of anti-vax and right wing candidates preferencing them ahead of the Greens.
- In Cowper it was touch and go for a while with Teal independent Caz Heise (with Green and ALP preferences) almost beating the Nationals.
On the South Coast the seat of Gilmore is line-ball between ALP and Coalition and is likely to require a recount.
There can be no doubt that the underlying issue of this election was climate change, and that this can be considered the primary issue responsible for the great showing by The Greens, Teal candidates and the election of a Labor federal government. An exit poll conducted by YouGov for Farmers for Climate Action found around two thirds of people interviewed across the seats of Gilmore, Page and Eden-Monaro said "effective climate change policies" were important to their vote.
Another good outcome was the poor showing of Pauline Hanson and Clive Palmer, Hanson may just scrape back in Queensland as the sole One Notion to get up this time, and Palmer will miss out despite his $100 million in advertising, but UAP may get one up in Victoria thanks to being second on the Coalition’s ticket.
Species
Researchers have identified the 63 Australian birds, mammals, fish, frogs and reptiles most likely to go extinct in the next 20 years, of these five reptiles, four birds, four frogs, two mammals and one fish are likely already extinct, though the other 21 fish, 12 birds, six mammals, four frogs and four reptiles still have a chance.
The NRC have released their ‘NSW Forest Monitoring and Improvement Program, Final Report, Project 2: Baselines, drivers and trends for species occupancy and distribution’, I have only had a quick look, though it’s great to see that they have collated the extensive survey data from the 1990’s as a baseline, developed a number of distribution models and used these to project the significant impacts of climate change – identifying that “Climate projections suggest that potential occupancy of 54 of 78 threatened fauna species … will decline by 2070” and “For 81 climate-sensitive flora species 59% of species … will have less medium to high-suitability habitat by 2070”. It is concerning that they have compared data from different decades that used different methods, and, like Forestry did in the 1990s, failed to account for the fact that most remaining oldgrowth is on steeper and poorer sites when comparing it with more productive logged forests.
Tweed Council is calling for people to record where Albert’s Lyrebirds are by undertaking call surveys on their properties during June, an active breeding time for the birds when they are known to call vigorously.
Lithgow was chosen as a site to rehome the critically endangered mountain pygmy-possum under the belief that pre-historically they roamed through the region’s forests and became trapped in their current alpine habitats by past climate upheavals, where they now have poor prospects of survival due to climate change.
Koala retrovirus appears to be causing immunosuppression in some Koala populations, with some subtypes of the virus increasing their susceptibility to chlamydia by more than 200 per cent. The Gloucester Environment Group (GEG) is holding the Gloucester Koala Habitat Workshop at Barrington Hall on September 3, about their program KoalaWays, which has resulted 1000 tree and understory plantings, in partnership with council, on private properties in the Gloucester area.
The release of another 50 Eastern Quolls into Aussie Arks 400 hectare protected Barrington Wildlife Sanctuary has received lots of attention, with statements such as “returned to the wilderness”.
In a move likely to fail, the Victorian Greens are seeking to outlaw the general sale of second generation rodent poisons in supermarkets and hardware stores in a proposed amendment to the Agriculture Legislation Amendment Bill, poised to be debated in Victoria's upper house.
Bird Flu is adapting fast to infect native species and spread itself around the world, having variable effects on native bird species while killing hundreds of thousands, causing particular concern for vulnerable bird species with smaller populations. It’s likely to be on its way to Australia.
The Deteriorating Problem
David Spratt and Ian Dunlop have released a report Climate Dominoes warning us that the “severity of human influence on our planetary ecosystems is leading us toward a range of irreversible tipping points; uncertainties about which we have limited knowledge”, identifying that we may have already passed some (Arctic, Greenland, West Antarctica and coral systems) and are getting perilously close to others, including for forests where, like the east Amazon, they are increasingly passing their temperature limits, resulting in “a near halving of the land sink strength by as early as 2040”.
Mongabay has another article focussing on where Japan and Korea are obtaining their biomass from to burn for electricity as the industry ramps up under the guise of non-polluting renewable energy, though the good news is that a lot of their biomass has come from Acacia plantations in Vietnam and palm kernel shells, though Drax and Enviva are moving into the market with wood pellets from Canada and America respectively. No mention of Australia.
Turning it Around
Carbon capture and storage has long been lauded as the solution to fossil fuel production, and is central to the business plans of the two biggest Australian-owned fossil fuel producers (Santos, and Woodside), the trouble is that it still isn’t working and at best only offsets a portion of the emissions released in production – more reason to get forests identified as an ancient technology for carbon capture and storage.
Dailan Pugh
NEW SOUTH WALES
NEFA launches Save Oldgrowth Trees campaign:
NEFA has launched its Save Oldgrowth Trees campaign to convince the NSW Government to implement the Natural Resources Commission’s advice to protect and restore oldgrowth trees throughout State forests in response to the widespread losses of tree hollows in the 2019/20 wildfires that 174 of NSW’s animal species depend on for dens, nests and roosts. NEFA held small gatherings outside the offices of local members for Tweed, and Coffs Harbour to launch the campaign, which is aimed at getting members of parliament and people to write to the Ministers for Environment and Forestry to implement the NRC’s advice. Join the campaign at https://www.nefa.org.au/hollow_housing_crisis
In the hope of making the New South Wales government take its own good advice, the North East Forest Alliance (NEFA) is today launching its Save Old-growth Trees campaign.
NEFA wants to convince the NSW Government to implement its own scientific advice to protect and restore old-growth trees throughout State forests in response to the widespread losses of tree hollows in the 2019/20 wildfires that 174 of NSW’s animal species depend on for dens, nests and roosts.
[Dailan Pugh] ‘The NRC recommended that where there are not eight hollow-bearing trees per hectare, retaining the next largest trees to make up the balance of the eight trees, and for each of these trees retaining two ‘recruitment’ trees that have the potential to become the hollow-bearing trees of the future.
‘Almost a year later the NSW Government has done nothing to implement the NRC recommendations and address the urgent housing crisis for hollow-dependent animals.
https://www.echo.net.au/2022/05/saving-old-growth-tree-on-nsws-own-good-advice/
Higginson identifies forests as a priority:
The Echo interviewed Sue Higginson after her first week in parliament, in which she identified protecting “our native forests once and for all” as one of her principal goals.
Higginson believes that the recent classification of the status of koalas to endangered will add leverage in the fight to save forests. ‘It has to. Having our national icon listed as endangered – only a step away from extinction – the science is on the table and the evidence is there. There is the legal acknowledgement that we are at the end of the road for koalas.
‘If we don’t pull out all the stops and do everything we can, we know what that means. We have to protect koalas where they live and their habitat right now. Part of that is our public native forests. And we’re still logging the crap out of them. We’ve got to stop.’
I’m a mature woman on fire and I’ve got nothing to lose. I’ve got a five year plan and that plan is about improving action on climate and it is to protect our native forests once and for all. It’s to try to stop the absurdity of the extinction crisis and to level up the playing field in this inequality crisis that we experience, and all the things that that means.
https://www.echo.net.au/2022/05/a-woman-on-fire-with-nothing-to-lose/
More taxpayer subsidies to loggers:
The state government has announced a $10 million subsidy as part of its Hardwood Timber Haulage Subsidy Program, to cover transport at $30 per tonne of timber, to help the flood-affected timber industry in 18 NSW LGAs declared disaster zones in northern NSW.
The NSW Agriculture Minister Dugald Saunders said many plantations remain inaccessible due to wet conditions, and much of the machinery used to harvest timber can not be operated in the wet.
"Access roads to forests in NSW may take many months to repair, resulting in low or no harvesting activity and a critical lack of supply of hardwood resources that timber processing facilities would normally rely on."
Mr Hurford said he hoped the subsidy would be enough to hold on until spring, a time of year when forests usually dried out.
"We're coming into winter now and the ground is wet," he said.
"We just need to try to get through the next few months to spring, when the weather warms up and the cycle generally dries out."
Last month, the NSW Inquiry heard continuous breaches of native forest regulations by Forestry Corporation show a systemic pattern of noncompliance despite the lack of profits from the industry.
Chance to comment on forest management plans:
Until 30 June the community are invited to review and provide feedback on updated forest management plans for the softwood plantations and coastal hardwood forests managed by Forestry Corporation of NSW. To view the forest management plans, ask questions, or make a submission, visit www.forestrycorporation.com.au.
https://www.timberbiz.com.au/feedback-requested-on-updated-forest-management-plans-by-forestry-corp/
https://monaropost.com.au/grassroots/community-invited-to-review-updated-forest-management-plans
North Shore Liberals worried:
The results of the Federal election have north shore State Liberals worried about the rise of independents. Matt Kean has spoken out on the need to take climate change and women seriously, we just need to get forests up there.
Climate change risks an environmental catastrophe. It won’t just be future generations who will judge our leaders on the action we take – a pretty clear judgment was handed down on Saturday night.
Some will say we can’t go further on these issues because of the “base”. Let’s be clear, the traditional Liberal party base watches more ABC than Sky After Dark.
Not a single one of the Morrison government’s lost seats went to a rightwing party or candidate. One Nation and Clive Palmer’s United Australia party performed poorly while Labor and the Greens snatched seats.
It also means adopting science-aligned emissions reduction targets of between 45% and 60% by 2030 and developing the policies to achieve it. The science says that the black summer bushfires were the beginning, not the end. The fact is that, until the federal Liberal party’s policy position responds commensurately to the climate challenge, every record-breaking natural disaster over coming years will make that policy seem out of touch with the challenge at hand.
Justin Field reminds us that despite Matt Kean, the NSW Government is not really progressive, with terrible records on new gas and coal mines, Murray-Darling water, land clearing and wars against Koalas, thanks to being under the control of the National Party
The NSW Nationals control of natural resources policy for the last 12 years has been a disaster for the climate and environment and the Liberals consistently turn a blind eye, desperate to avoid a split in the Coalition agreement which underpins their ability to hold Government.
In just the last term of this Liberal and National Government (since 2019) ten new major coal and gas projects have been approved. …
… the state-owned forestry corporation is still today logging prime koala habitat in the North of the state with sign-off from successive Liberal Environment Ministers. This stands in stark contrast to decisions recently taken in Western Australia and Victoria where those State Governments have moved to end native forest logging.
… Leaving the Nationals to dictate natural resource management is destroying our rivers and landscape and fuelling climate change.
Faith in forests:
On the mid-north coast the Uniting Church has started a Faith Ecology Network aimed at stopping the logging of native forests, which they hope will spread throughout north-east NSW.
The International Day for Biological Diversity takes place every year on May 22.
The day celebrates biological diversity, also called biodiversity – the variety of life forms that exist. At a time when the world faces an extinction crisis of massive proportions, it also highlights the critical importance of biodiversity for human flourishing, sustainability and the climate. For example, forests are arks of biodiversity and are critical to maintaining the Earth’s life support systems. They regulate the climate, store carbon, produce oxygen, play a key role in supplying clean water, and lessen flooding, landslides and other natural disasters.
Local communities are responding to the increased logging. “Friends” groups have sprung up to protect the forests – such as Friends of Kalang Headwaters, Friends of Pine Creek and Friends of Tuckers Nob. The communities have also proposed several ecologically, socially and economically viable alternatives to native forest logging, including the Great Koala National Park, the Gumbaynggirr Good Koala Country plan, and a smaller, overlapping plan at the Kalang River Headwaters. Their case is all the more compelling given that industrial native forest logging in NSW operates at a loss of millions of dollars a year.
The Uniting Church affirms that God’s Creation is good in and of itself, as well as in sustaining human life, and is committed to “identify and challenge all structures and attitudes which perpetuate and compound the destruction of creation”.
We attribute rights to Nature, including ecosystems, because all creatures, not just humans, are in a covenantal relationship with God: “We believe that God loves the divine creation and wills the development of its life. No creature is indifferent in the eyes of God. Each has its dignity and thereby also its right to existence… The Holy Scriptures attest to God’s covenant with the Creation.”
There is a calling and opportunity to develop a Christian voice and presence in the struggle for forest protection. In a wonderful new initiative that addresses these issues, a committee set up by the Mid North Coast Presbytery and now with members from multiple presbyteries is working to establish a forest advocate ministry role, starting on the Mid North Coast and expanding to the Queensland border in the north and the Hunter River in the south.
The vision for the ministry is, first, to build a vibrant Christian presence – prophetic, pastoral, and through relationship – in efforts for forest protection. This includes various ways for Christians to work within and alongside community groups who are advocating for the forests.
https://www.insights.uca.org.au/hear-creation-groaning-and-help-to-heal-gods-green-earth-2/
AUSTRALIA
Election hope:
There has been so much commentary on the Federal election, including relating to climate heating and threatened species, that I have not attempted to do it justice.
While we now undoubtedly have an Albanese Government, the exact makeup has yet to be decided. At the time of writing the ABC identified ALP had 75 seats in the house of reps, needing 76 for a majority so they may well make it, though they have a pool of at least 3 Greens and 12 independents to seek support from for legislation.
In the Senate there are 76 members, and it’s likely that the Greens will be in a balance of power position with the ALP needing their support to get legislation through:
- the ALP have 23 with 3 more likely, the Greens have 9 with 3 more likely, and the green independent David Pocock is also likely – giving 32, and likely 39
- Jackie Lambie is in there with 1 and 1 more likely.
- the Coalition have 30 with 1 more likely and 2 possible, One Nation have 1 and one more likely, UAP have one possible – giving 31, and likely 33, and possibly 36
On the north coast
- It appeared for a while that Richmond may be won by the Greens, though at this stage ALP have a clear lead and will get in with National preferences, the Greens are running second but the Nationals may come second with a number of anti-vax and right wing candidates preferencing them ahead of the Greens.
- In Cowper it was touch and go for a while with Teal independent Caz Heise (with Green and ALP preferences) almost beating the Nationals.
On the South Coast the seat of Gilmore is line-ball between ALP and Coalition and is likely to require a recount.
There can be no doubt that the underlying issue of this election was climate change, and that this can be considered the primary issue responsible for the great showing by The Greens, Teal candidates and the election of a Labor federal government, as observed by Bob Carr in the Sydney morning Herald.
The urgency was confirmed by international climate diplomacy galvanised around COP26 in Glasgow last November. And it accorded with the local evidence on the ground. The fires and the floods were ominous proof that a climate shift was upon us. Human activity had warmed the land surface bringing fires earlier and making them bigger; and changing our hydrology. Solid polling commissioned by the Australian Conservation Foundation from YouGov last year and in March this year confirmed a strong co-relation between electorates that rated high the need for more action on climate and strong shifts on Saturday to Labor and climate friendly independents and Greens.
These 20 seats include Ryan, Chisholm, Boothby, Hasluck and Reid. By tomorrow the ACF will be able to match this with exit polling data but the voting figures on Saturday confirm the message: climate shifted votes beyond the Teal seats.
… Nationals now have to defend Cowper and Nichols as marginal seats because they were savaged by 9 per cent and 15 per cent swings respectively.
… But Saturday’s shift was overwhelmingly about what Martin Luther King called “a fierce urgency of now” and the urgency was about one issue. It was only possible because the country boasts a higher civic IQ than Scott Morrison or Barnaby Joyce had calculated.
Candidates campaigning on climate change played a crucial role in toppling the Morrison government, and now advocacy groups are pushing incoming prime minister Anthony Albanese to act decisively.
Several 'teal' candidates backed by billionaire Simon Holmes a Court's Climate 200 fund, along with the Greens, reaped sizeable election gains by concentrating on clean energy and tackling climate change.
https://www.northernbeachesreview.com.au/story/7748472/climate-pressure-follows-greens-teal-swing/
Australia has granted the Greens a mandate to push the new Labor government to greater climate action and a phase-out of fossil fuels, Adam Bandt says, with the minor party on track to gain enough seats in the Senate to hold the balance of power in its own right.
While the Greens appear to have affected a relatively modest 1.6 per cent swing of votes to them across the country, the “Greensland” voting plunge is expected to add up to three seats in Brisbane to the party’s lone Melbourne seat, which is held by Bandt, the party leader. He said the gains were the result of a three-year strategy to target Brisbane electorates.
An exit poll conducted by YouGov for Farmers for Climate Action found around two thirds of people interviewed across the seats of Gilmore, Page and Eden-Monaro said "effective climate change policies" were important to their vote.
Dr Davis said it was also clear rural Coalition MPs who backed strong climate policy were rewarded.
She pointed to nationals MP Kevin Hogan receiving a five per cent swing on preferences in the seat of Page, and Liberal candidate Andrew Constance insulating himself against a big anti-coalition swing in Gilmore.
https://www.innerwestreview.com.au/story/7752302/climate-a-priority-in-nsw-regional-seats/
Another good outcome was the poor showing of Pauline Hanson and Clive Palmer, Hanson may just scrape back in Queensland as the sole One Notion, and Palmer will miss out despite his $100 million in advertising, but UAP may get one up in Victoria thanks to being second on the Coalition’s ticket.
SPECIES
Looming extinctions:
Researchers have identified the 63 Australian birds, mammals, fish, frogs and reptiles most likely to go extinct in the next 20 years, of these five reptiles, four birds, four frogs, two mammals and one fish are likely already extinct, though the other 21 fish, 12 birds, six mammals, four frogs and four reptiles still have a chance.
The hardest to save will be five reptiles, four birds, four frogs, two mammals and one fish, for which there are no recent confirmed records of their continued existence.
Four are almost certainly extinct: the Christmas Island shrew, Kangaroo River Macquarie perch, northern gastric brooding frog and Victorian grassland earless dragon. For example, there have only ever been four records of the Christmas Island shrew since it was found in the 1930s, with the most recent in the 1980s.
We know the other 47 highly imperilled animals we looked at still survive, and we ought to be able to save them. These are made up of 21 fish, 12 birds, six mammals, four frogs and four reptiles.
Monitoring decline:
The NRC have released their ‘NSW Forest Monitoring and Improvement Program, Final Report, Project 2: Baselines, drivers and trends for species occupancy and distribution’, I have only had a quick look, though its great to see that they have collated the extensive survey data from the 1990’s as a baseline, developed a number of distribution models and used these to project the significant impacts of climate change – identifying that “Climate projections suggest that potential occupancy of 54 of 78 threatened fauna species … will decline by 2070” and “For 81 climate-sensitive flora species 59% of species … will have less medium to high-suitability habitat by 2070”. It is concerning that they have compared data from different decades that used different methods, and, like Forestry did in the 1990s, failed to account for the fact that most remaining oldgrowth is on steeper and poorer sites when comparing it with more productive logged forests.
… Climate projections suggest that potential occupancy of 54 of 78 threatened fauna species and of seven species, in particular (i.e. Rufous Bettong Aepyprymnus rufescens, Rufous Scrub-bird Atrichornis rufescens, Stuttering Frog Mixophyes balbus, Barking Owl Nixox connivens, Powerful Owl Ninox strenua, Greater Glider Petauroides volans and Sooty Owl Tyto tenebricosa) will decline by 2070.
For 81 climate-sensitive flora species, the global climate model, MIROC3.2 (version RCM1), in the NARCliM suite predicted that will have less medium to high-suitability habitat by 2070 due to climate change, whereas 37% will have more …
Modelling showed that the extent of ‘Candidate Old Growth’ (COG) Forest was significantly associated with the occurrence of priority flora and fauna species in the 1990s …
Species occupancy modelling showed that COG was associated with the distribution of seven priority fauna species. In the northern forests, four priority species were positively associated with COG: Glossy Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami), Leaden Flycatcher (Myiagra rubecula), Mountain Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus caninus) and Varied Sittella; and two species were negatively associated with COG in the north: Koala and Powerful Owl. One species was negatively associated with COG in southern forests: Yellow-bellied Glider (Petaurus australis). The counter-intuitive results for the hollow-dependent Yellow-bellied Glider and Powerful Owl may be partly due to the large home-ranges of these two species, such that required nesting and denning hollows may be available within unlogged riparian reserves retained within harvested landscapes.
Climate projections revealed the potential of climate change to drastically reduce the capacity of NSW forests to support valued fauna and flora. Modelling of 78 fauna species, including seven priority species, and of 81 climate-sensitive priority flora species indicated that most species will suffer a reduction in landscape capacity or habitat suitability by 2070 simply due to changing climate. It is strongly recommended that any future design, monitoring and analysis includes a significant climate projection component.
Listening to Albert:
Tweed Council is calling for people to record where Albert’s Lyrebirds are by undertaking call surveys on their properties during June, an active breeding time for the birds when they are known to call vigorously.
Call observations are being collected online via the iNaturalist website or app at inaturalist.org/projects/listening-for-lyrebirds-project-page.
More information on the project, how to listen for Lyrebirds and examples of their calls can be found at tweed.nsw.gov.au/alberts-lyrebird.
https://www.echo.net.au/2022/05/keep-your-eyes-and-ears-open-for-alberts-lyrebird/
Reintroduction into prehistorical habitats a chance for survival?:
Lithgow was chosen as a site to rehome the critically endangered mountain pygmy-possum under the belief that pre-historically they roamed through the region’s forests and became trapped in their current alpine habitats by past climate upheavals, where they now have poor prospects of survival due to climate change.
“We think the mountain pygmy-possums moved into the alpine area during a warm, wet period during the Pleistocene, but when the climate changed, they became stranded there. They only just managed to survive by using the rock piles and snow cover to insulate themselves against the cold of winter. The rock piles also protect them from the lethal heat of summer.”
He added that climate change was threatening their alpine homes, with winter snowfalls decreasing and exposing the rock piles in which they seek refuge while they hibernate. “We decided to use these clues from their past to reintroduce them to the cool, lowland rainforest environments where their direct ancestors thrived,” he said.
Among the species was the iconic Australian bogong moth, which made its first appearance, as its population has plummeted in the past three years after record-breaking droughts. Australian zoology professor at Sweden’s Lund University Eric Warrant has observed the moth for decades and said they used to coat the walls of alpine caves, but this year there are only a handful of caves where the moths have been found.
Koala retrovirus worsens chlamydia:
Koala retrovirus appears to be causing immunosuppression in some Koala populations, with some subtypes of the virus increasing their susceptibility to chlamydia by more than 200 per cent.
“What we think is happening is koala retrovirus is causing immunosuppression, and that raises their susceptibility to chlamydia,” she said.
“There are other parts of Australia where koala retrovirus isn’t so much of a problem. They may contract chlamydia, but they are more likely to be asymptomatic, so it doesn’t have the same effect on the population as it does in Queensland and NSW.”
At least half the koalas in southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales have chlamydia, with the disease recorded in up to 100 per cent of some koala populations.
The research has been published in the journal PLOS Pathogens.
Now the molecular virologist has discovered an AIDS-like virus is plaguing koalas, leaving them extremely vulnerable to chlamydia and other life-threatening health conditions.
The retrovirus destroys the koala’s immune system, leaving them at a 200 per cent higher risk of other diseases.
Replanting Koala habitat:
The Gloucester Environment Group (GEG) is holding the Gloucester Koala Habitat Workshop at Barrington Hall on September 3, about their program KoalaWays, which has resulted 1000 tree and understory plantings, in partnership with council, on private properties in the Gloucester area.
https://www.gloucesteradvocate.com.au/story/7741173/can-we-save-the-koala/
More Quolls released into captivity:
The release of another 50 Eastern Quolls into Aussie Arks 400 hectare protected Barrington Wildlife Sanctuary has received lots of attention, with statements such as “returned to the wilderness”.
Controlling sale of rodent poisons:
In a move likely to fail, the Victorian Greens are seeking to outlaw the general sale of second generation rodent poisons in supermarkets and hardware stores in a proposed amendment to the Agriculture Legislation Amendment Bill, poised to be debated in Victoria's upper house.
https://www.blayneychronicle.com.au/story/7750500/push-to-ban-store-bought-rodent-poison/
Bird Flu adapting and approaching:
Bird Flu is adapting fast to infect native species and spread itself around the world, having variable effects on native bird species while killing hundreds of thousands, causing particular concern for vulnerable bird species with smaller populations. It’s likely to be on its way to Australia.
Since October, the H5N1 strain has caused nearly 3,000 outbreaks in poultry in dozens of countries. More than 77 million birds have been culled to curb the spread of the virus, which almost always causes severe disease or death in chickens. Another 400,000 non-poultry birds, such as wild birds, have also died in 2,600 outbreaks — twice the number reported during the last major wave, in 2016–17.
… Regions in Asia and Europe will probably continue to see large outbreaks, and infections could creep into currently unaffected continents such as South America and Australia.
The highly pathogenic H5N1 strain emerged in commercial geese in Asia in around 1996, and spread in poultry throughout Europe and Africa in the early 2000s. By 2005, the strain was causing mass deaths in wild birds, first in East Asia and then in Europe. Since then, the strain has repeatedly infected wild birds in many parts of the world, says Andy Ramey, a research wildlife geneticist at the US Geological Survey Alaska Science Center in Anchorage. Through repeated spillovers, Ramey says, H5N1 seems to have become more adapted to wild birds. It’s “now become an emerging wildlife disease”, he says.
In 2014, a new highly pathogenic H5 lineage — called 2.3.4.4 — emerged and started infecting wild birds without always killing them. This created opportunities for the virus to spread to North America for the first time. The lineage has since dominated outbreaks around the world, including the current ones.
THE DETERIORATING PROBLEM
Passing and approaching tipping points:
David Spratt and Ian Dunlop have released a report Climate Dominoes warning us that the “severity of human influence on our planetary ecosystems is leading us toward a range of irreversible tipping points; uncertainties about which we have limited knowledge”, identifying that we may have already passed some (Arctic, Greenland, West Antarctica and coral systems) and are getting perilously close to others, including for forests where, like the east Amazon, they are increasingly passing their temperature limits, resulting in “a near halving of the land sink strength by as early as 2040”.
As the planet continues to warm, a point of warming is reached — the “thermal maximum for photosynthesis” — after which a combination of the rate of photosynthesis decreasing, and the rate of respiration increasing, results in the net flux of CO2 from the atmosphere decreasing.
Together with more severe droughts and wildfires that also add to plant-based CO2 emissions, the total amount of carbon stored in the terrestrial biosphere (the land sink) then starts to fall. This may be understood as a tipping point, a threshold beyond which large change is initiated in the terrestrial biosphere.
In ground-breaking research published in January 2021, Katharyn Duffy and colleagues mapped the relationship between increasing temperatures and carbon uptake by analyzing more than 20 years of data from 250 sites that measure the transfer of CO2 between plants, land and the atmosphere. They found that in recent hot periods the thermal maximum for photosynthesis had been exceeded. The land sink is now approaching a tipping point, and the sink could halve in as soon as two decades:
“We show that the mean temperature of the warmest quarter (3-month period) passed the thermal maximum for photosynthesis during the past decade. At higher temperatures, respiration rates continue to rise in contrast to sharply declining rates of photosynthesis. Under business-as-usual emissions, this divergence elicits a near halving of the land sink strength by as early as 2040.” 53
When those hot periods become the norm — as they will within a decade or two, because further warming of half a degree or more is already in the system — a tipping point will have been reached (with just the current level of greenhouse gases enough to trigger that event).
Christopher Schwalm, an ecologist and earth system modeller at the Woodwell Climate Research Center, says the findings mark a tipping point at which “the land system will act to accelerate climate change rather than slow it down”. He said that “for my money, the results are conservative, because forest die-offs are not factored into this”, but he was “surprised that this tipping point would happen so soon, maybe in 15 to 25 years, and not at the end of the century.”
https://www.breakthroughonline.org.au/_files/ugd/148cb0_2a1626569b45453ebadad9f151e031b6.pdf
Asia’s booming biomass electricity production:
Mongabay has another article focussing on where Japan and Korea are obtaining their biomass from to burn for electricity as the industry ramps up under the guise of non-polluting renewable energy, though the good news is that a lot of their biomass has come from Acacia plantations in Vietnam and palm kernel shells, though Drax and Enviva are moving into the market with wood pellets from Canada and America respectively. No mention of Australia.
In 2018, the government excluded new co-fired projects (combining coal with biomass) from subsidies. Currently, biomass represents a little over 4% of Japan’s total electricity generation, a figure the country aims to increase to 5% by 2030, according to its latest energy plan. That’s roughly 14% of Japan’s so-called renewable energy target for that year — hardly comparable to the EU, where biomass already constitutes 60% of so-called renewables.
In 2020, [Korea] generated 19% of its renewable electricity from solid biomass, 70% of which came from wood pellets, according to environmental nonprofit SFOC. Most of the remaining solid biomass was palm kernel shells. In 2020, only 6% of South Korea’s total energy was generated by renewables.
TURNING IT AROUND
Industrial carbon capture and storage fails:
Carbon capture and storage has long been lauded as the solution to fossil fuel production, and is central to the business plans of the two biggest Australian-owned fossil fuel producers (Santos, and Woodside), the trouble is that it still isn’t working and at best only offsets a portion of the emissions released in production.
Chevron’s $3 billion-plus attempt at injecting CO2 underground was an odd example for Davies to choose to promote carbon storage. Operation began three years late and numerous technical hitches followed. The US giant is buying five million tonnes of carbon offsets to make up for failing to achieve what it promised the WA government.
There are two other main options - reduce the burning of fossil fuels even faster than planned or plant a lot of trees to absorb CO2. However, with Shell’s plan to reach net-zero estimated to need planting over an area almost the size of Brazil, carbon offsets can only do so much.
Chevron has been trying to learn how to bury CO2 on Barrow Island off the WA coast since it started studying it in 1998.
The failure at Gorgon is remarkable as it was a relatively simple application of CCS. Only the CO2 in the gas flowing from the offshore reservoirs is captured, not the majority of emissions that come from burning gas to run the LNG plant that are much more complex and expensive to capture.
Forest Media 20 May 2022
New South Wales
Due to the loss of the Rappville pine sawmill in the 2019/20 fires, the Forestry Corporation are seeking industry proposals to process 120,000 tonnes of plantation timber a year from around Grafton from 2025 to “build future homes” or “fencing, paper and packaging”, focussing their PR on how quickly they are replanting the plantations devastated in the 2019-20 fires as a future resource.
For more detail about what Sue Higginson intends to fight for as The Greens new member of the NSW Upper House, the Echo summarises her maiden speech.
The ABC has an article about the 1979 campaign, led by Yuin tribal elder Guboo Thomas, to protect sacred Aboriginal sites on Gulaga and Biamanga Mountains from woodchipping, highlighting the local and political antagonism. An Aboriginal place was declared over parts of the mountains in 1980, though Biamanga and Gulaga National Parks weren’t proclaimed until 1994 and 2001 respectively, and the surrounding State forests protected from logging for Koalas in 2016.
Australia
The Sydney Morning Herald has an op-ed by Christiana Figueres, previously the executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (2010 to 2016), warning us that we are international laggards on climate heating, one of the worst countries, and can’t afford to re-elect climate fools. The Conversation has an article summing up the political parties environmental commitments, not unsurprising The Greens (with their policy to stop logging public native forests and keep global warming below 1.5oC) come out best, though Labor is still way ahead of the Coalition who seem hell bent on destroying the world as soon as they can.
Labor has announced it will establish an independent environment protection agency to enforce national conservation laws and collect data on the plight of the country’s wildlife, while also supporting a target to protect 30% of land and 30% of sea areas by 2030 if it wins the election. It was worrying when pro-logging Tasmanian Labor stalwart Dick Adams said Anthony Albanese in the past listened only to the Greens on forestry issues, though has now “matured” and won his support. Not unsurprisingly Anthony Albanese later wrote to ‘Workers and participants in the Tasmanian Forest and Forest Products Industry’ with a promise that Labor “will not shut down the native forest industry in Tasmania”, “that Federal Labor will support native forest harvesting” and that they will support the industry. And won accolades from the CFMEU for their promises.
Australian scientists are despondent ahead of the election next week due to cuts to research funding, low morale and job insecurity, and the lack of commitments from major parties to redress the growing science crisis.
In the rainforests of the wet tropics tree mortality has doubled since the mid 1980s, which the researchers attribute to the warming air having greater drying power, basically sucking the water out of the trees.
After seven years the Tasmanian Conservation Trust has won a Supreme Court battle against the state Liberal member for Lyons approval to clear more than 1800ha of native forest for cattle at Ansons Bay in the state’s North East.
In Western Australia, Chalice Mining has obtained permission to conduct exploration drilling inside Julimar State Forest, despite environmental campaigners urging the WA government to prevent access out of concern for biodiversity, including vulnerable species such as the chuditch or western quoll.
Species
Veterinarians for Climate Action (VfCA) are calling for people concerned by the ongoing loss of animals due to the rising temperature and severe weather events to vote for climate action.
The Koala has been listed as Endangered in NSW on the advice of the NSW Scientific Committee, citing its ongoing decline, that “deforestation and land clearance for grazing, agriculture, urbanisation, timber harvesting, mining and other activities have resulted in loss, fragmentation and degradation of koala habitats”, and the fact its range is declining due to climate heating - with increasing mortality from heatwaves, droughts and wildfires:
With a crash in Bogong Moths, increasing wildfires and rising temperatures the future for 3,000 critically endangered Mountain Pygmy-possums is pretty dire, so now it too is going into a captive breeding program. Animals raised in predator free enclosures quickly lose their adaptive behaviour for coping with predators, making them unable to survive in the real world, though some progress is being made in rewilding by gradual exposure over generations to predators.
On the south coast Waminda received $241,000 from the NSW Environmental Trust for a project to re-establish traditional agricultural practices in the region, with a focus on the magenta lilly pilly. Waminda is looking at a sustainable agriculture component where species can be used in its own Black Cede range of food products.
The Christmas Island Forest Skink was abundant in 1998, by 2008 it was only known from one site, they decided to catch them all for captive breeding and only found 3, two escaped and died, the last one died on May 2014, just four months after the Christmas Island forest skink was listed as endangered.
The Deteriorating Problem
Two studies found forests may not be able to be our saviours from climate heating as droughts, insect attacks (on stressed trees) and wildfires take an increasing toll as climate heating increases, emphasising the need to reign in atmospheric carbon as soon as possible.
A recently published paper by Oil Change International warns us that nearly 40% of the oil, gas, and coal now under development around the world will have to stay in the ground to give humanity a 50-50 chance of holding global warming to 1.5°C. It concludes that 90% of the “committed emissions” would come from 20 countries, with Australia ranked eighth for gas and sixth for coal. Ember compared emissions from coal use in countries across the G20 and the OECD, finding Australia was by far the worst for per capita coal power emissions, averaging more than 4 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions per person, around twice those of the United States and Japan. Federal Resources Minister Keith Pitt has refused to say he accepts climate science, and pledged to push for more oil and gas projects at a Perth mining conference where he was a rare speaker not to acknowledge the need to cut emissions.
Queensland forests are being cleared at almost twice the rate reflected in national greenhouse gas emissions, with a new analysis of Queensland’s land clearing identifying that in 2018/19 455,756 hectares of forests were cleared, rather than the 245,767 hectares claimed by the national carbon accounting system, meaning that Australia’s carbon emissions are far higher than admitted given that claimed reductions are primarily based on reduced landclearing.
The extreme heatwave that first began afflicting areas of central, south, and western Asia in March continues reaching over 50oC in places, resulting to increases in heat-related deaths, wheat crop failures, power outages, and fires. A study found that climate heating has made such extremes 100 times more likely, increasing their frequency from once every 312 years to once every 3 years, and they could become an annual event by the end of the century.
New Zealand obtains almost 20% of its electricity from renewable geothermal energy, now there are proposals to boost the power output by burning trees to make the water hotter, and then mixing the CO2 with water before injecting it underground.
The Evidence Project is a photography-led campaign focusing on the impact of the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and the causes of viral pandemics. to provoke governments, businesses, opinion leaders and consumers to initiate the changes required for a safe and sustainable future for all life on Earth.
Turning it Around
The 15th World Forestry Congress ended with delegates signing the Seoul Forest Declaration which recognises the importance of forests, the urgency of implementing nature based solutions, and investing in forest and landscape restoration, but has a focus on sustainable use of wood. National Geographic has an article on assessing the benefits of tree planting schemes, highlighting that many are just for timber production and many fail, and advocating for the greater benefits of protecting existing forests and encouraging natural regeneration (provided it is protected).
Finally some traction on biomass as the European Parliament’s Environment Committee made strong, but nonbinding, recommendations to put a brake on the EU’s total commitment to burning forest biomass to produce energy, with recommendations for removal of government subsidies and not counting primary wood biomass as counting towards renewable energy targets.
Dailan Pugh
NEW SOUTH WALES
Forestry touting unused pine plantations:
Due to the loss of the Rappville pine sawmill in the 2019/20 fires, the Forestry Corporation are seeking industry proposals to process 120,000 tonnes of plantation timber a year from around Grafton from 2025 to “build future homes” or “fencing, paper and packaging”, focussing their PR on how quickly they are replanting the plantations devastated in the 2019-20 fires as a future resource.
The Grafton timber industry is hoping a 10 year supply of timber and wood products will attract wood processors to restore an industry devastated.
“A third of the region’s fire-affected plantations are already replanted and are rapidly regrowing,” Mr Froud said.
Remaining trees are to be replanted within the next four years, with a continued push for regrowth.
Mr Froud stressed the importance of softwood plantations for house building, fencing, paper and packaging.
“We‘ve been harvesting at up to four times the normal rate to salvage timber from the dying trees,” he said.
They aim to have 120,000 tonnes of timber a year ready for harvest by 2025.
https://www.timberbiz.com.au/grafton-nursery-replanting-runs-ahead-of-schedule/
Sue Higginson’s maiden speech:
For more detail about what Sue Higginson intends to fight for as The Greens new member of the NSW Upper House, the Echo summarises her maiden speech.
https://www.echo.net.au/2022/05/sue-higginson-mlc-begins-as-she-means-to-go-on/
Protecting sacred sites:
The ABC has an article about the 1979 campaign, led by Yuin tribal elder Guboo Thomas, to protect sacred Aboriginal sites on Gulaga and Biamanga Mountains from woodchipping, highlighting the local and political antagonism. An Aboriginal place was declared over parts of the mountains in 1980, though Biamanga and Gulaga National Parks weren’t proclaimed until 1994 and 2001 respectively, and the surrounding State forests protected from logging for Koalas in 2016.
"It was obvious that wood chipping, with a system of roads, stream crossings, and log dumps, was impacting Aboriginal sites," archaeologist and anthropologist Brian Egloff said.
"The opposition to reining in the Forestry Commission in Bega was very, very strong," said Jack Miller, who represented conservation interests on the Ashton committee.
"There was a lot of anger, bordering on dangerous anger, toward Aboriginal people."
Guboo Ted Thomas, Percy Mumbulla and other elders were not just confronting hostility and fierce resistance from the local community and the forestry industry. They were up against the more conservative members of the state government.
"One cabinet minister said he wouldn't take notice of a black fella who just clapped a couple of clap sticks together," said Terry Fox, who worked closely with Guboo Ted Thomas on the campaign.
AUSTRALIA
Make your vote count:
The Sydney Morning Herald has an op-ed by Christiana Figueres, previously the executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (2010 to 2016), warning us that we are international laggards on climate heating, one of the worst countries, and can’t afford to re-elect climate fools.
There’s no gentle way to say this. Australia’s climate ambition has for years been well at the back of the pack globally. Since the unfortunate repeal of Australia’s last significant climate policy back in 2014, Australia’s decarbonisation efforts have languished, and its emissions reduction targets are broadly consistent with about 3 degrees of catastrophic global warming.
Australians are among the biggest per capita emitters in the world. Add to that Australia’s position as one of the world’s biggest exporters of high-polluting coal and gas, and you have a picture of a nature-blessed country that has not yet embraced its climate leadership potential. Australia is sleep-walking towards devastating bushfires, floods and coral bleaching events that will become more frequent and dangerous than those over the last two years.
To outside observers, Australia has been a paradox. It is a country seen as resistant to taking climate action, but one that is simultaneously incredibly vulnerable to escalating natural disasters. It is well poised to take advantage of the renewables’ revolution with its incredible solar and wind power potential, but sends billions of dollars to the dinosaurs of energy, fossil fuel companies. Government administrations have repeatedly stalled on climate action, while the Australian people overwhelmingly support environmental responsibility.
Voting for the environment:
The Conversation has an article summing up the political parties environmental commitments, not unsurprising The Greens (with their policy to stop logging public native forests and keep global warming below 1.5oC) come out best, though Labor is still way ahead of the Coalition who seem hell bent on destroying the world as soon as they can.
Given the Coalition has been in power for nine years, it has already shown its colours when it comes to caring for nature.
For example, it has approved the destruction of more than 200,000 hectares of threatened species habitat in the last decade, and cut funding to the environment department by over 40% since 2014.
One Nation, for example, state “we are the only political party to question climate science” and believe “Australia should withdraw from the United Nations Paris Agreement”. Katter’s Australian Party are “pro culling flying foxes” (of which some are endangered) and “aims to eliminate crocodiles from our waterways that pose a threat to human life”.
What will Labor do for the environment:
Labor has announced it will establish an independent environment protection agency to enforce national conservation laws and collect data on the plight of the country’s wildlife, while also supporting a target to protect 30% of land and 30% of sea areas by 2030 if it wins the election.
It was worrying when pro-logging Tasmanian Labor stalwart Dick Adams said Anthony Albanese in the past listened only to the Greens on forestry issues, though has now “matured” and won his support.
Not unsurprisingly Anthony Albanese later wrote to ‘Workers and participants in the Tasmanian Forest and Forest Products Industry’ with a promise that Labor “will not shut down the native forest industry in Tasmania”, “that Federal Labor will support native forest harvesting” and that they will support the industry.
I promise you that if I become Prime Minister, a Government I lead will not shut down the native forest industry in Tasmania.
Adding to my commitment to you that Federal Labor will support native forest harvesting, is that Labor will assist in growing the plantation estate and increasing Tasmania’s capacity in sawmilling, timber processing and pulping including more value adding and jobs in Tasmania.
https://www.timberbiz.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Albanese-letter.pdf
And won accolades from the CFMEU for their promises.
Labor scored 4.5 stars out of five with the Coalition only making it to 2.5 stars. The Australian Forest Products Association gave the Opposition four stars, and the Coalition five stars.
“Workers are looking for initiatives that will address the national timber shortage, grow more plantations for the future and invest in skills and training,” CFMEU National Secretary, Manufacturing, Michael O’Connor said.
“Labor’s policies do that, and unfortunately, the Coalition have not,” Mr O’Connor said.
… Workers expected more from Mr Morrison but have instead received a strong series of commitments from Mr Albanese,” Mr O’Connor said.
https://www.timberbiz.com.au/albanese-writes-a-promise-to-keep-tasmanian-native-forestry/
Australian scientists despondent:
Australian scientists are despondent ahead of the election next week due to cuts to research funding, low morale and job insecurity, and the lack of commitments from major parties to redress the growing science crisis.
“There’s a very dark mood in science in Australia at the moment,” says Darren Saunders, a biomedical scientist at the University of Sydney. “It’s pretty shocking actually. It’s pretty sad. A lot of people have had a really tough time of it.”
… Universities were dealt another blow in 2021, when the federal government implemented legislation that cut funding for science teaching and research. “The lack of funding has hit the road, and a lot of people have lost their jobs, a lot of people shut their labs,” says Saunders.
In the first year of the pandemic, about 9000 full-time-equivalent university jobs were lost, according to figures from the Australian Academy of Science. That’s equivalent to around one in 14 employees.
… surveys by Professional Scientists Australia in 2020 and 2021 found that around one in five respondents wanted to leave the scientific workforce permanently.
Rainforest bleaching:
In the rainforests of the wet tropics tree mortality has doubled since the mid 1980s, which the researchers attribute to the warming air having greater drying power, basically sucking the water out of the trees.
In new research, we and our co-authors found that mortality rates among these trees have doubled since the mid 1980s, most likely due to warmer air with greater drying power. Like coral reefs, these trees provide essential structure, energy and nutrients to their diverse and celebrated ecosystems.…
Until about the mid 1980s, the average annual mortality rate was around 1%. This means that any given year, each tree had about a one in 100 chance of dying.
This corresponds to an average tree lifespan of about 100 years.
However, beginning in the mid-1980s, the annual mortality rate began to increase. By the end of our dataset in 2019, the average annual mortality rate had doubled to 2%.
These results match a similar pattern in tree deaths in the Amazon rainforest at the same time, which suggests the increase in tropical tree mortality may be widespread.
A doubled annual mortality rate means that trees are only living half as long as they were, which means they are only storing carbon for half as long.
Air temperature has increased, relative humidity has remained approximately constant, and the air has become thirstier.
This means the drying power of the atmosphere (or “evaporative demand”) has increased. This is what we found best explained the increasing mortality rates in Australian tropical trees.
The study found that the rise in death rate occurred at the same time as a long-term trend of increases in the atmospheric vapour pressure deficit, which is the difference between the amount of water vapour that the atmosphere can hold and the amount of water it does hold at a given time. The higher the deficit, the more water trees lose through their leaves. “If the evaporative demand at the leaf level can’t be matched by water absorption in fine roots, it can lead to leaves wilting, whole branches dying and, if the stress is sustained, to tree death,” Bauman says.
Tasmanian landclearing stopped:
After seven years the Tasmanian Conservation Trust has won a Supreme Court battle against the state Liberal member for Lyons approval to clear more than 1800ha of native forest for cattle at Ansons Bay in the state’s North East.
Despite likening part of their legal argument to that put by bumbling fictional lawyer Dennis Denuto in The Castle, Justice Stephen Estcourt has ruled in favour of the Tasmanian Conservation Trust, which had applied to stop Lyons Liberal MP John Tucker from clearing 1,800 hectares of native forest at his Ansons Bay farm.
Justice Estcourt's decision agreed the FPA was "wrong to believe, as it evidently did, that it had no alternative but to certify the 2015 plan".
He described one aspect of Senior Counsel Lisa De Ferrari's argument as "not unlike that of Dennis Denuto" — but ultimately quashed the FPA's 2015 decision to certify Mr Tucker's landclearing plan.
Stop the logging and the miners move in:
In Western Australia, Chalice Mining has obtained permission to conduct exploration drilling inside Julimar State Forest, despite environmental campaigners urging the WA government to prevent access out of concern for biodiversity, including vulnerable species such as the chuditch or western quoll.
SPECIES
Saving animals by voting for climate action:
Veterinarians for Climate Action (VfCA) are calling for people concerned by the ongoing loss of animals due to the rising temperature and severe weather events to vote for climate action.
"So, we encourage anyone who loves or relies on animals to remember that climate change is an animal health and welfare problem, and [to] keep it in mind when they vote.
"[People should] know the climate policies of the candidates and look for the strongest, fastest emissions reductions. Let your candidates, and whoever wins, know that climate change is an important issue for you, because you love an animal."
Koala endangered again:
The Koala has been listed as Endangered in NSW on the advice of the NSW Scientific Committee, citing its ongoing decline, that “deforestation and land clearance for grazing, agriculture, urbanisation, timber harvesting, mining and other activities have resulted in loss, fragmentation and degradation of koala habitats”, and the fact its range is declining due to climate heating - with increasing mortality from heatwaves, droughts and wildfires:
The koala was found to be Endangered in accordance with section 4.14 of the Act and clauses 4.2(1)(b) and (2)(c) of the Biodiversity Conservation Regulation 2017. The main reason for the species’ eligibility is that the species has undergone a large reduction in population size due to a decline in its geographic distribution and habitat quality.
Human activities including deforestation and land clearance for grazing, agriculture, urbanisation, timber harvesting, mining and other activities have resulted in loss, fragmentation and degradation of koala habitats. Large areas of forest and woodland within the koala’s range were cleared between 2000 and 2017 (Ward et al. 2019) with clearing for grazing accounting for most of this loss of koala habitat (McAlpine et al. 2015; Evans 2016). …
Areas with a suitable climate for koalas are contracting (Adams-Hosking et al. 2011). Climate change predictions indicate drier, warmer conditions across the range of the koala, and a progressive eastward and southwards contraction in the suitable climate envelope and habitat for koalas is projected (Adams-Hosking et al. 2011). Modelled climatic suitability from 2010 to 2030 indicates a 38-52% reduction in available habitat for the koala and a 62% reduction in koala habitat by 2070 has been forecast (Adams-Hosking et al. 2011). The effects of climate change may result in an increase in koala mortality from heatwave events and droughts, decline in reproduction rates associated with changes in food quality and availability, changed movement patterns, exposure to diseases and other factors in addition to the influence of climate change on fire regimes. ‘Anthropogenic Climate Change’ is listed as a Key Threatening Process under the Act.
Ms Mumford said the Nature Conservation Council are calling on the NSW Government to immediately ban the destruction of koala habitat, on both public and private land; end native forest logging, and expand the National Parks estate to protect high quality koala habitat including the proposed Great Koala National Park.’
https://www.echo.net.au/2022/05/bittersweet-announcement-about-koalas/
https://www.edenmagnet.com.au/story/7747064/nsw-government-lists-koala-as-endangered/?cs=9676
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/nsw/2022/05/20/nsw-government-lists-koala-endangered/
Breeding Mountain Pygmy-possums:
With a crash in Bogong Moths, increasing wildfires and rising temperatures the future for 3,000 critically endangered Mountain Pygmy-possums is pretty dire, so now it too is going into a captive breeding program.
https://www.northernbeachesreview.com.au/story/7739485/hope-for-mountain-pygmy-possums-survival/
Teaching naive wildlife:
Animals raised in predator free enclosures quickly lose their adaptive behaviour for coping with predators, making them unable to survive in the real world, though some progress is being made in rewilding by gradual exposure over generations to predators.
But Moseby says that conservation havens are “really a short-term solution, a band-aid solution.”
Wild species shouldn’t be confined to such havens indefinitely, according to Moseby, and indeed, an unexpected quirk of evolution means that the conservation havens could be undermining the long-term survival of the very species they’re trying to save.
“The long-term aim of conservation is to have these free populations of animals and that is not what [conservation havens] really are,” says Christopher Jolly, an ecologist at Macquarie University in Sydney. “They’re massive, massive areas, but they pale in comparison to the size of the species distribution traditionally.”
But putting these animals back in the wild is no easy task. Because these small mammals didn’t evolve alongside foxes and cats, they often don’t recognize or respond effectively to the threat posed by these introduced predators, a phenomenon known as prey naivete.
“We suspect that this is happening around Australia in these reserves, where the animals that are willing to forage against their better judgment in a highly risky scenario are actually being [evolutionarily] selected for,” Jolly says. “So, when you have strong selection against wariness and against avoiding predators that don’t exist, these traits will rapidly disappear.”
This means that in the short term, conservationists are saving these animals, but they may also be unwittingly creating an evolutionarily skewed population that will never be able to return to the wild.
In 2017, researchers also released some cat-exposed and cat-naive bilbies into another large paddock with higher cat densities and monitored them over the next 40 days. Bilbies that had been exposed to cats fared better than their naive cousins. While fewer than 30% of naive bilbies survived, 67% of cat-exposed bilbies made it through alive. Long-term survival still needs to be determined.
Planting endangered species as food crops:
On the south coast Waminda received $241,000 from the NSW Environmental Trust for a project to re-establish traditional agricultural practices in the region, with a focus on the magenta lilly pilly. Waminda is looking at a sustainable agriculture component where species can be used in its own Black Cede range of food products.
A lesson in extinction:
The Christmas Island Forest Skink was abundant in 1998, by 2008 it was only known from one site, they decided to catch them all for captive breeding and only caught 3, two escaped and died, the last one died on May 2014, just four months after the Christmas Island forest skink was listed as endangered.
THE DETERIORATING PROBLEM
Time is running out for forests to save us:
Two studies found forests may not be able to be our saviours from climate heating as droughts, insect attacks (on stressed trees) and wildfires take an increasing toll as climate heating increases, emphasising the need to reign in atmospheric carbon as soon as possible.
The first study, published in the journal Science, challenges thinking that rising carbon dioxide levels will spur forests to grow faster by fueling photosynthesis. A survey of tree ring data in the U.S. and Europe found no link between photosynthesis and growth. However, scientists found, trees were highly sensitive to drought, suggesting that more frequent and severe dry spells expected with climate change will slow forest growth, limiting how much carbon trees take up.
The second study, published in Ecology Letters, finds that rising emissions will lead not only to more intense dry spells, but also to more insects killing drought-afflicted trees, as is happening with bark beetles across the American West. More pernicious than either of these threats, however, is the risk of wildfires, which are expected to grow fourfold by the end of this century if temperatures rise by 3.6 degrees C (6.5 degrees F), the middle climate scenario explored in the study.
The results suggest that limiting emissions would have a sizable impact on how well forests survive this century and, consequently, how much carbon they absorb.
Leave it in the ground:
A recently published paper by Oil Change International warns us that nearly 40% of the oil, gas, and coal now under development around the world will have to stay in the ground to give humanity a 50-50 chance of holding global warming to 1.5°C. It concludes that 90% of the “committed emissions” would come from 20 countries, with Australia ranked eighth for gas and sixth for coal.
“Going beyond recent warnings by the International Energy Agency, our results suggest that staying below 1.5°C may require governments and companies not only to cease licencing and development of new fields and mines, but also to prematurely decommission a significant portion of those already developed,” the paper states. Burning all of those reserves would emit about 936 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, the paper concludes—47% of it from coal, 35% from oil, and 18% from gas—pushing far beyond an available carbon budget of about 580 gigatonnes as of 2018.
Oil Change concludes that 90% of the “committed emissions” it tracked would come from 20 countries, with China, Russia, and the United States showing up among the top emitters for all three fossil fuels. Canada places sixth for oil and 10th for gas; Saudi Arabia is first for oil and fifth for gas; Iran is fifth for oil and third for gas; Qatar ranks 12th for oil and fourth for gas; Australia is eighth for gas and sixth for coal; and India places fourth for coal.
Leading the pack of fools:
Ember compared emissions from coal use in countries across the G20 and the OECD, finding Australia was by far the worst for per capita coal power emissions, averaging more than 4 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions per person, around twice those of the United States and Japan.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/australia-ranks-as-worlds-worst-for-pollution-from-coal-power-stations/
We need them like a hole in the head:
Federal Resources Minister Keith Pitt has refused to say he accepts climate science, and pledged to push for more oil and gas projects at a Perth mining conference where he was a rare speaker not to acknowledge the need to cut emissions.
[Keith Pitt] “This concept that if you don’t prostrate yourself before the climate religion altar is just outrageous.”
“We need to make sure we continue to remind the Australian people that we need this ongoing pipeline of new projects,” Pitt said.
“They’ll generate billions in tax and billions in revenue by creating high-wage jobs, including construction and manufacturing.”
Five APPEA members – including US giants Chevron and ExxonMobil – have paid no income tax for the seven years to 2020 from $138 billion in income, according to an Australia Institute study released this week based on ATO corporate tax transparency data.
Australia’s emissions higher than admitted:
Queensland forests are being cleared at almost twice the rate reflected in national greenhouse gas emissions, with a new analysis of Queensland’s land clearing identifying that in 2018/19 455,756 hectares of forests were cleared, rather than the 245,767 hectares claimed by the national carbon accounting system, meaning that Australia’s carbon emissions are far higher than admitted given that claimed reductions are primarily based on reduced landclearing.
Asia suffers under extreme heatwave:
The extreme heatwave that first began afflicting areas of central, south, and western Asia in March continues reaching over 50oC in places, resulting to increases in heat-related deaths, wheat crop failures, power outages, and fires. A study found that climate heating has made such extremes 100 times more likely, increasing their frequency from once every 312 years to once every 3 years, and they could become an annual event by the end of the century.
“We are seeing many cases of heat exhaustion, dysentery, body ache—and the number of viral fever cases has increased too since the last two weeks,” Dr. Madhav Thombre, a general practitioner based in Mumbai, told the Financial Times.
In India, the national wheat crop is at severe risk of “terminal heat stress,” as the seasonal timing of temperatures near 50°C threatens to overtax wheat plants and prevent them from forming grain. Although it’s too early to know exactly to what extent the weather will diminish this year’s harvest, some Indian farmers had already estimated in early May that 10 to 15% of their crop has died
With its national food security threatened by domestic wheat prices rising and food stores thinning, India made the dramatic move to ban further wheat exports on Saturday.
As higher temperatures increase energy demand for cooling, India will need to ramp up power generation and will likely turn to its primary source—coal.
The region should now expect a heatwave that exceeds the record temperatures seen in 2010 once every three years.
Without climate change, such extreme temperatures would occur only once every 312 years, the Met Office says.
"Spells of heat have always been a feature of the region's pre-monsoon climate during April and May," says Dr Nikos Christidis, who led the team responsible for today's study.
"However, our study shows that climate change is driving the heat intensity of these spells making record-breaking temperatures 100 times more likely."
If climate change follows the Met Office's central predictions, by the end of the century India and Pakistan can expect similarly high temperatures virtually every year, today's study suggests.
Burning trees to boost thermal energy:
New Zealand obtains almost 20% of its electricity from renewable geothermal energy, now there are proposals to boost the power output by burning trees to make the water hotter, and then mixing the CO2 with water before injecting it underground.
Photographic evidence:
The Evidence Project is a photography-led campaign focusing on the impact of the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and the causes of viral pandemics. to provoke governments, businesses, opinion leaders and consumers to initiate the changes required for a safe and sustainable future for all life on Earth.
TURNING IT AROUND
Seoul Forest Declaration
The 15th World Forestry Congress ended with delegates signing the Seoul Forest Declaration which recognises the importance of forests, the urgency of implementing nature based solutions, and investing in forest and landscape restoration, but has a focus on sustainable use for wood.
The Seoul Forest Declaration
We, the participants from 141 countries gathered in person and online at the 15th World Forestry Congress in Seoul, Republic of Korea, on 2–6 May 2022, assert that forests, forestry and forest stakeholders offer major nature-based solutions to climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, hunger and poverty, but we need to act now – there is no time to lose.
We convey the following urgent messages to encourage actions for a green, healthy and resilient future with forests, as a contribution to Sustainable Development Goals, UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, Post- 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and green recovery from COVID-19 pandemic.
- Forests transcend political, social and environmental boundaries and are vital for biodiversity and the carbon, water and energy cycles at a planetary scale. The responsibility over forests should be shared and integrated across institutions, sectors and stakeholders in order to achieve a sustainable future.
- Vast areas of degraded land require restoration. Investment in forest and landscape restoration globally must be at least tripled by 2030 to implement global commitments and meet internationally agreed goals and targets.
- There is no healthy economy on an unhealthy planet. Production and consumption need to be sustainable and policies should foster innovative green financing mechanisms to upscale investment in forest conservation, restoration and sustainable use.
- Wood is one of humanity’s most ancient raw materials but can take us into the future – it is renewable, recyclable and incredibly versatile. The full potential of legal, sustainably produced wood must be used to transform the building sector, provide renewable energy and innovative new materials, and move towards a circular bio-economy and climate neutrality.
- Forest degradation and destruction have serious negative impacts on human health and well-being. Healthy, productive forest must be maintained to reduce the risk of, and improve responsiveness to, future pandemics and provide other essential benefits for human physical and mental health.
- Innovative technologies and mechanisms are emerging for the provision of, and equitable access to, accurate information and knowledge on forests. These must be applied widely to enable evidence-based forest and landscape decision-making and effective forest communication.
Growing problems:
National Geographic has an article on assessing the benefits of tree planting schemes, highlighting that many are just for timber production and many fail, and advocating for the greater benefits of protecting existing forests and encouraging natural regeneration (provided it is protected).
There are many reasons to grow trees and support tree growing. But those reasons can contradict one another. For example, a 2021 study of 174 tree-planting groups in 74 countries showed that the majority planted just a few types of trees designed to help landowners produce food, timber, or firewood. Those tree species may help rural communities in the near term, but planting in this way is far less likely to increase biodiversity or maximize the potential to store carbon and reduce climate change.
Other studies have shown similar things. The Bonn Challenge, sponsored by the German government and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, wants to reforest 865 million acres around the world by 2030. But a huge chunk of the commitments toward that goal, according to one study, included plans for growing single-species tree plantations to provide products—even though plantations do little to restore wildlife and absorb only a fraction of the CO2 of a wild forest.
In fact, the cheapest and most successful way to protect or enhance CO2 storage and biodiversity may not involve planting trees at all. It’s often about protecting existing forests or allowing native forests a chance to come back on their own. “Natural regeneration works really well in many cases”—especially in the fast-growing tropics, Brancalion says. And yet it’s a far less common approach, in part because planting a tree sounds easier than restoring a real forest.
A lot can go wrong with tree planting. Mass tree-growing operations in Turkey, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines have resulted in millions of dead seedlings because the wrong species were planted, or trees were planted in poor soils, or there was too little water, or no one cared for the trees after they were planted. A campaign on China’s Loess Plateau actually reduced farmland by a quarter and reduced the amount of water available for people; that ultimately led to a decrease in nearby native forest cover.
Biomass losing traction:
Finally some traction on biomass as the European Parliament’s Environment Committee made strong, but nonbinding, recommendations to put a brake on the EU’s total commitment to burning forest biomass to produce energy, with recommendations for removal of government subsidies and not counting primary wood biomass as counting towards renewable energy targets.
- The European Parliament’s Environment Committee this week made strong, but nonbinding, recommendations to put a brake on the EU’s total commitment to burning forest biomass to produce energy. While environmentalists cautiously hailed the decision, the forestry industry condemned it.
- A key recommendation urges that primary woody biomass (that made from whole trees) to produce energy and heat no longer receive government subsidies under the EU’s revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED).
- Another recommendation called for primary woody biomass to no longer be counted toward EU member states’ renewable energy targets. Currently, biomass accounts for 60% of the EU’s renewable energy portfolio, far more than zero-carbon wind and solar.
- The Environment Committee recommendations mark the first time any part of the EU government has questioned the aggressive use of biomass by the EU to meet its Paris Agreement goals. A final decision by the EU on its biomass burning policies is expected in September as part of its revised Renewable Energy Directive.
Forest Media 13 May 2022
New South Wales
The Echo has run a story on the PNF Codes, citing NEFA and NCC, with Justin Field calling for State forests to be protected to offset increased logging on private lands.
Camp Ourimbah spokesperson, Ursula Da Silva, says she was surprised by the positive outlook to their position of stopping native forest logging, when she and Chairperson of the Gugiyn Balun Aboriginal Corporation, Brett Duroux, addressed the parliamentary inquiry into long-term sustainability and the future of timber and forest products.
The Dirt Witches have launched a I VOTE FOR THE TREES campaign to raise awareness about climate justice and the importance of the environment this election, with any monies raised going to NCC for forest campaigns.
Sue Higginson has succeeded outgoing Greens MLC David Shoebridge in NSW Parliament's upper house.
As part of its purchases for Koalas, the government has purchased 1052 hectares adjoining Macanally State Conservation Area near Monaro, 752 hectares adjoining Bundjalung National Park near Yamba, and 200 hectares adjoining Killabakh Nature Reserve in the ranges north of Taree. It is also proposing to fence in around 2,000 hectares of the South East Forest National Park, Nungatta, to exclude feral animals, with the aim of reintroducing the long-footed potoroo, eastern bettong, smoky mouse and eastern quoll.
Wildlife surveys are taking a different tact as community groups assist in taking water samples throughout the Manning River catchment, which will be analysed for Environmental DNA (or eDNA) to identify species living in or near streams.
Australia
Lindenmayer et. al. have an article in the Conversation arguing that because native forest logging is (at best) economically marginal, emits CO2 and reduces CO2 sequestration, makes forests prone to more severe bushfires, and damages biodiversity, that rather than Morrison subsidising it they would be better enhancing manufacturing and markets for high-value wood products from plantation timber. Meanwhile the peak national forestry body has backed the Coalition as having the best plan for it.
The Greens have announced their $24 billion environmental policy which aims to have zero extinctions by 2030, through investments in mass greening and restoration, stronger environmental laws, ending native logging and ensuring mines are assessed on their climate impacts before approval. In a mix of new and previously announced funding, Labor has promised $224.5m over the forward estimates for a national threatened species program that will include addressing the backlog of almost 200 overdue and outdated species recovery plans, develop a national conservation strategy, as well as $194.5m for the Great Barrier Reef.
Victoria’s auditor-general found the state has the most native vegetation cleared proportional to land mass of any Australian state and it is failing to offset the damage caused, with about 10,380 habitat hectares of native vegetation removed from Victorian private properties each year, often illegally. Protestors have been disrupting logging, claimed to be salvage of windblown trees, in Victoria’s Wombat State Forest, with conservationists claiming it is the return of commercial logging under the guise of salvage logging in a state forest that was earmarked to be declared a national park. Fear of logging the unroaded and unburnt Little Dargo River catchment by VicForests has united high country graziers and conservationists to fight for its protection. Meanwhile Midway Limited has signed an agreement to sell its existing 17,000 hectare plantation estate in south-west Victoria to German company Munich Re for A$154.1 million.
The exit from Western Australia’s public native forests has begun with the Greenbushes karri and marri mil, one of Western Australia's biggest sawmills, announcing it will close and lay off 50 workers as the deadline for the state government's native forest logging ban draws closer. The McGowan Labor Government is providing an additional $30 million boost to its $50 million Just Transition Plan to assist regional communities' transition to new industries when native forest logging ends in 2024.
Species
Scientists are still pushing that our growing extinction crisis should be a political issue, and getting media interest, but the Coalition are ignoring their pleas because of the National Party, and Labor because of the CFMEU.
The National Wildlife Parks Service has launched an investigation into conservation group Aussie Ark after it allegedly trapped six broad-toothed rats in the World Heritage Barrington Tops National Park for captive breeding without obtaining approval. The Victorian government is claiming success in its captive breeding of Eastern Barred Bandicoot in a fenced 100-hectare predator-free site.
While only being discovered in 2000, about 20% of the Critically Endangered Nightcap Oak were killed in the 2019/20 fires, now 20 seedlings are being planted at four secret sites in the Nightcap, north of Lismore.
The new $10M Port Stephens Koala Sanctuary is touting for business, with its immersive educational Sanctuary Story Walk (including a tree top canopy walk) Fat Possum café, deluxe 4-star guest glamping accommodation, and chance to see inpatients at the hospital. Australian Koala Foundation (AKF) is making a final plea to voters to realise that their political leaders and an incoming Government needs to support the Koala Protection Act, as the Government’s recently released Koala Recovery Plan does not go far enough! National Wild Dog Management co-ordinator Greg Mifsud is claiming that wild dogs are the biggest threat to Koalas and thinks the federal government's $74 million commitment to protecting koalas should be used to control them.
An article in the Conversation identifies that female Stick-nest Rats have a matrilineal society where females maintain control of the nests, and likely inherit them, while males wander around looking for sex. This is apparently a trait shared with many small mammals, such as Broad-toother rat (where the males settle down with females for winter), Ash Grey Mouse (where groups of females share a burrow and raise their young together), and Brush-tailed Phascogale.
Cats are spreading Toxoplasma throughout the wild and human populations, both by direct contamination and by cattle ingesting cat faeces and people eating rare meat, infecting 30-66% of Australians and causing ocular toxoplasmosis in one in 150 people, which can affect vision and cause blindness in 25% of cases.
LLS is undertaking a trial using infrared drones to help western NSW farmers ascertain grazing pressures caused by kangaroo numbers so they can better plan how to control them.
The Deteriorating Problem
Remember when the goal was to limit atmospheric concentrations of CO2 to 350 ppm to avoid the worst of climate heating, it doesn’t seem long ago, well this year we have passed 420 ppm and are still going strong. The World Meteorological Organisation has warned the world faces a 50:50 chance of exceeding 1.5°C of warming within the next five years, albeit temporarily, and has pleaded for rapid cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. Yet another United Nation’s report, this one on disaster risk, says the situation is spiralling out of control, warning us the number of disasters per year globally may increase from around 400 in 2015 to 560 per year by 2030 (a projected increase of 40%), with the number of extreme temperature events per year almost tripling between 2001 and 2030. We have a lot to look forward to.
We don’t need nuclear submarines, we already have enough carbon bombs to destroy the world. Research by the Guardian has identified 195 carbon bombs, gigantic oil and gas projects that would each result in at least a billion tonnes of CO2 emissions over their lifetimes, in total equivalent to about 18 years of current global CO2 emissions, with the US, Canada and Australia among the countries with the biggest expansion plans, the highest number of carbon bombs and some of the world’s biggest subsidies for fossil fuels per capita.
Its getting desperate, coral bleaching affected 91% of the Great Barrier Reef this year, the fourth mass bleaching event since 2016 and the sixth since 1998. Scientists warn that coral bleaching could soon become an annual event, compounded by ocean acidification eating away the coral, they have nowhere to escape to, emphasizing the need to reach net zero as soon as possible.
As extreme drought grips the western US, Las Vegas has been battling wildfires for weeks, with 696 square kilometres burnt so far, while still facing “exceptionally dangerous and likely historic stretch of critical to extreme fire weather conditions”. The New Mexico wildfire is the largest now in the United States and threatens a string of villages high in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
In the first of a 2 part story, Mongabay identifies that biomass burning is rapidly growing in Japan and South Korea, adding to the European problem of increasing emissions of CO2 while pretending there are no emissions, at the same time increasing the clearing of forests and ruining our chances of reaching net zero. Though the Dutch government has identified their intent to phase out the use of wood biomass for energy purposes, and limit it to high value uses. Atomic scientists have published “The biomass debate, Can burning trees instead of coal fight climate change”, arguing in detail in a number of articles that it can’t, and actually makes it worse.
A new project has mapped the height of the world’s forests, finding only 5 percent of the Earth’s land area in 2020 was covered with trees standing taller than 30 meters, with only 34 percent of this within protected areas.
Turning it Around
Modelling of how 900 million hectares of global tree restoration would impact the water cycle through evaporation and precipitation shows mixed results varying with regions. Reforestation increases evapotranspiration, reducing runoff to streams by redirecting it into the atmosphere where it increases land rainfall (including in adjacent regions and even continents), though with a portion falling over the oceans. Even more reason to protect existing forests as their water use will decrease as they age, providing more water to streams while still increasing regional rainfalls and still increasing carbon storage.
In India Justice S. Srimathy of the Madras High Court in Tamil Nadu ruled that “Mother Nature” is effectively a person under the law, a status which includes “all corresponding rights, duties, and liabilities,” though some argue for a better way as this leaves mother nature liable for any damage she causes.
Dailan Pugh
NEW SOUTH WALES
PNF still gets a run:
The Echo has run a story on the PNF Codes, citing NEFA, Justin Field and NCC, with Justin Field calling for State forests to be protected to offset increased logging on private lands.
NSW Farmers has welcomed the changes to the State government’s changes to private native forestry codes (PNFC) that were announced last week. However, Nature Conservation Council, North East Forest Alliance (NEFA) and Independent MP, Justin Field, have all expressed serious misgivings over the reduction of protections to the habitat of endangered species, especially koalas.
[Dailan Pugh] ‘In general they are allowing increased logging intensity, reduced retention of old hollow bearing trees essential for the survival of a plethora of hollow-dependent species, and reducing protections for most threatened species.
[Justin Field] ‘These new private logging rules further increase the importance of public native forests for the future of the koala. If the government is going to expand the capacity of logging on private rural landholders, they must get logging out of the public forests, especially those areas on the north and mid-north coast that include high quality koala habitat.
[Chris Gambian] ‘The government has let industry log and flog public native forests for decades, even after the Black Summer fires. Now the timber supply from public forests is drying up, the industry is turning to the almost nine million ha of private forests. The conservation movement has a very real concern that these new codes may accelerate the loss of some of the best forests we have left.’
https://www.echo.net.au/2022/05/new-private-native-forestry-code-of-practice-fails-koalas/
Positive outlook:
Camp Ourimbah spokesperson, Ursula Da Silva, says she was surprised by the positive outlook to their position of stopping native forest logging, when she and Chairperson of the Gugiyn Balun Aboriginal Corporation, Brett Duroux, addressed the parliamentary inquiry into long-term sustainability and the future of timber and forest products.
I Vote for the Trees
The Dirt Witches have launched a I VOTE FOR THE TREES campaign to raise awareness about climate justice and the importance of the environment this election, with any monies raised going to NCC for forest campaigns.
“This election both major parties have remained silent about climate even though our country has been devastated by fires and floods,” says Dirt Witch, Lara Merrett. “Through I VOTE FOR THE TREES, we are asking people to connect with the issue and to make a difference with their vote. Our campaign is not about telling people who to vote for but it’s asking them to find out who is doing what, where.”
When you visit the I VOTE FOR THE TREES website you can learn how to vote for the trees by checking a handy Climate Action Score card that shows which federal leaders are really doing something about climate change.
As part of the I VOTE FOR THE TREES campaign, The Dirt Witches has also released a Romance Was Born x Tom Polo t-shirt collaboration and associated animation featuring Australian actor/producer Claudia Karvan as the voice of the tree.
One hundred per cent of profits from all sales go directly towards supporting forest-protection groups across New South Wales through the Nature Conservation Council NSW.
Sue Higginson ascends to the Upper House:
Sue Higginson has succeeded outgoing Greens MLC David Shoebridge in NSW Parliament's upper house.
"I was responsible for the highest-profile environmental litigation in the country," Ms Higginson's website reads.
"I took on mining giants Adani, Whitehaven, BHP, Rio Tinto and many others in the Courts and won.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/aap/article-10807899/Greens-lawyer-new-MLC-NSW-parliament.html
https://www.blayneychronicle.com.au/story/7735290/greens-lawyer-new-mlc-in-nsw-parliament/
2,000 ha bought for Koalas:
As part of its purchases for Koalas, the government has purchased 1052 hectares adjoining Macanally State Conservation Area near Monaro, 752 hectares adjoining Bundjalung National Park near Yamba, and 200 hectares adjoining Killabakh Nature Reserve, in the ranges north of Taree.
https://www.northernbeachesreview.com.au/story/7729391/more-land-bought-to-help-save-nsw-koalas/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/aap/article-10795001/More-land-bought-help-save-NSW-koalas.html
https://www.manningrivertimes.com.au/story/7730774/new-state-koala-reserve-at-killabakh/
https://clarencevalleynews.com.au/new-koala-reserves-to-protect-a-noahs-ark-of-threatened-species/
https://aboutregional.com.au/wildlife-wins-for-threatened-species-in-states-south/
Another enclosure to keep out ferals:
The New South Wales government is proposing to fence in around 2,000 hectares of the South East Forest National Park, Nungatta, to exclude feral animals, with the aim of reintroducing the long-footed potoroo, eastern bettong, smoky mouse and eastern quoll.
While conservationists like professor Lindenmayer welcome the creation of these "mainland islands," he said more work needed to be done.
"It really makes no sense to do these kinds of things unless we tackle the other drivers of animal decline," Professor Lindenmayer said.
"Problems like extensive logging, too much fire and land clearing need to be tackled as well."
The public is encouraged to have their say on the plan of management regarding the South East feral-free zone before construction begins in the middle of the year.
https://psnews.com.au/2022/05/10/new-feral-free-safe-site-for-nsw-wildlife/?state=aps
Surveying for fauna with water samples:
Wildlife surveys are taking a different tact as community groups assist in taking water samples throughout the Manning River catchment, which will be analysed for Environmental DNA (or eDNA) to identify species living in or near streams.
AUSTRALIA
Government subsidies should go to plantations rather than logging native forests:
Lindenmayer et. al. have an article in the Conversation arguing that because native forest logging is (at best) economically marginal, emits CO2 and reduces CO2 sequestration, makes forests prone to more severe bushfires, and damages biodiversity, that rather than Morrison subsidising it they would be better enhancing manufacturing and markets for high-value wood products from plantation timber.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he would not support “any shutdown of native forestry” and claimed the funding would secure 73,000 existing forestry jobs. The spending on native forests, however, is problematic. In 2019-20, 87% of logs harvested in Australia came from plantations, and more investment is needed to bring this to 100%.
Here, we show how directing public funds to native forest logging is bad for the economy, the climate and biodiversity, and will increase bushfire risk.
Native forest logging has long been a marginal economic prospect. … Data from the state’s Parliamentary Budget Office in 2020 show Victoria would be more than $190 million better off without its native forest logging sector.
Victoria exports 75% of plantation-derived eucalypt pulp logs. A small percentage of this diverted for domestic use would readily replace native forest wood at Victoria’s biggest paper mill at Maryvale.
Native forest logging in Australia generates around 38 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) a year.
These benefits also bring economic value. Even under relatively low market prices for carbon, the value of not logging, in terms of reducing greenhouse gases, far exceeds the economic benefits of native forest logging.
There’s now unequivocal evidence that logging native trees makes forests prone to more severe bushfires. Analysis of the 2019-20 Black Summer fires showed logged forests always burn more severely than intact ones.
These logging-generated risks were particularly pronounced in southern and northern NSW.
Numerous studies have demonstrated the damage native forest logging causes to biodiversity.
The bottom line is that ongoing logging will drive yet further declines of Australia’s threatened species and add to the nation’s sad record on biodiversity loss.
We welcome the Morrison government’s spending on supporting new plantations. To create the most positive return on taxpayer investment, however, the bulk of other industry funding should be directed to enhancing manufacturing and markets for high-value wood products from plantation timber.
Loggers back Scomo:
In a paywalled article, the Australian reports the peak national forestry body has backed the Coalition as having the best plan for it, in a verdict they claim could swing votes in key marginal seats.
Greens plan for zero extinctions:
The Greens have announced their $24 billion environmental policy which aims to have zero extinctions by 2030, through investments in mass greening and restoration, stronger environmental laws, ending native logging and ensuring mines are assessed on their climate impacts before approval.
"Our forests, wildlife and oceans are dying and we are at a point in history where, if we don't act, we face total ecosystem collapse," Greens leader Adam Bandt said.
[Sarah Hanson-Young] "We need stronger environmental laws and we need a watchdog to enforce them, and we will be making this part of our push in a balance of power parliament … if we don't do it we're not going to just lose the koala, we're going to lose many more Australian species as well."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-10/greens-zero-extinction-plan-environment-policy/101051522
“We welcome especially the commitment to strengthen Australia’s national environment law and establish an independent watchdog to enforce it.
“ACF calls on all parties to match this level of ambition in nature protection policies.”
https://www.acf.org.au/greens-plan-to-tackle-nature-crisis
Labor plans for species and reef recovery:
In a mix of new and previously announced funding, Labor has promised $224.5m over the forward estimates for a national threatened species program that will include addressing the backlog of almost 200 overdue and outdated species recovery plans, develop a national conservation strategy, as well as $194.5m for the Great Barrier Reef.
The threatened species funding includes an extra $24.5m for koala conservation, $24.8m to address invasive yellow crazy ants in Cairns and Townsville and $75m for the equivalent of 1,000 full-time Landcare rangers to work on environmental restoration.
“Seeing the wonder of the Great Barrier Reef is a highlight for so many Australians,” Albanese said.
“But parents and grandparents are worried their children will not be able to see this incredible natural wonder for themselves.
“That’s why it’s so important we act on climate change and species protection – to protect the reef and the tens of thousands of jobs that rely on it.”
The opposition’s threatened species pledge centres on a new conservation strategy, to be delivered in co-operation with state and territory governments, including koala habitat protection and programs to wipe out feral species such as yellow crazy ants that are invading Cairns and Townsville.
The Coalition in January committed $1 billion over 10 years to the reef as well as $57 million in the March budget to a 10-year threatened species program, and $128 million for controversial reforms to make state governments responsible for assessing the environmental impacts of major project developments.
Clearing Victoria:
Victoria’s auditor-general found the state has the most native vegetation cleared proportional to land mass of any Australian state and it is failing to offset the damage caused, with about 10,380 habitat hectares of native vegetation removed from Victorian private properties each year, often illegally.
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/vic/2022/05/11/victoria-tops-list-for-land-clearing/
Wombat protestors:
Protestors have been disrupting logging, claimed to be salvage of windblown trees, in Victoria’s Wombat State Forest, with conservationists claiming it is the return of commercial logging under the guise of salvage logging in a state forest that was earmarked to be declared a national park.
“Protesters keep walking into the coupe and stopping us working,” Mr Greenwood said.
“It’s happening every day, sometimes for two or three hours, others times they stay for eight.”
High country graziers and conservationists unite:
Fear of logging the unroaded and unburnt Little Dargo River catchment by VicForests has united high country graziers and conservationists to fight for its protection.
"These people, they're passionate about saving our Earth, and I am passionate about saving the Little Dargo Valley," Ms Treasure said.
The groups put aside their longstanding differences on how best to manage the High County as they united to push for 10 untouched coupes in the Little Dargo River catchment to be removed from Victoria's Timber Release Plan (TRP).
[Cam Walker] "It's a really pristine catchment. It's un-roaded and it's unburnt," he said.
"It's really important we protect these little pockets of unburnt treasures that still do exist in the High Country."
Midway sell out:
Midway Limited has signed an agreement to sell its existing 17,000 hectare plantation estate in south-west Victoria to German company Munich Re for A$154.1 million. There is also a commitment to invest an additional A$200 million for land purchases for the development of new hardwood plantations in southwest Victoria over the next five years.
https://www.midwaylimited.com.au/news/
The exit begins:
The exit from Western Australia’s public native forests has begun with the Greenbushes karri and marri mil, one of Western Australia's biggest sawmills, announcing it will close and lay off 50 workers as the deadline for the state government's native forest logging ban draws closer.
Shire of Bridgetown-Greenbushes president Jenny Mountford said the region's economy should be insulated by the mill closure due to its diversification in other industries.
Logging transition boosted:
The McGowan Labor Government is providing an additional $30 million boost to its $50 million Just Transition Plan to assist regional communities' transition to new industries when native forest logging ends in 2024.
https://soperth.com.au/perthnews/30-million-boost-for-native-forestry-transition-announced-71002
SPECIES
The politically inconvenient extinction crisis:
Scientists are still pushing that our growing extinction crisis should be a political issue, and getting media interest, but the Coalition are ignoring their pleas because of the National Party, and Labor because of the CFMEU.
It’s a stark fact, but among developed nations Australia is towards the bottom when it comes to protecting its biodiversity. Since colonisation, 104 species have been officially acknowledged as being extinct and that number is sure to grow, with more than 1900 animals, plants and ecological communities designated as at risk of becoming extinct.
There is no shortage of experts raising the alarm bells on this issue. The evidence is there for all to see. Samuel’s report sets out the laws, oversight and advice that must be heeded to reform the system to give our native species a fighting chance to survive. Whoever wins government at the federal election must step up. It is literally a matter of life and death.
There is no shortage of evidence that Australia’s unique environment and its biodiversity are in crisis, and the nation’s elected representatives are running out of time to protect what is left. Yet the environment has been almost entirely absent in this federal election campaign, with the cost of living and gotcha “gaffes” dominating the headlines.
Wintle believes the Coalition government has been hamstrung because of the Nationals’ interest in making sure farmers retain control over land management, including native vegetation clearing, though he notes many farmers are doing great environmental recovery work.
The enmeshed relationship between the union movement and the forestry industry has also limited Labor when it comes to acting on biodiversity issues, particularly logging, Wintle says.
Illegal rat trapping:
The National Wildlife Parks Service has launched an investigation into conservation group Aussie Ark after it allegedly trapped six broad-toothed rats in the World Heritage Barrington Tops National Park for captive breeding without obtaining approval.
“The NPWS has directed an investigation into alleged offences under the Biodiversity and Conservation Act 2016 and the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 following reports of the capture and taking of a threatened species from a World Heritage listed National Park.
“Compliance officers have seized 135 traps that were discovered in the national park. The matter may also be referred to the Commonwealth to consider whether any breaches of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 have occurred.”
Recovering Eastern Barred Bandicoot:
The Victorian government is claiming success in its captive breeding of Eastern Barred Bandicoot in a fenced 100-hectare predator-free site.
https://psnews.com.au/2022/05/12/delwp-helps-bandicoots-make-comeback/?state=aps
Insurance for Nightcap Oak:
While only being discovered in 2000, about 20% of the Critically Endangered Nightcap Oak were killed in the 2019/20 fires, now 20 seedlings are being planted at four secret sites in the Nightcap, north of Lismore.
The critically endangered nightcap oak trees date back to the Gondwana supercontinent era and can grow up to 40 metres tall, but are only found in northern NSW.
The only known wild population is located in rainforest north-east of Lismore.
“The nightcap oak is the ancient rainforest equivalent of the Wollemi pine in terms of evolutionary significance, and it’s yet another great example of a critical species that we’re helping to bring back from the brink,” the NSW environment minister, James Griffin, said.
https://psnews.com.au/2022/05/10/secret-location-to-save-secret-tree-species/?state=aps
Port Stephens Koala Sanctuary seeking guests:
The new $10M Port Stephens Koala Sanctuary is touting for business, with its immersive educational Sanctuary Story Walk (including a tree top canopy walk) Fat Possum café, deluxe 4-star guest glamping accommodation, and chance to see inpatients at the hospital.
https://eglobaltravelmedia.com.au/wild-koalas-on-sale-at-ate22/
AKF call for political support for their Koala Protection Act:
Australian Koala Foundation (AKF) is making a final plea to voters to realise that their political leaders and an incoming Government needs to support the Koala Protection Act, as the Government’s recently released Koala Recovery Plan does not go far enough!
The Recovery Plan does little to tackle climate change or talk about how it will actually stop the bulldozers ripping through Koala homes. Our forests are under continual onslaught and nothing, but a specific piece of legislation, will halt the clearing. The Australian Government does not think large enough for this recovery, they continue to monitor sites that have Koalas, rather than thinking 50-100 years ahead.
Whilst the AKF acknowledges that the Greens have put a Bill in the Senate to protect the Koala – it is still linked to the not fit for purpose Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation ACT 1999 (EPBC ACT) and they too should consider supporting the Koala Protection Act.
Save Koalas by killing dingoes:
National Wild Dog Management co-ordinator Greg Mifsud is claiming that wild dogs are the biggest threat to Koalas and thinks the federal government's $74 million commitment to protecting koalas should be used to control them.
"This important wake-up call for the community underlines the key message that any conservation strategies ignoring wild dog predation as a significant contributor to koala deaths will fail to halt population declines."
A Queensland study in the eastern Moreton Bay Council from 2013 to 2017 over a rail line development saw 503 koalas captured and fitted with telemetry devices for monitoring in the wild.
Of the 144 koala deaths confirmed as predation, wild dogs accounted for 81.3 per cent and domestic dogs 4.2 per cent; another 38 deaths were suspected wild dogs.
Matrilineal societies:
An article in the Conversation identifies that female Stick-nest Rats have a matrilineal society where females maintain control of the nests, and likely inherit them, while males wander around looking for sex. This is apparently a trait shared with many small mammals, such as Broad-toother rat (where the males settle down with females for winter), Ash Grey Mouse (where groups of females share a burrow and raise their young together), and Brush-tailed Phascogale.
This species builds nests out of sticks and dry grass, bonded together with special sticky urine. The nests can reach huge sizes and are surprisingly complex – with multiple burrows, chambers and even levels that keep the inhabitants safe from predators and extreme heat and cold.
The construction is so advanced that nests can last for thousands of years, when protected from the elements by caves or rock overhangs.
These stick nests are communal and used over many generations. …
The evidence pointed to one thing: female greater stick-nest rats typically remain in, or near, the nest they were born in – while males leave and disperse across the landscape.
Cat blindness:
Cats are spreading Toxoplasma throughout the wild and human populations, both by direct contamination and by cattle ingesting cat faeces and people eating rare meat, infecting 30-66% of Australians and causing ocular toxoplasmosis in one in 150 people, which can affect vision and cause blindness in 25% of cases.
Across the world, it’s estimated 30–50% of people are infected with Toxoplasma – and infections may be increasing in Australia. A survey of studies conducted at blood banks and pregnancy clinics across the country in the 1970s put the infection rate at 30%. However, a recent Western Australian community-based study found 66% of people were infected.
The disease caused by this parasite can scar the back of the eye. Our new research looked for signs of disease in otherwise healthy people and found a significant number bore the mark of Toxoplasma.
The cat is the primary host for Toxoplasma.
Cats catch the parasite when they eat infected prey. Then, for a couple of weeks, they pass large numbers of parasites in their faeces in a form that can survive for long periods in the environment, even during extreme weather.
When the faeces are ingested by livestock while grazing, parasites lodge in the muscle and survive there after the animals are slaughtered for meat. Humans can become infected by eating this meat, or by eating fresh produce or drinking water soiled by cats. It is also possible for a woman infected for the first time during pregnancy to pass the infection to her unborn child.
An attack of active inflammation causes “floaters” and blurred vision. When the inflammation progresses to scarring, there may be permanent loss of vision.
In a study of patients with ocular toxoplasmosis seen at a large ophthalmology clinic, we measured reduced vision to below driving level in more than 50% of eyes, and 25% of eyes were irreversibly blind.
Keeping an eye on Kangaroos:
LLS is undertaking a trial using infrared drones to help western NSW farmers ascertain grazing pressures caused by kangaroo numbers so they can better plan how to control them.
The LLS says grazing pressure from unmanaged herbivores such as kangaroos can significantly reduce the carrying capacity and ultimately the profitability and sustainability of livestock grazing in the rangelands, as well as contributing to longterm landscape degradation and reducing drought resilience.
https://www.dailyliberal.com.au/story/7733642/roo-numbers-under-the-drones-eye/
THE DETERIORATING PROBLEM
Passed 420 and climbing:
Remember when the goal was to limit atmospheric concentrations of CO2 to 350 ppm to avoid the worst of climate heating, it doesn’t seem long ago, well this year we have passed 420 ppm and are still going strong.
The NOAA data release shows CO2 levels hitting 420.23 ppm in April, eight years after they breached 400 ppm (400.2 ppm) in May, 2013.
Atmospheric concentrations of the two other major greenhouse gases, methane and nitrous oxide, are also rising sharply. Methane is about 85 times more potent an atmospheric warming agent than CO2 over a 20-year span; nitrous oxide is 300 times more powerful.
Atmospheric methane levels now stand at 1980.9 parts per billion (ppb), up 340 ppb from the early 1980s, while nitrous oxide just reached 335.2 ppb, up from 316 ppb just 20 years ago.
1.5oC within 5 years:
The World Meteorological Organisation has warned the world faces a 50:50 chance of exceeding 1.5°C of warming within the next five years, albeit temporarily, and has pleaded for rapid cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.
“For as long as we continue to emit greenhouse gases, temperatures will continue to rise and alongside that, our oceans will continue to become warmer and more acidic, sea ice and glaciers will continue to melt, sea level will continue to rise and our weather will become more extreme,” WMO Secretary-General professor Petteri Taalas said.
“The 1.5°C figure is not some random statistic. It is rather an indicator of the point at which climate impacts will become increasingly harmful for people and indeed the entire planet,” Taalas added.
“Our latest climate predictions show that continued global temperature rise will continue, with an even chance that one of the years between 2022 and 2026 will exceed 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels,” Dr Leon Hermann of the UK’s Met Office said.
“A single year of exceedance above 1.5 °C does not mean we have breached the iconic threshold of the Paris Agreement, but it does reveal that we are edging ever closer to a situation where 1.5 °C could be exceeded for an extended period.”
A disastrous future:
Yet another United Nation’s report, this one on disaster risk, says the situation is spiralling out of control, warning us the number of disasters per year globally may increase from around 400 in 2015 to 560 per year by 2030 (a projected increase of 40%), with the number of extreme temperature events per year almost tripling between 2001 and 2030. We have a lot to look forward to.
The UN Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction (GAR) is the flagship report of the United Nations on worldwide efforts to reduce disaster risk.
Human action is creating greater and more dangerous risk, and pushing the planet towards existential and ecosystem limits. Risk reduction needs to be at the core of action to accelerate climate change action and achieve the SDGs. If current trends continue, the number of disasters per year globally may increase from around 400 in 2015 to 560 per year by 2030 – a projected increase of 40% during the lifetime of the Sendai Framework (Figure S.1). For droughts, there is a large year-on-year variation, but current trends indicate a likely increase of more than 30% between 2000 and 2030 (from an average of 16 drought events per year during 2001–2010 to 21 per year by 2030) (Figure S.2). The number of extreme temperature events per year is also increasing, and based on current trends will almost triple between 2001 and 2030 (Figure S.3). Disasters have negative impacts on biodiversity and environmental sustainability.
These trend lines do not take into account future climate change impacts, which are accelerating the pace and severity of hazard events, nor the fact that current choices mean the world is set to exceed the Paris Agreement’s global average maximum temperature increase target of 1.5°C by the early 2030s (IPCC, 2021)
https://www.undrr.org/gar2022-our-world-risk#container-downloads
The industry has enough carbon bombs to destroy the world, and we have many of them:
We don’t need nuclear submarines, we already have enough carbon bombs to destroy the world. Research by the Guardian has identified 195 carbon bombs, gigantic oil and gas projects that would each result in at least a billion tonnes of CO2 emissions over their lifetimes, in total equivalent to about 18 years of current global CO2 emissions, with the US, Canada and Australia among the countries with the biggest expansion plans, the highest number of carbon bombs and some of the world’s biggest subsidies for fossil fuels per capita.
- The fossil fuel industry’s short-term expansion plans involve the start of oil and gas projects that will produce greenhouse gases equivalent to a decade of CO2 emissions from China, the world’s biggest polluter.
- These plans include 195 carbon bombs, gigantic oil and gas projects that would each result in at least a billion tonnes of CO2 emissions over their lifetimes, in total equivalent to about 18 years of current global CO2 emissions. About 60% of these have already started pumping.
- The dozen biggest oil companies are on track to spend $103m a day for the rest of the decade exploiting new fields of oil and gas that cannot be burned if global heating is to be limited to well under 2C.
- The Middle East and Russia often attract the most attention in relation to future oil and gas production but the US, Canada and Australia are among the countries with the biggest expansion plans and the highest number of carbon bombs. The US, Canada and Australia also give some of the world’s biggest subsidies for fossil fuels per capita.
Great Barrier Reef fading fast:
Its getting desperate, coral bleaching affected 91% of the Great Barrier Reef this year, the fourth mass bleaching event since 2016 and the sixth since 1998. Scientists warn that coral bleaching could soon become an annual event, compounded by ocean acidification eating away the coral, they have nowhere to escape to, emphasizing the need to reach net zero as soon as possible.
The Reef snapshot: summer 2021-22, quietly published by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority on Tuesday night after weeks of delay, said above-average water temperatures in late summer had caused coral bleaching throughout the 2,300km reef system, but particularly in the central region between Cape Tribulation and the Whitsundays.
“The surveys confirm a mass bleaching event, with coral bleaching observed at multiple reefs in all regions,” a statement accompanying the report said. “This is the fourth mass bleaching event since 2016 and the sixth to occur on the Great Barrier Reef since 1998.”
It was the first mass bleaching event recorded during a cooler La Niña year.
Dr Hardisty from AIMS confirmed the details of the findings presented by Dr Cantin and added that “the long term prognosis for the reef is very poor".
“If a really intense El Niño develops in the future, it’s going to be pretty dire.”
Our window of opportunity to act is narrowing. We and other scientists have warned about this for decades. Australia has doubled down on coal and gas exports with subsidies of $20 billion in the past two years. When these fossil fuels are burned, they produce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that trap more heat in the atmosphere that also warms the ocean.
If our next federal government wants to save the reef, it must tackle the main reason it is in trouble by phasing out fossil fuel use and exports as quickly as possible. Otherwise it’s like putting bandaids on an arterial wound. But to help the reef get through the next decades of warming we’ve already locked in, we will still need that $1 billion to help reduce other stressors.
Four times in seven years means that bleaching events are accelerating. Predictions have suggested that bleaching will become an annual event in a little over two decades. It may not be that long.
For a week, the marine heatwave pushed the corals to their limits. When corals experience heat stress, some initially turn fluorescent while others go stark white. Then the water goes murky – that’s death in the water. It’s heartbreaking to see. Grief is common among marine scientists right now.
While some fish can move to cooler waters further south, corals face ocean acidification, yet another problem caused by carbon dioxide emissions. As CO₂ is absorbed by the ocean, the changed chemistry makes it harder for corals to build their skeleton (and for other marine organisms to form a shell). There’s no safe place for corals to go.
No developed country has more to lose from inaction on climate than Australia. But no country has more to gain by shifting to clean energy, through new economic opportunities, new jobs, and better protection for our natural treasures.
A sign of the times:
As extreme drought grips the western US, Las Vegas has been battling wildfires for weeks, with 696 square kilometres burnt so far, while still facing “exceptionally dangerous and likely historic stretch of critical to extreme fire weather conditions”.
More than 1,500 people and a fleet of airplanes and helicopters worked feverishly to contain the largest fire burning in the U.S. The blaze, now more than a month old, has blackened more than 269 square miles (696 square kilometres)—an area larger than the city of Chicago.
Part of the fire was started by U.S. Forest Service workers who lost control of a prescribed burn meant to reduce fire risk. State leaders have called on the federal government for accountability, including reparations.
Nationwide, close to 2,000 square miles (5,180 square kilometres) have burned so far this year, the most since 2018, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. And predictions for the rest of the spring do not bode well for the West, where long-term drought and warmer temperatures brought on by climate change have combined to worsen the threat of wildfire.
The New Mexico wildfire is the largest now in the United States and threatens a string of villages high in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
The blaze has burned an untold number of homes in the Mora valley, and violent winds on Sunday threatened adobe mud-brick ranch houses, churches, chapels and water mills dating as far back as the early 19th century.
Biomass burning growing:
In the first of a 2 part story, Mongabay identifies that biomass burning is rapidly growing in Japan and South Korea, adding to the European problem of increasing emissions of CO2 while pretending there are no emissions, at the same time increasing the clearing of forests and ruining our chances of reaching net zero.
- Over the past decade, Japan and South Korea have increasingly turned to burning wood pellets for energy, leaning on a U.N. loophole that dubs biomass burning as carbon neutral.
- While Japan recently instituted a new rule requiring life cycle greenhouse gas emissions accounting, this doesn’t apply to its existing 34 biomass energy plants; Japanese officials say biomass will play an expanding role in achieving Japan’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 46% by 2030.
- South Korea included biomass burning in its renewable energy portfolio standard, leading to 17 biomass energy plants currently operating, and at least four more on the way.
- Experts say these booms in Asia — the first major expansion of biomass burning outside Europe — could lead to a large undercounting of actual carbon emissions and worsening climate change, while putting pressure on already-beleaguered forests.
Western and Eastern biomass usage is creating a surging demand for wood pellets, putting even more pressure on native forests in the southeastern United States, western Canada, and Eastern Europe. Experts say this demand could lead to similar logging in Southeast Asia, especially Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia.
The Environmental Paper Network, a global coalition of forest advocates that tracks biomass usage, estimates that demand for pellets in Japan will rise to 9 million metric tons annually by 2027, up from 0.5 million metric tons in 2017. It estimates that South Korea will hit 8.2 million metric tons annually by 2027, up from 2.4 million metric tons in 2017. The Asian combination is close to future demand predicted for both the EU and the U.K.
In South Korea, government subsidies for further biomass development have been so heavy that they are reducing investment in renewables such as wind and solar, according to a report by Seoul-based NGO Solutions For Our Climate (SFOC).
But industrial-scale wood burning in the form of compressed wood, or wood pellets, is on the rise. The EU is currently the world’s largest wood-pellet market, consuming nearly 31 million metric tons in 2020, up 7% over 2018’s 29 million metric tons. The EU and the U.K. operate more than 100 biomass plants producing energy and heat, according to Environmental Paper Network research.
The multibillion-dollar wood-pellet industry argues that it uses mostly waste wood to make pellets — lumber waste, limbs and tree tops, plus trees killed by pest or disease. But forest advocates have used their close monitoring of the industry to show that big international biomass companies, such as Enviva, actually use whole trees logged and clear-cut from native forests and tree plantations for at least half of wood-pellet production, and that may be a significant underestimate.
Making matters worse, wood pellets produce more carbon emissions per unit of energy than even carbon-intensive coal, because wood isn’t as energy dense as coal.
https://www.eco-business.com/news/biomass-burning-booms-in-east-asia-despite-paris-agreement-goals/
Though the Dutch government has identified their intent to phase out the use of wood biomass for energy purposes, and limit it to high value uses.
Atomic scientists have published “The biomass debate, Can burning trees instead of coal fight climate change”, arguing in detail in a number of articles that it can’t, and actually makes it worse.
A molecule of carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere today has the same impact on radiative forcing—its contribution to global warming—whether it comes from fossil fuels millions of years old or biomass grown last year. When burned, the carbon in those trees immediately increases atmospheric carbon dioxide above what it would have been had they not been burned.
If the forest had not been cut, it would have continued to grow, removing additional carbon from the atmosphere. Compared to allowing the forest to grow, cutting it for bioenergy would increase carbon dioxide emissions and worsen global warming for at least half a century—time we do not have to reach net-zero emissions and avoid the worst harms from climate change.
Burning wood to generate electricity emits more carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour generated than fossil fuels—even coal, the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel….
… About 27 percent of the harvested biomass is lost in the wood pellet supply chain, of which the largest share—18 percent—arises from burning some of the biomass to generate heat to dry pellets …
https://thebulletin.org/magazine/2022-05/
https://thebulletin.org/premium/2022-05/does-wood-bioenergy-help-or-harm-the-climate/#post-heading
Only 5% of earth has tall forests:
A new project has mapped the height of the world’s forests, finding only 5 percent of the Earth’s land area in 2020 was covered with trees standing taller than 30 meters, with only 34 percent of this within protected areas.
“Our focus in this work was twofold: First, we wanted to reduce the error associated with tall canopies, as they typically store large amounts of biomass and carbon,” said Lang
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/149793/scientists-show-how-forests-measure-up
TURNING IT AROUND
Reforestation affects global water cycle:
Modelling of how 900 million hectares of global tree restoration would impact the water cycle through evaporation and precipitation shows mixed results varying with regions. Reforestation increases evapotranspiration, reducing runoff to streams by redirecting it into the atmosphere where it increases land rainfall (including in adjacent regions and even continents), though with a portion falling over the oceans. Even more reason to protect existing forests as their water use will decrease as they age, providing more water to streams while still increasing regional rainfalls and still increasing carbon storage.
Tree restoration is an effective way to store atmospheric carbon and mitigate climate change. However, large-scale tree-cover expansion has long been known to increase evaporation, leading to reduced local water availability and streamflow. More recent studies suggest that increased precipitation, through enhanced atmospheric moisture recycling, can offset this effect. Here we calculate how 900 million hectares of global tree restoration would impact evaporation and precipitation using an ensemble of data-driven Budyko models and the UTrack moisture recycling dataset. We show that the combined effects of directly enhanced evaporation and indirectly enhanced precipitation create complex patterns of shifting water availability. Large-scale tree-cover expansion can increase water availability by up to 6% in some regions, while decreasing it by up to 38% in others. There is a divergent impact on large river basins: some rivers could lose 6% of their streamflow due to enhanced evaporation, while for other rivers, the greater evaporation is counterbalanced by more moisture recycling. Several so-called hot spots for forest restoration could lose water, including regions that are already facing water scarcity today. Tree restoration significantly shifts terrestrial water fluxes, and we emphasize that future tree-restoration strategies should consider these hydrological effects.
Tree restoration could locally enhance convergence, cloud cover and precipitation and change the travelling direction and distance of atmospheric moisture. Research suggests that forests could even impact large-scale wind patterns and draw atmospheric moisture from the oceans to the continents, although the importance of this effect is still debated. …
However, global warming, and the tree restoration itself, will shift temperature and precipitation patterns, and these are not considered in our analyses. Higher temperatures could reduce the global tree-restoration potential by 25% towards 2050. …
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-022-00935-0.pdf
https://phys.org/news/2022-05-exploring-forest-affects.html
Mother Nature has the legal rights of a person:
In India Justice S. Srimathy of the Madras High Court in Tamil Nadu ruled that “Mother Nature” is effectively a person under the law, a status which includes “all corresponding rights, duties, and liabilities,” though some argue for a better way as this leaves mother nature liable for any damage she causes.
Some legal experts are, however, questioning Srimathy’s decision to grant legal personhood, with its associated “duties and liabilities”, to Nature, a decision that has precedent in at least three other rulings granted at the state court level in India within the last decade. Animals, glaciers, rivers, and the Earth itself have all been accorded legal personhood status in those cases.
“While those rulings are binding at the state level, the law on the rights of nature is unsettled at the federal level,” writes Inside Climate, citing a 2017 Supreme Court reversal of an Uttarakhand High Court decision that granted legal personhood to the Ganges River, as well as to one of its tributaries, the Yamuna.
Mari Margil, executive director of the Spokane, Washington-based Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights, told Inside Climate that “recognizing nature as a legal person with the same rights, duties, and liabilities as humans is not an ideal approach, since nature is inherently different than human beings and cannot be held liable in the same way.”
Forest Media 6 May 2022
New South Wales
NEFA considers that that the new Private Native Forestry Code of Practice released on Monday is a step backwards, and will increase the extinction risk of our most imperilled species of plants and animals. Meanwhile the NSW Government, farmers and loggers continue their spin about how wonderful the PNF Codes will be.
Justin Field and the NCC are calling for a pause on issuing new Wood Supply Agreements until the NSW Government assesses the loss of trees in the 2019-20 fires and responds to recommendations that areas of burnt forest be put under moratorium and additional large old trees be retained, while considering the increase in fire severity caused by logging. The Echo ran this on page 1, mentioned the Coffs Harbour rally, the Girard action and had an article on cryptocurrency and their attempts to greenwash their massive poweruse use with renewable energy such as Condong – including a statement from Susie about the folly of burning trees for electricity.
The Forestry Corporation has accused Eurobodalla Shire Council of being misinformed and being outside their jurisdiction through their proposal in the draft climate plan to end native forest logging. Have your say. BSI Group (an Accredited Certification Body) is conducting a recertification assessment of Forestry Corporation of NSW Hardwood Forests Division against the “Responsible Wood” standard.
An area of heritage-listed bushland that had been protected since 2007 was re-protected as an offset for the western Sydney airport, and now part of it has been cleared for a car park at a new defence facility.
Over 4,000 hectares in the Hunter Valley was cleared between 2015 and 2019, primarily for urban development and related infrastructure (with agriculture, forestry and mining also making significant contributions), leading to complaints about proposed housing developments and the need to stop landclearing.
ECAC and the Eden Trails Group welcome the start of works on the multi-million dollar Eden Mountain Bike Trail in Nullica State Forest, praising the Forestry Corporation.
Australia
The Bob Brown Foundation’s attempt to injunct Chinese-owned base metals producer MMG Inc from pushing ahead with roading, clearing and drilling in preparation for its proposed 285 ha tailings dam in the Tarkine rainforest, on the grounds that they would cause "irreversible damage" to the habitat of the rare Tasmanian masked owl, has failed after the company gave an undertaking to the Federal court that they would apply a 15-metre exclusion zone to trees suitable for masked owl nesting. The foundation's bid to overturn federal government approval for the tailings dam will be heard on July 19.
After having protest charges dropped in Tasmania because it was shown that since 1987 Forest Practices Officers did not have the legal power to approve logging plans, the Government is rushing through legislation to fix the problem and retrospectively approve all logging back to 1987. The Tasmania Greens are asking the Federal Government to pay a billion dollars for the carbon values of ending native forest logging to support the transition and develop tourism opportunities.
Western Australian conservationists have released a report finding more land has been cleared for bauxite mining than by the timber industry in Western Australia’s South West over the past decade.
The University of Tasmania in Launceston will be home to the new National Institute for Forest Products Innovation (NIFPI) that aims to position Australia as a world leader in timber and wood fibre R&D after the Federal Labor Party matched the Coalition’s $100 million pledge.
Species
Scientists alarmed by the decline of Australia’s species, the lack of meaningful and effective action from the Federal Government, and lack of interest by political parties in the lead up to the election, are trying hard to garner action. One group have developed a web app that allows you to identify federally listed threatened species that occur in federal electorates, with contacts of your local member, and is encouraging people to lobby them for a better deal for our declining biodiversity.
A report by BirdLife Australia identifies domestic birding trips contribute an estimated $283m to the Australian economy annually, much of this in regional communities. An article identifies that Goodenia rainforest on the south coast survived the fires and may have become a refuge, though those in north-east NSW weren’t so lucky. A study of the Gondwanan rainforests found that in burnt rainforests the number of functional bird species, and the relative abundances of species, was lower, with the most affected being those that eat insects, leaves or fruit, leading the researchers to warn about the future of rainforest in a heating world ravished by fires.
WIRES at Coffs Harbour is having to euthanize up to 15-20 kangaroos per month as the highway and cars, habitat loss and fragmentation, and stress from dogs take their increasing toll.
The Myall Lakes dingo project, which aims to develop and test non-lethal management techniques and increase understanding of dingos, is seeking volunteers to take part in an online citizen science project, Dingo? Bingo!, to review photos from camera traps to identify dingos and other wildlife.
NSW South East Local Land Services distributed more than 100 audio devices to more than 60 private property owners across parts of the Monaro to survey for calling Koalas as part of the koala karaoke project. The Greens have introduced a Save the Koala Bill into Federal parliament where any destruction “likely to have significant impacts on koalas” would be banned, removing the federal RFA exemption for logging and clearing their habitat. WWF has teamed up with the Government to plant new Koala feed trees in the Northern Rivers, while in itself worthwhile, it provides a distraction from the more urgent need to stop cutting down their existing feed trees nearby. Wildlife campaigners have made a last ditch plea to the Victorian government to relocate koalas from a blue gum plantation due to be logged on Friday.
The Tasmanian Greens are promising federal intervention to control deer, particularly in World Heritage areas, as an election pledge.
The Deteriorating Problem
A report assesses the temperature rises we can expect under the parties policies, the coalition is the winner at 3o (almost 4), Labor second at 2o, and the Greens and Teal Independents last at just 1.5o.
Turning it Around
A recent paper has identified that closing the Triabunna export woodchip in Tasmania has enabled the state to pass net zero and to deliver negative emissions due to the change in forest management, demonstrating the benefits of reducing native forest logging.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is to release a report calling on better recognition of the value of forests, identifying that halting deforestation and maintaining forests could avoid significant greenhouse-gas emissions - about 14 percent of the reduction needed up to 2030 to keep planetary warming below 1.5 C while also safeguarding more than half the Earth's terrestrial biodiversity.
Its not just Australia that is rorting its carbon credit system, the BBC World Service has a report on how the billions spent around the world on ambitious planting programs covering millions of hectares to increase sequestration of carbon are dismally failing to meet targets, compounded by planted trees dying, native vegetation being cleared for plantings, and plantings being logged on a grand scale. The hope is that better accounting using satellite monitoring will turn this around. Carbon credits are being increasingly used to offset company’s emissions, and while trees are increasingly being recognised as our saviours, the appropriateness of offsetting is questioned and many offsets are being lost through droughts, fires and beetle attacks as forests struggle to persist in this heating world.
Dailan Pugh
NEW SOUTH WALES
PNF Code threatening species:
NEFA considers that that the new Private Native Forestry Code of Practice released on Monday is a step backwards, and will increase the extinction risk of our most imperilled species of plants and animals.
In general they are allowing increased logging intensity, reduced retention of old hollow bearing trees essential for the survival of a plethora of hollow-dependent species, and reducing protections for most threatened species, NEFA spokesperson Dailan Pugh said.
“Under this code most threatened species of plants and animals will get no real protection what-so-ever.
“The only improvement is an increase in the exclusions around headwater streams, though at 10m this is still dramatically less than the 30m identified as necessary in numerous reviews.
“For Koalas they are maintaining the exclusion on logging of core koala habitat where already identified in a Council Koala Plan of Management, though this will not apply to core Koala habitat identified in future plans.
Conservationists fear new rules that regulate logging on private land in New South Wales will allow continued clearing of koala habitat in what an independent MP has described as a “win” for the National party.
Dailan Pugh, the alliance’s spokesperson, said the exceptions were concerning.
“If we’re talking about doubling koala populations, you don’t do that by cutting down their feed trees,” he said.
“We are relieved they’ve retained protections for existing core koala habitat but we are concerned about the hundreds of approvals already given despite the (NSW parliamentary) koala inquiry identifying this as something that needed fixing.”
Pugh added that for other threatened plants and animals the new code offered “no real protection whatsoever”.
Justin Field, an independent MLC, said he was concerned other parts of the code that require landowners to take certain precautions for the environment, such as retaining trees of a particular size and habitat suitability, appeared to have been weakened.
The NSW Government continued their spin about how wonderful the PNF Codes will be.
“These new codes will provide the critical materials we will need to rebuild our communities impacted by the recent floods, keep up with the construction boom and keep firing our economy,” deputy premier and minister for regional NSW Paul Toole said.
The government says the new codes were informed by forest science and ecology experts. The NSW Natural Resources Commission reviewed the new codes of practice and found them to be a substantive improvement.
NSW agriculture minister Dugald Saunders said the new codes would play an important role in the timber shortage.
Pause and reconsider logging commitments:
Justin Field and the NCC are calling for a pause on issuing new Wood Supply Agreements until the NSW Government assesses the loss of trees in the 2019-20 fires and responds to recommendations that areas of burnt forest be put under moratorium and additional large old trees be retained, while considering the increase in fire severity caused by logging.
According to the lead author Professor David Lindenmayer, ‘Logging increases the probability of canopy damage by five to 20 per cent and leads to long-term elevated risk of higher severity fire. On the other hand, if disturbance due to logging is minimised, canopy damage can be reduced, in turn reducing the risk of uncontrollable fires.’
‘Recent Budget Estimates hearings revealed Forestry Corporation was negotiating a five year extension of wood supply contracts on the North Coast despite the fact the NSW Government is yet to respond to a major report recommending substantial changes to logging rules to mitigate the impact of the 2019–20 fires including a moratorium on logging in some forest areas,’ said Mr Fields in a press release.
‘Industry needs certainty about their future, but there is no certainty in signing up to contracts that Forestry Corporation cannot deliver and that our forests cannot sustain.
https://www.echo.net.au/2022/05/call-to-pause-logging-contracts-for-north-coast-forests/
The Echo ran this on page 1, mentioned the Coffs Harbour rally, the Girard action and had an article on cryptocurrency and their attempts to greenwash their massive poweruse use with renewable energy such as Condong – including a statement from Susie about the folly of burning trees for electricity.
Forestry attack Council for being ignorant:
The Forestry Corporation has accused Eurobodalla Shire Council of being misinformed and being outside their jurisdiction through their proposal in the draft climate plan to end native forest logging.
A Forestry submission to the council's draft action plan said decisions regarding forestry were "outside council's jurisdiction" and the council did not have expertise nor involvement in native forest management.
"Information about forestry in the draft Climate Action Plan is incorrect and outside council's jurisdiction. It is recommended that Eurobodalla Shire Council remove all references and actions relating to native forestry from its Climate Action Plan."
"The Eurobodalla has around 106,000 hectares of native State Forests which can be harvested and is primarily used for woodchip through the Eden mill and exported," the draft plan said.
Are the Forestry Corporation Responsible?
Have your say. BSI Group (an Accredited Certification Body) is conducting a recertification assessment of Forestry Corporation of NSW Hardwood Forests Division against the “Responsible Wood” standard.
We invite Stakeholders to provide input into the assessment regarding the Applicant’s scope of activities in relation to Responsible Wood Standard.
Copies of all Responsible Wood Standards can be obtained from the Responsible Wood website
https://www.responsiblewood.org.au/
Stakeholders may provide input in writing or if preferred by phone, video-conference or in person during the onsite assessment. Please contact Mick Berry to arrange a time.
Contact Details: Mick Berry, Lead Auditor
Email: [email protected]
Offsetting upsetting:
An area of heritage-listed bushland that had been protected since 2007 was re-protected as an offset for the western Sydney airport, and now part of it has been cleared for a car park at a new defence facility.
Alarm over Hunter clearing:
Over 4,000 hectares in the Hunter Valley was cleared between 2015 and 2019, primarily for urban development and related infrastructure (with agriculture, forestry and mining also making significant contributions), leading to complaints about proposed housing developments and the need to stop landclearing.
"It will also exacerbate our deforestation and extinction crisis, which is already spiralling out of control," Nature Conservation Council Chief Executive Chris Gambian said.
"At the COP26 climate conference Australia committed to end deforestation by 2030. These figures show we have no hope of meeting that commitment without a change in law. The only proven carbon sequestration technology is a tree. It seems pretty obvious that we should stop ripping them down."
"Climate change is already wreaking havoc on biodiversity and driving extinction. If we are to ensure the survival of our threatened species we must protect habitat now in preparation for worsening impacts in the coming years," Hunter Community Environment Centre coordinator Jo Lynch said.
Forestry Corporation like Mountain Bikes:
ECAC and the Eden Trails Group welcome the start of works on the multi-million dollar Eden Mountain Bike Trail in Nullica State Forest, praising the Forestry Corporation.
"This multi-million-dollar project will establish Eden and the broader NSW south coast area as a true mountain biking destination, providing opportunities to attract tourists and investment to the region," Mr Webb said.
"Our partnership with the NSW Forestry Corporation has been amazing and we could not have reached this critical milestone without their belief and support."
https://www.begadistrictnews.com.au/story/7725000/eden-mountain-bike-project-on-the-right-trail/
AUSTRALIA
BBF lose injunction:
The Bob Brown Foundation’s attempt to injunct Chinese-owned base metals producer MMG Inc from pushing ahead with roading, clearing and drilling in preparation for its proposed 285 ha tailings dam in the Tarkine rainforest, on the grounds that they would cause "irreversible damage" to the habitat of the rare Tasmanian masked owl, has failed after the company gave an undertaking to the Federal court that they would apply a 15-metre exclusion zone to trees suitable for masked owl nesting. The foundation's bid to overturn federal government approval for the tailings dam will be heard on July 19.
However, the BBF remains defiant. “This finding reminds us that the EPBC Act is a farce. If a Masked Owl is not safe from this proposal in takayna/Tarkine, and it is not, then it is not safe anywhere,” campaign manager Jenny Weber said in a statement.
“We are now left with the protest option to continue to hold MMG out of takayna’s forests and Tasmanian Masked Owl habitat at an inconvenience to hundreds of citizens who will take a stand for this ancient pocket of takayna.”
MMG is embroiled in controversy in Peru, with locals blocking the Las Bambas mine to protest alleged non-compliance with land-purchase obligations. The mine produces about 2% of the world’s mined copper supply.
MMG said on April 29, a 30-day state of emergency in the Challhuahuacho and Coyllurqi districts had been implemented to reinstate public order.
https://www.mining.com/australian-court-okays-mmgs-tasmania-tailings-dam-study-to-proceed/
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-02/tailing-dam-works-to-continue-in-tarkine/101029822
Retrospectively approving 35 years of illegal logging:
After having protest charges dropped in Tasmania because it was shown that since 1987 Forest Practices Officers did not have the legal power to approve logging plans, the Government is rushing through legislation to fix the problem and retrospectively approve all logging back to 1987.
During recent court proceedings against anti-forestry protesters, who were arrested in Tasmania's Eastern Tiers in 2020, lawyers discovered a potential problem with some of the words in these instruments of delegation that have been used since 1987.
The foundation said if Forest Practices Officers did not really have the legal power to approve timber harvesting operations, then most or all logging of native forests in Tasmania has been done illegally since 1987.
It also argues there was not a valid legal basis to convict and fine or jail anti-forestry protesters since then.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-04/tasmania-1987-forestry-law-row-protesters/101035222
Greens call for Feds to pay to protect Tasmania’s forests for carbon:
The Tasmania Greens are asking the Federal Government to pay a billion dollars for the carbon values of ending native forest logging to support the transition and develop tourism opportunities.
With states across Australia ending native logging, it’s clear the writing is on the wall for Tasmania’s native forest logging industry. The IPCC tells us our forests are the first line of defence against climate change and must be protected. Native forest logging is destroying biodiversity and undermining climate action, and consumers are waking up to the damage.
Under the Greens plan the Federal Government would pay the Tasmanian Government to end native forest logging. The payment reflects the carbon value of forests earmarked to be logged, and would help meet global emissions reduction commitments. The plan also avoids ongoing taxpayer subsidies to the native forests sector.
Payments would be made in instalments over ten years into a fund overseen by a joint Federal-State task force and invested in environmental restoration, forest management, and forest tourism infrastructure. These and other activities would provide job transition opportunities for forestry workers.
https://www.miragenews.com/greens-launch-plan-to-protect-776756/
[Janet Rice] What our policy is going to do is basically to acknowledge the importance of Tasmania’s forests, not just for the wildlife, their recreation and tourism values, for their wildlife values, for their water values, for their values and sovereign lands, but also for their value for soaking up and storing carbon. This policy that we’re announcing today would see the federal government granting Tasmania a billion dollars to end the logging of native forests in Tasmania. Western Australia has already committed to ending their native forest logging by next year, Victoria has committed to ending native forest logging by 2030; we think that it’s too slow, but at least it’s going to happen. For Tasmania, they need to commit now to end native forest logging, and the billion dollars that the federal government would grant would basically recognise the value of Tasmania’s forests, in particular for their carbon value, their value in soaking up and storing carbon.
https://tasmaniantimes.com/2022/05/greens-pledge-1billion-for-forests-management/
Bauxite mining worse than logging:
Western Australian conservationists have released a report finding more land has been cleared for bauxite mining than by the timber industry in Western Australia’s South West over the past decade.
Labor matches 100m forest industry pledge
The University of Tasmania in Launceston will be home to the new National Institute for Forest Products Innovation (NIFPI) that aims to position Australia as a world leader in timber and wood fibre R&D after the Federal Labor Party matched the Coalition’s $100 million pledge.
https://www.miragenews.com/national-forestry-innovation-institute-to-go-774308/”
SPECIES
Save Our Species:
Scientists alarmed by the decline of Australia’s species, the lack of meaningful and effective action from the Federal Government, and lack of interest by political parties in the lead up to the election, are trying hard to garner action.
Unfortunately, our famous ecosystems are not OK. Many are hurtling towards collapse, threatening even iconic species like the koala, platypus and the numbat. More and more species are going extinct, with over 100 since British colonisation. That means Australia has one of the worst conservation records in the world.
This represents a monumental government failure. Our leaders are failing in their duty of care to the environment. Yet so far, the election campaign has been unsettlingly silent on threatened species.
Here are five steps our next government should take.
- Strengthen, enforce and align policy and laws
- Invest in the environment
- Tackle the threats
4.: Look to Indigenous leadership to heal Country
5.Work with communities and across boundaries
The next government must take serious and swift action to save our species.
Speak up to your federal member for threatened species:
Scientists have developed a web app that allows you to identify federally listed threatened species that occur in federal electorates, with contacts of your local member, and is encouraging people to lobby them for a better deal for our declining biodiversity.
More than 1,800 Australian plants and animals are considered at-risk of extinction, and yet protecting threatened species is almost entirely absent from the current election campaign.
We’ve developed a web app, which launches today, that lets Australians learn which threatened plants and animals live in their federal electorate.
Our goal is to help users engage with their elected representatives and put imperilled species on the political agenda this election and beyond. We urgently need to convince federal politicians to act, for they hold the keys to saving these species. So what can they do to help their plight?
By entering a post code, users can learn what the species looks like, where they can be found (in relation to their electorate), and what’s threatening them. Importantly, users can learn about their incumbent elected representative, and the democratic actions that work towards making a difference.
The good news is we know how to avert the extinction crisis. Innumerable reports and peer-reviewed studies have detailed why the crisis is occurring, including a major independent review of Australia’s environment laws which outlined the necessary federal reforms for changing this trajectory.
The bad news is these comprehensive reforms, like almost all the previous calls to action on the threatened species crisis, have been largely ignored.
Predictions show the situation will drastically worsen for threatened species over the next two decades if nothing changes.
For change to occur, communities must effectively persuade elected representatives to act. There are a few ways they can exercise their democratic powers to make a difference.
Threatened species desperately need the required funding alongside the appropriate policy and legislative reform. The current policies are responsible for the threats causing many species to go endangered in the first place.
Our app can help users engage with the current sitting MP in their electorate with the click of a button, as it helps users write an email to them. It’s time federal representatives were asked about their policies on threatened species and what they plan to do for them in their electoral backyards.
The value of birds:
A report by BirdLife Australia identifies domestic birding trips contribute an estimated $283m to the Australian economy annually, much of this in regional communities.
The loss of birds:
An article identifies that Goodenia rainforest on the south coast survived the fires and may have become a refuge, though those in north-east NSW weren’t so lucky. A study of the Gondwanan rainforests found that in burnt rainforests the number of functional bird species, and the relative abundances of species, was lower, with the most affected being those that eat insects, leaves or fruit, leading the researchers to warn about the future of rainforest in a heating world ravished by fires.
However, other rainforests didn't fare as well. When the megafires reached North-East NSW the heritage listed Gondwanan rainforest lost 50% of its habitat. According to a study from the Centre for Ecosystem Science at the University of NSW, the fires continue to impact bird populations vital to rainforest regeneration in areas of Gondwanan Rainforest.
The study, published in Global Ecology and Conservation, investigated the impact of the 2019–2020 Australian bushfire season on the ancient Gondwanan Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area, which were burned for the first time in recorded history.
The researchers found that unprecedented megafires negatively impacted the diversity of functional rainforest bird communities among burnt areas of the Gondwanan compared to surviving regions, as well as adjacent dry sclerophyll forests – woodland areas characterised by hard leafed and drought-adapted vegetation.
“We found that the number of functional species, but also the relative abundances of species, was lower in burnt areas compared with unburnt areas across five national parks surveyed within the World Heritage Area,” says Josh Lee, the study’s lead author. “These results contrasted the less affected and more fire-adapted and adjacent dry sclerophyll forests, which increased in diversity.”
“These rainforests are 40 million years old, and the fact we’ve burned up to half of it in just once fire season – which we can confidently attribute to climate change – is astounding. It’s another page in the story that is the huge impact we’re having on unique ecosystems worldwide,” Mr Lee says.
The study found the most affected rainforest birds were species that eat insects, leaves or fruit. Of particular concern were fruit-eating birds such as the wompoo fruit-dove and paradise riflebird, that have significant roles in rainforest regeneration.
“We found there were fewer fruit-eating birds in the burnt rainforest than the unburnt areas, which is potentially a bad sign because it might mean that there’s less of that rainforest regeneration happening,” Mr Lee says.
“These fruit eaters disperse rainforest seeds over large distances. Rainforests need these birds to eat and then disperse the seeds for them to grow in other parts of the rainforest. If we don’t have the pigeons and doves to help the fire-affected areas of the rainforest regenerate, we are in real trouble.”
Because of the impact on seed-dispersing birds, the recovery of the rainforest is likely to be extremely slow and highly dependent on the emigration of animals from outside burnt areas.
“Inaction on climate change will come at the expense of our rainforests. Because the recovery of the rainforest is slow, the recurrence of fire is probably going to be too frequent that rainforest won’t be able to recover and [we] will just lose more and more of it through time,” Mr Lee says.
“Hotter temperatures and more extreme droughts will continue to have devastating impacts on our biodiversity, particularly our rainforests,” Prof. Kingsford says. “We have to reduce our emissions and get climate change under control.”
https://www.unsw.edu.au/news/2022/04/rainforest-birds-in-decline-in-black-summer-bushfire-aftermath
Kangaroos declining:
WIRES at Coffs Harbour is having to euthanize up to 15-20 kangaroos per month as the highway and cars, habitat loss and fragmentation, and stress from dogs take their increasing toll.
WIRES macropod rescuer Cheryl Malcolm said she saw two kangaroos last week die from what she “presumed” was myopathy.
Myopathy can be caused when an animal – such as a dog or cat – runs at kangaroos, causing extreme stress.
The roo may develop rhabdomyolysis – a breakdown of muscle fibres.
Death typically occurs within 14 days after the stressful incident, according to WIRES.
“The dogs don't have to catch them for them to kill them. They can die from stress – the eastern grays in particular” she said.
Dingo bingo!:
The Myall Lakes dingo project, which aims to develop and test non-lethal management techniques and increase understanding of dingos, is seeking volunteers to take part in an online citizen science project, Dingo? Bingo!, to review photos from camera traps to identify dingos and other wildlife.
Researchers are testing whether the dingoes' own signals can be used to deter them and invasive predators from particular areas.
Dingoes use howls and scent marks to communicate ownership of space, and so by simulating their presence in an area the team hope to be able to deter them from specific areas.
"This project hopes to develop tools and strategies to limit the negative impacts that dingoes have in specific areas, while still allowing them to perform their ecological role as apex predator across the wider landscape," Dr Jordan said.
"As dingoes sometimes kill foxes and cats, we're also testing the idea that these smaller carnivores may avoid areas where they believe dingoes are present - where they hear a dingo howl for example," Dr Pitcher said.
Koala karaoke:
NSW South East Local Land Services distributed more than 100 audio devices to more than 60 private property owners across parts of the Monaro to survey for calling Koalas as part of the koala karaoke project.
https://www.abc.net.au/radio/canberra/programs/mornings/koala-habitat-conservation-monaro/13863246
Bid to stop Commonwealth turning blind eye to Koala habitat destruction:
The Greens have introduced a Save the Koala Bill into Federal parliament where any destruction “likely to have significant impacts on koalas” would be banned, removing the federal RFA exemption for logging and clearing their habitat.
Clearing of koala habitat will be banned with "zero exceptions" if a new Greens bill passes federal parliament.
The amendment would remove exemptions used by state authorities to allow the timber industry and private landholders to unleash bulldozers on trees where the marsupials live.
Greens spokesperson for the environment, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, has vowed to “push for the Save the Koala Bill to be made the law” if her party holds the balance of power after the Federal Election.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/controversial-new-law-proposed-to-save-koalas-081850711.html
Planting Koala feed trees while cutting them down:
WWF has teamed up with the Government to plant new Koala feed trees in the Northern Rivers, while in itself worthwhile, it provides a distraction from the more urgent need to stop cutting down their existing feed trees nearby.
Koala Friendly Carbon, a first-of-its-kind carbon program to help restore koala habitat, is now available in the Northern Rivers Region of New South Wales.
The pilot program – which aims to boost koala numbers – is a partnership between the World Wide Fund for Nature-Australia, the NSW Government and Climate Friendly.
If successful, this program will provide an innovative mechanism to dramatically scale up landscape restoration for the benefit of our nation’s most iconic endangered species.
A complimentary partnership between WWF-Australia and the NSW Government has also been launched offering incentives to Northern Rivers landholders to sign conservation agreements to permanently protect koala habitat on their land.
Both projects are part of the recently released NSW Koala Strategy and come just months after the iconic species was uplisted from vulnerable to endangered in Queensland, NSW and the ACT.
https://www.ecovoice.com.au/innovative-koala-friendly-carbon-a-boost-for-iconic-species/
Plea to relocate Koalas before logging fails:
Wildlife campaigners have made a last ditch plea to the Victorian government to relocate koalas from a blue gum plantation due to be logged on Friday.
The Victorian government has approved the clear-felling of the Gordon plantation by owner Midway Pty Ltd without relocating the koalas, despite pleas from local carers and experts to protect them.
“It’s been such an uphill battle. We’re now at a last ditch effort just to try and stop koalas and other wildlife from being killed,” Heidi Johnson, a wildlife carer from Wildlife Victoria, said.
Jessica Robertson, a Wildlife Victoria rescuer and carer, expressed concern that koalas would be injured by logging activity or run over by cars while attempting to cross into other habitats.
The scourge of deer:
The Tasmanian Greens are promising federal intervention to control deer, particularly in World Heritage areas, as an election pledge.
“Invasive species like feral deer pose a critical threat to lutruwita/Tasmania’s biodiversity and cultural heritage. They inhibit fire recovery, trample cushion plants, destroy fences and crops, and cost Tasmanian farmers $80m a year.
THE DETERIORATING PROBLEM
Coalition the winner on climate change:
A report assesses the temperature rises we can expect under the parties policies, the coalition is the winner at 3o (almost 4), Labor second at 2o, and the Greens and Teal Independents last at just 1.5o.
Hare, an adjunct professor at Murdoch University, said under the level of global warming consistent with the Coalition’s plan, “intense heat events that have recently occurred once in a decade could happen almost every year, and highest maximum temperatures are likely to be 3 degrees warmer than in recent times.”
He said Labor’s plan was also not consistent with the Paris Agreement and, like the Coalition’s, is not consistent with the survival of the Great Barrier Reef or Ningaloo Reef, as well as increased heat extremes occurring every five years.
The report said the Greens’ target of a 74 per cent emissions reduction by 2030 is consistent with limiting global average temperature rise to 1.5 degrees.
TURNING IT AROUND
Reducing logging makes Tasmania into a net carbon sink:
A recent paper has identified that closing the Triabunna export woodchip in Tasmania has enabled the state to pass net zero and to deliver negative emissions due to the change in forest management, demonstrating the benefits of reducing native forest logging.
… the closure of Triabunna meant that in the years that followed Tasmania was one of the first jurisdictions in the world to become not just net zero, but carbon negative.
Unlike mainland Australia, Tasmania relies mostly on hydroelectric power. As a result, Mackey explained, the state’s main cause of greenhouse gas emissions was logging in native forests. When old-growth forests were logged, massive amounts of carbon were released into the atmosphere.
What they found was that Tasmania had gone from being a net emitter of around 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year, to a net sink of around the same amount.
“We hear a lot about carbon neutral but not carbon negative. This is one of the first times on the planet that anybody has ever done this kind of reversal,” Lindenmeyer said.
https://news.griffith.edu.au/2022/05/03/tasmania-first-to-become-carbon-negative/
Meeting the Paris Agreement global warming target requires deep and rapid cuts in CO2 emissions as well as removals from the atmosphere into land sinks, especially forests. While international climate policy in the land sector does now recognize forest protection as a mitigation strategy, it is not receiving sufficient attention in developed countries even though they experience emissions from deforestation as well as from logging of managed forests. Current national greenhouse gas inventories obscure the mitigation potential of forest protection through net carbon accounting between the fossil fuel and the land sectors as well as within the different categories of the land. This prevents decision-makers in national governments, the private sector and civil society having access to all the science-based evidence needed to evaluate the merits of all mitigation strategies. The consequences of net carbon accounting for global policy were investigated by examining annual inventory reports of four high forest cover developed countries (Australia, Canada, USA, and Russia). Net accounting between sectors makes a major contribution to meeting nationally determined contributions with removals in Forest Land offsetting between 14% and 38% of the fossil fuel emissions for these countries. Analysis of reports for Australia at a sub-national level revealed that the State of Tasmania delivered negative emissions due to a change in forest management—a large and rapid drop in native forest logging—resulting in a mitigation benefit of ∼22 Mt CO2-e yr–1 over the reported period 2011/12–2018/19. This is the kind of outcome required globally to meet the Paris Agreement temperature goal. All CO2 emissions from, and atmospheric removals into, forest ecosystem carbon stocks now matter and should be counted and credited to achieve the deep and rapid cuts in emissions needed over the coming decades. Accounting and reporting systems therefore need to show gains and losses of carbon stocks in each reservoir. Changing forest management in naturally regenerating forests to avoid emissions from harvesting and enabling forest regrowth is an effective mitigation strategy that can rapidly reduce anthropogenic emissions from the forest sector and simultaneously increase removals of CO2 from the atmosphere
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ac661b/meta
Forests needed to solve crises:
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is to release a report calling on better recognition of the value of forests, identifying that halting deforestation and maintaining forests could avoid significant greenhouse-gas emissions - about 14 percent of the reduction needed up to 2030 to keep planetary warming below 1.5 C while also safeguarding more than half the Earth's terrestrial biodiversity.
In response to these multiple global threats, we need solutions at scale that are cost-effective and equitable and can be implemented rapidly. Forests and trees offer such solutions and can help us recover, if we better recognize their value and their crucial role in building resilient and sustainable economies.
The latest report on the State of the World's Forests from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), to be presented at the XV World Forestry Congress under the theme "Building a Green, Healthy and Resilient Future with Forests," clearly shows three ways in which we can step up action if we want to unlock their potential:
Halting deforestation and maintaining forests could avoid significant greenhouse-gas emissions - about 14 percent of the reduction needed up to 2030 to keep planetary warming below 1.5 C. It could also safeguard more than half the Earth's terrestrial biodiversity, which is a key provider of ecosystem services for sustainable agriculture. Forests are the largest terrestrial pool of carbon and of biodiversity, yet they are shrinking.
Restoring degraded lands and expanding agroforestry: 1.5 billion hectares of degraded land - an area twice the size of Australia - would benefit from restoration, and increasing tree cover could boost agricultural productivity on another 1 billion hectares. Restoring degraded land through afforestation and reforestation could cost-effectively remove CO2 from the atmosphere equivalent to eliminating 195-325 million gasoline-powered passenger cars from the road each year for 30 years.
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202205/1264740.shtml
Phantom forests used for greenwashing:
Its not just Australia that is rorting its carbon credit system, the BBC World Service has a report on how the billions spent around the world on ambitious planting programs covering millions of hectares to increase sequestration of carbon are dismally failing to meet targets, compounded by planted trees dying, native vegetation being cleared for plantings, and plantings being logged on a grand scale. The hope is that better accounting using satellite monitoring will turn this around.
Capturing carbon by increasing forest cover has become central to the fight against climate change. But there's a problem. Sometimes these forests exist on paper only - because promises have not been kept, or because planted trees have died or even been harvested. A new effort will now be made to track success and failure.
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-61300708
Offsetting Emissions:
Carbon credits are being increasingly used to offset company’s emissions, and while trees are increasingly being recognised as our saviours, the appropriateness of offsetting is questioned and many offsets are being lost through droughts, fires and beetle attacks as forests struggle to persist in this heating world.
As companies face increasing public pressure to limit their climate impact, the global market for forest carbon “credits,” already worth billions of dollars, is booming. Polluting companies can buy those credits as an alternative to cutting emissions from burning oil, gas, and coal. Such “offsets” have been questioned on many grounds, including whether they actually reduce carbon in the atmosphere.
But scientists are increasingly focused on a new concern: climate change itself. With trees dying around the globe from droughts, heat waves, pest invasions, and wildfires amplified by global warming, experts say, it’s getting tough to count on any particular patch of forest being alive and reliably storing carbon for decades to come.
But many scientists worry it’s not enough. Climate change is already leaving unprecedented marks on forests. In the Sierra Nevada, up to 19 percent of adult giant sequoias, many of which have stood since the days of Aristotle, died in fires in just the last two summers. Five of the eight most abundant tree species in the West have declined significantly just since the year 2000. Using satellite data, archival records, and machine learning, Jon Wang, at the University of California, Irvine, determined that California likely lost nearly 7 percent of its tree cover between 1985 and 2021.
Forest Media 29 April 2022
Sorry I am a day late, its been a busy week.
New South Wales
NEFA held a rally of around 70 people outside the Coffs Harbour Council Chambers on April 29, before the Coffs Harbour hearing of NSW Upper House, Portfolio Committee 4, 'Inquiry into the long term sustainability and future of the timber and forest products industry', before giving evidence. NEFA sought to demonstrate that logging of public native forests has no social licence. The evening before the NPA hosted a well-attended community forum on the proposed Great Koala National Park in Coffs Harbour, with a variety of presenters (including NEFA), and statements from various federal Cowper candidates (except the Nationals) about their positions on forests and the park
Forest Defence NSW had a blockade in Girard State Forest, with a protector in a tree sit attached to a bulldozer holding up logging one day before being removed by police, someone else then repeated it the next day.
Cash-strapped Central Coast Council is considering transferring 72.4ha of land — valued at over $4.1 million —for inclusion into national parks “for no monetary consideration”. The transfer of 54 hectares of land at Wedderburn from the Office of Strategic Lands to the NPWS has got the ball rolling for the establishment of a Georges River Koala Reserve from Long Point to Appin.
David Lindenmayer’s finding that logging increases fire risk has been pushed by the NCC and is increasingly recognised.
The NSW Government announced it is going to implement the new Private Native Forestry codes on Monday without releasing them publicly, so as to avoid criticism, though they were warmly welcomed by the Nationals, Timber NSW and NSW Farmers who obviously had privileged access.
Australia
Log it before you protect it. Last June the Victorian government announced it would create three new national parks in the state’s central west, including the Wombat State Forest, but 10 months on, there has been no move to legislate and officially create the national parks but salvage logging is underway, leading residents to protest. The Queensland government has proposed to log in a section of the Beerwah State Forest, known locally as Ferny Forest, before it ends native timber production in the “high value” conservation area in two years in accordance with the southeast Queensland forests agreement to end logging in the region by 31 December 2024.
Species
A side-effect of rodenticides, particularly when used outside, is the poisoning of a variety of wildlife, either directly or through eating poisoned rodents. The death of more than 300 Corellas between Tocumwal and Cobram along the Murray River has led to speculation they may be another case linked to pesticides or mouse baits. On Lord Howe Island baits were killing Lord Howe Island Woodhens, until they were used in a systematic eradication of rats and mice, resulting in a massive increase in Woodhens and a variety of other threatened species while facilitating an ecological renaissance, though also for weeds. In the Conversation an expert gives some advice on rodent control.
The Inquiry into Ecosystems Decline in Victoria recommendations included a trial reintroduction of dingoes to the state’s national parks and reserves, and the phasing out of 1080 baiting, leading to farmer outrage.
On May 3 Wild Koala Day we call on everyone to Protect A Forest, Plant A Tree & Phone a Pollie. Learn more: http://www.wildkoaladay.com.au/what-to-do/
Find events here: http://www.wildkoaladay.com.au/whats-on/
Tweed Council voted to write to the NSW Premier, Minister for Environment and Heritage, Minister for Regional NSW and Minister for Agriculture to protect Tweeds hinterland koalas from the NSW Koala SEPP (State Environmental Planning Policy) 2021. A $2 million pilot program funded by the NSW government, World Wildlife Fund and carbon farming company Climate Friendly is aiming to plant new Koala habitat for carbon credits in the Northern Rivers, while the clearing and logging of actual habitat continues.
Researchers take exception with the Royal Australian Mint releasing a $2 collectors’ coin to celebrate 200 years since the introduction of the European honeybee, an invasive alien species, rather than our native bees.
In North America hundreds of white-tailed deer have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, sparking concerns that new mutant strains may develop.
The Deteriorating Problem
The tropics lost 11.1 million hectares of tree cover in 2021, according to Global Forest Watch. Including 3.75 million hectares of tropical primary rainforests at a rate of 10 football pitches a minute – releasing 2.5 Gt of CO2, equivalent to India’s fossil fuel emissions. Outside of the tropics, boreal forests experienced the highest rates of tree cover loss in 2021, increasing 29% over 2020.
A heat dome formed over India in March resulting in its highest maximum temperatures in 122 years and rainfall 71% lower than average, the scorching temperatures extended into April, and ferocious heat waves are forecast to be even worse in May.
Australia does its bit to worsen the extinction crises, while wildlife’s plight is ignored by politicians. A global review found 21% of reptiles are threatened with extinction, not as many as the 41% of amphibians, or the 25% of mammals, but more than the 14% of birds. Reptiles inhabiting forests are facing the strongest threats, including from logging. An article in the Conversation summarises Australia’s world leading role in the extinction crisis and the Federal Government’s contribution to the deteriorating situation. The Guardian similarly summarises Australia’s appalling record and lack of political will, citing Gregory Andrews, Australia’s first threatened species commissioner, who believes the state of our natural wildlife and biodiversity is the “worst it’s ever been” and called the ongoing destruction of forests and other habitat “crazy”.
‘Fire regimes that cause biodiversity decline’ was listed last week as a key threatening process under the EPBC Act (Australia’s national environmental law) after being nominated in 2008.
A comprehensive global review has identified a 50% decline in the abundance of insects and more than a 25% decline in species in areas where substantial warming has been documented and where land has been converted for intensive agriculture. Research (and the Canadian heat dome) shows that if honeybees experience a temperature of 42oC for 2 hours a third of male sperm dies and after 6 hours 50% of males die, with the expectation that increasing heatwaves could impair the fertility of beetles, bumblebees, flies, moths and wasps.
As evidence of the growing extinction crises grows and habitat destruction gathers momentum scientists are becoming increasingly alarmed, with one climate activist immolating himself in America.
Turning it Around
Earth Day was on the 22 April and is celebrated around the world, with overall co-ordination by EarthDay.org. Their Canopy Project focuses on tree planting.
Dailan Pugh
NEW SOUTH WALES
NEFA Rally
NEFA held a rally of around 70 people outside the Coffs Harbour Council Chambers, before the Coffs Harbour hearing of NSW Upper House, Portfolio Committee 4, 'Inquiry into the long term sustainability and future of the timber and forest products industry', before giving evidence. NEFA sought to demonstrate that logging of public native forests has no social licence.
NEFA want to emphasise to the Committee that there is no social licence for the continued logging of public native forests and that in the midst of the developing climate and extinction crises we need to take urgent action, with the most effective action we can take immediately to begin to address the problems is to stop logging public native forests, NEFA spokesperson Dailan Pugh said.
‘The Committee needs to focus on identifying a just and equitable transition strategy for the 500 workers across north-east NSW that will be affected by protecting public native forests,’ said Mr Pugh.
https://www.echo.net.au/2022/04/nefa-rally-this-morning-at-coffs-council-chambers/
Promoting the Great Koala National Park:
A well-attended community forum on the proposed Great Koala National Park was held in Coffs Harbour on April 28, with a variety of presenters (including NEFA), and statements from various federal Cowper candidates (except the Nationals) about their positions on forests and the park.
Nature Conservation Council Chief Executive Chris Gambian said: “Koalas are on track to become extinct by 2050 unless we take decisive action.
“The loss of koalas would be a monumental loss not just for NSW and Australia, but for the whole of humanity.
“To avoid that, habitat protection is key. You can’t have koalas without koala trees, so the best thing we can do is protect koala forests from development.
“The Great Koala National Park proposal is a critical step we must take to ensure species survives for generations to come.”
https://clarencevalleynews.com.au/community-forum-about-the-great-koala-national-park-proposal/
Action in Girard:
Forest Defence NSW had a blockade in Girard State Forest, with a protector in a tree sit attached to a bulldozer holding up logging one day before being removed by police, someone else then repeated it the next day.
‘I’m taking this action because I believe it is necessary,’ said one of the activists, who is currently undertaking a tree sit attached to logging machinery.
‘I love and understand the importance of these forests. Logging in the face of climate collapse is criminal.’
Speaking about this morning’s action, incoming Greens MLC and Forestry Spokesperson, Sue Higginson, said …
‘The current logging of this Public Forest is against the recommendations of the Natural Resources Commission which last year said, after the horrendous fires of 2019/2020 we need to retain more habitat if we are to protect threatened species. The Forestry Corporation is not following this advice.’
https://www.echo.net.au/2022/04/anti-logging-blockage-underway-in-girard-state-forest/
Council park donation:
Cash-strapped Central Coast Council is considering transferring 72.4ha of land — valued at over $4.1 million —for inclusion into national parks “for no monetary consideration”.
It is not the first time council has transferred land for inclusion into national parks and comes after 300ha was transferred to the NPWS for inclusion in Bouddi National Park in 2003.
“Unfortunately National Parks face a similar situation to council in that there’s no such thing as a free gift. There’s still the cost of looking after and maintaining the land.”
Small start made on Georges River Koala Reserve:
The transfer of 54 hectares of land at Wedderburn from the Office of Strategic Lands to the NPWS has got the ball rolling for the establishment of a Georges River Koala Reserve from Long Point to Appin.
“Once fully established, the Reserve will protect up to 1,830 hectares of koala habitat and wildlife corridors in perpetuity.”
https://southwestvoice.com.au/wedderburn-georges-river-koala-reserve/
Burning down the house:
David Lindenmayer’s finding that logging increases fire risk has been pushed by the NCC and is increasingly recognised.
Lead author Professor David Lindenmayer said:
Logging increases the probability of canopy damage by five to 20 per cent and leads to long-term elevated risk of higher severity fire. On the other hand, if disturbance due to logging is minimised, canopy damage can be reduced, in turn reducing the risk of uncontrollable fires. [2]
Nature Conservation Council Organiser Wilson Harris said: “The arguments in support of ending native forest logging keep mounting.
NSW Nationals and Farmers welcome new logging rules:
The NSW Government announced it is going to implement the new Private Native Forestry codes on Monday without releasing them publicly, so as to avoid criticism, though they were warmly welcomed by the Nationals, Timber NSW and NSW Farmers who obviously had privileged access.
The new Northern NSW Private Native Forestry Codes of Practice introduced by the Nationals in NSW Government should help the local timber industry turbocharge flood recovery construction in the Clarence and Richmond Valleys, according to Clarence Nationals MP Chris Gulaptis.
The new Code aims to provide certainty for local landholders and includes simplified operating standards while also allowing landholder to achieve better forest management and environmental outcomes.
https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/about-us/media-centre/releases/2022/general/a-new-era-for-farm-forestry
[Member for Bathurst Paul Toole] The new codes include simplified operating standards that enable a clearer interpretation of the PNF Codes, while also allowing landholders to achieve better forest management and environmental outcomes.
The new Farm Forestry Codes have been informed by specialist experts in Forest Science and Ecology, and reviewed by the NSW Natural Resources Commission which found that the new Codes of Practice are a substantive improvement on the existing PNF Codes.
https://www.timberbiz.com.au/new-farm-forestry-codes-of-practice-in-force-may-in-nsw/
The new Farm Forestry Codes of Practice will help farmers manage their native forests with certainty, according to NSW Farmers Conservation and Resource Management Committee Chair Bronwyn Petrie. ‘Years have been lost for rural landowners to manage their native forests while the process has been tied up in unnecessary red tape and restrictions,’ said Mrs Petrie.
‘The new codes recognise the responsible management of timber on private land, and seek to take away the outdated and cumbersome regulations that have stifled the opportunities to develop this important agricultural land management activity.
https://www.echo.net.au/2022/04/changes-to-private-native-forestry-codes/
AUSTRALIA
Logging in announced Victorian park sparks protest:
Last June the Victorian government announced it would create three new national parks in the state’s central west, including the Wombat State Forest, but 10 months on, there has been no move to legislate and officially create the national parks but salvage logging is underway, leading residents to protest.
Logging in announced Queensland park sparks protest:
The Queensland government has proposed to log in a section of the Beerwah State Forest, known locally as Ferny Forest, before it ends native timber production in the “high value” conservation area in two years in accordance with the southeast Queensland forests agreement to end logging in the region by 31 December 2024.
The southeast Queensland forests agreement to end logging in the region by 31 December 2024 was signed by the state government, the timber industry and the conservation sector in 1999.
As part of the agreement, about 50% of the 130-hectare Ferny Forest section was considered as an area for harvest, with the forest last logged in the mid-1990s.
A petition to stop logging in the proposed area, located between Steve Irwin Way and Ewen Maddock dam, has received almost 22,000 signatures.
SPECIES
Poisoning mice kills Corellas:
The death of more than 300 Corellas between Tocumwal and Cobram along the Murray River has led to speculation they may be another case linked to pesticides or mouse baits.
Last June, large numbers of dead birds were found at a handful of regional locations including the Riverina.
A toxicology test found some of the birds had consumed poison bait.
The EPA’s spokesperson said it is too early to tell whether this occurrence is a repeat of a similar event last year.
In the EPA statement linked by Berrigan Shire, EPA executive director regulatory operations Carmen Dwyer said grain eating birds can be impacted by pesticide-coated grain crops.
Ms Dwyer acknowledged the difficulty of mouse infestations in regional NSW, particularly on cropping farmers.
The large-scale damage to farms, caused by increased mouse populations, has prompted extensive use of mouse baits both domestically and agriculturally, to preserve crops from damage.
https://www.corowafreepress.com.au/news/hundreds-of-corellas-found-dead-in-murray/
Poisoning rats saves wildlife:
Eradicating rats and mice on Lord Howe Island has resulted in a massive increase in Lord Howe Island Woodhens and a variety of other threatened species while facilitating an ecological renaissance, though also for weeds.
Lord Howe Island's Environment and World Heritage manager says the island is experiencing an 'ecological renaissance' where animals, birdlife and plants are thriving.
Hank Bower said the event is largely thanks to the success of the rodent eradication program which was implemented in 2019.
The population of Woodhens, a critically endangered species, has quadrupled since 2019, due to increased availability of food and the removal of rodenticide poisons from the island.
https://psnews.com.au/2022/04/26/rodent-ruin-saves-lord-howes-rare-birds/?state=aps
In the Conversation an expert gives some advice on rodent control.
Despite the risk to non-target animals, baits will always be needed for large scale rodent problems, such as mouse plagues. However, they are not humane as animals die slowly by blood loss over an average of 7.2 days and have the most potential for poisoning other species.
In Australia, it’s almost always unnecessary to use so-called “second-generation baits” such as brodifacoum. These baits are made in response to rodents developing resistance to some chemical formulations, and require only one feed to be fatal.
The active ingredients in second generation baits have a very long persistence time in the liver of animals that eat them, resulting in widespread secondary poisoning along the food chain.
Proposal to rewild dingoes sparks opposition:
The Inquiry into Ecosystems Decline in Victoria recommendations included a trial reintroduction of dingoes to the state’s national parks and reserves, and the phasing out of 1080 baiting, leading to farmer outrage.
The meeting moved a motion for the Crawfords to write to Premier Daniel Andrew, Minister for Agriculture Mary-Anne Thomas, and Minister for Environment Lily D’Ambrosio expressing opposition to the reintroduction of dingoes and their protected status, and maintenance of lethal control of baiting, trapping and shooting, and the fox and wild dog bounty.
May 3 Wild Koala Day
On May 3 Wild Koala Day we call on everyone to Protect A Forest, Plant A Tree & Phone a Pollie. Learn more: http://www.wildkoaladay.com.au/what-to-do/
Find events here: http://www.wildkoaladay.com.au/whats-on/
Tweed Council wants its hinterland Koalas protected:
Tweed Council voted to write to the NSW Premier, Minister for Environment and Heritage, Minister for Regional NSW and Minister for Agriculture to protect Tweeds hinterland koalas from the NSW Koala SEPP (State Environmental Planning Policy) 2021.
‘The koala SEPP 2021 exempts rural, agricultural and forestry lands, Zones RU1, RU2 and RU 3 from being subject to the protections under the Koala SEPP 2021. In these zones, the Koala SEPP 2020 continues to apply. Under the current proposal it has been identified that critical and significant areas of koala habitat would be able to be logged without assessment, consent or controls – noting in the Tweed the target trees species and size class for forestry are the same trees most critical to koala habitat conservation. Under the current proposal one might argue that our coastal koala populations are afforded better protections conserving their habitat than our hinterland koalas,’ she said.
https://www.echo.net.au/2022/04/hinterland-koalas-need-protecting-say-tweed-council/
Earning credits for planting new Koala feed trees as old ones are cut down:
A $2 million pilot program funded by the NSW government, World Wildlife Fund and carbon farming company Climate Friendly is aiming to plant new Koala habitat for carbon credits in the Northern Rivers, while the clearing and logging of actual habitat continues.
The $2 million pilot program funded by the NSW government, World Wildlife Fund and carbon farming company Climate Friendly aims to help double the number of koalas on the east coast by 2050.
The Koala Friendly Carbon project offers carbon credit incentives to private landholders in the Northern Rivers to sign conservation agreements to permanently establish habitat for the marsupials on their land.
The successful environmentally conscious, animal-friendly applicants can start earning credits from the federal government's Emissions Reduction Fund after a year.
https://www.aap.com.au/news/koalas-to-get-new-habitat-in-northern-nsw/
https://www.blayneychronicle.com.au/story/7717499/koalas-to-get-new-habitat-in-northern-nsw/
Celebrating invasive feral species:
Researchers take exception with the Royal Australian Mint releasing a $2 collectors’ coin to celebrate 200 years since the introduction of the European honeybee, an invasive alien species, rather than our native bees..
The coin celebrates an invasive alien species, and continues a long tradition in Australia of romanticising introduced fauna.
But the industry comes with costs as well as benefits. The introduced honeybee can escape managed hives to establish feral populations, which affect native species.
In New South Wales, feral honeybees are listed as a “key threatening process”.
Honeybees can take over large tree hollows to build new colonies, potentially displacing native species. Tree hollows can take many decades to form and bee colonies occupy hollows for a long time – so this is a long-term problem for native bees.
Many other native species also rely on tree hollows for shelter and breeding, and are likely to be affected by competition from honeybees. They include at least 20% of birds including threatened species such as the superb parrot and glossy black cockatoo, as well as a range of native mammals and marsupials.
Honeybees, both feral and managed, also compete with native species for nectar and pollen in flowers. Research has shown honeybees often remove 80% or more of floral resources produced.
Deer catching COVID:
In North America hundreds of white-tailed deer have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, sparking concerns that new mutant strains may develop.
It’s not yet clear whether the virus can spread in long chains of infection among deer, or whether deer-to-human transmission could spark outbreaks. But researchers are growing increasingly concerned about the animals becoming a viral reservoir, serving as a recalcitrant source of outbreaks and potentially breeding new variants. Some researchers think that the highly infectious Omicron variant spent time in an animal reservoir before popping up in people.
THE DETERIORATING PROBLEM
Clearing of tropical rain forests continues unabated:
The tropics lost 11.1 million hectares of tree cover in 2021, according to Global Forest Watch. Including 3.75 million hectares of tropical primary rainforests at a rate of 10 football pitches a minute – releasing 2.5 Gt of CO2, equivalent to India’s fossil fuel emissions. Outside of the tropics, boreal forests experienced the highest rates of tree cover loss in 2021, increasing 29% over 2020.
https://www.globalforestwatch.org/blog/data-and-research/global-tree-cover-loss-data-2021/
India cooking:
A heat dome formed over India in March resulting in its highest maximum temperatures in 122 years and rainfall 71% lower than average, the scorching temperatures extended into April, and ferocious heat waves are forecast to be even worse in May.
The extinction crisis:
A global review has found a 21% of reptiles are threatened with extinction, not as many as the 41% of amphibians, or the 25% of mammals, but more than the 14% of birds. Reptiles inhabiting forests are facing the strongest threats, including from logging.
Global assessments reveal that, among tetrapods, 40.7% of amphibians, 25.4% of mammals and 13.6% of birds are threatened with extinction. …Here we provide a comprehensive extinction-risk assessment of reptiles and show that at least 1,829 out of 10,196 species (21.1%) are threatened—confirming a previous extrapolation8 and representing 15.6 billion years of phylogenetic diversity. Reptiles are threatened by the same major factors that threaten other tetrapods—agriculture, logging, urban development and invasive species—although the threat posed by climate change remains uncertain. Reptiles inhabiting forests, where these threats are strongest, are more threatened than those in arid habitats, contrary to our prediction. Birds, mammals and amphibians are unexpectedly good surrogates for the conservation of reptiles, although threatened reptiles with the smallest ranges tend to be isolated from other threatened tetrapods. Although some reptiles—including most species of crocodiles and turtles—require urgent, targeted action to prevent extinctions, efforts to protect other tetrapods, such as habitat preservation and control of trade and invasive species, will probably also benefit many reptiles.
…
More than half of all reptile species occur in forested habitats (Fig. 4c). … The top threats to reptiles—agriculture, urban development and logging—are also the top threats to species inhabiting forested habitats, affecting 65.9%, 34.8% and 27.9% of forest-dwelling threatened reptiles, respectively, helping to explain the higher extinction risk of forest species.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04664-7
Australia one of the worst:
An article in the Conversation summarises Australia’s world leading role in the extinction crisis and the Federal Government’s contribution to the deteriorating situation.
Australia is losing more biodiversity than any other developed nation. Already this year the charismatic and once abundant gang gang cockatoo has been added to our national threatened species list, the koala has been listed as endangered and the Great Barrier Reef suffered another mass bleaching event.
The Coalition has been in government since 2013. So what has it done about the biodiversity crisis? Unfortunately, the state of Australia’s plants, animals and ecological communities suggests the answer is - not nearly enough.
In fact, as the extinction crisis has escalated, protection and recovery for threatened species has declined. Poor decisions are contributing to the problem, rather than solving it.
Australia has formally acknowledged the extinction of 104 native species since European colonisation, but the true number is likely much higher.
Threatened bird, mammal and plant populations have, on average, halved or worse since 1985. Species recently thought to be safe – such as the bogong moth, gang gang cockatoos, and even the iconic koala – are being added to the global and national threatened species lists following drought, catastrophic fires and habitat destruction.
The hectares cleared in New South Wales over the last decade have tripled, and a staggering 2.5 million hectares have been cleared in Queensland between 2000 and 2018. So what policies are needed to reverse the biodiversity crisis? The answer is: spend more and destroy less.
The government also continues to back activities that cause damage to biodiversity, including the fossil fuel and forestry industries.
Just two days of Coalition election promises (estimated at $833 million per day) would fund recovery for Australia’s entire list of threatened species for a year.
Finally, transformative policies are needed to support the substantial opportunities to enhance and restore biodiversity. This includes:
- using nature to help mitigate climate change
- green recovery of the economy post-COVID
- finding ways to farm profitably while enhancing biodiversity
- designing cities where people and nature can both flourish.
The Guardian similarly summarises Australia’s appalling record and lack of political will, citing Gregory Andrews, Australia’s first threatened species commissioner, who believes the state of our natural wildlife and biodiversity is the “worst it’s ever been” and called the ongoing destruction of forests and other habitat “crazy”.
“Biodiversity and nature have been completely absent from this campaign so far,” he says.
“If we’re serious about what it means to be Australian … we are a rich enough country with enough habitat and enough cleared area to dedicate the remaining land to protection,” he says. “The trouble is the Greens are the only party that says that, and it is seen as a fringe or extremist position.”
A new report from a coalition of conservation groups says if Australia was serious about nature protection, it would increase its spending ten-fold. It highlights 100 animals and plants – including the orange-bellied parrot and the grassland earless dragon – that are at imminent risk of extinction.
The council – backed by BirdLife Australia, Bush Heritage, the Humane Society International and the Australian Land Conservation Alliance – has released a new report that notes extinctions are expected to dramatically escalate in Australia over the next two decades due to Australia’s failure to deal with the major threats of invasive species, habitat destruction and climate change.
It identifies 100 species that have a high risk of extinction in that time, including 20 freshwater fish, nine birds, eight frogs, six reptiles, one mammal and one butterfly with a greater than 50% risk of extinction within 20 years, and 55 plants at high risk of extinction within 10.
Wildfires a key threat:
‘Fire regimes that cause biodiversity decline’ was listed last week as a key threatening process under the EPBC Act (Australia’s national environmental law) after being nominated in 2008.
‘Our current national threat abatement strategies are not working. The growing list of threatened species and declining ecosystems attest to that,’ Dr Rebecca Spindler, Executive Manager Science and Conservation, Bush Heritage Australia, said.
The Averting Extinctions report calls for more systematic listing of threats, more flexible response options including regional plans (as recommended by the Samuel review of the EPBC Act), more funding, and commitments by all governments to implement threat abatement plans.
Download Averting Extinctions here.
https://www.openforum.com.au/australia-faces-an-avalanche-of-extinctions/
The decline of insects:
A comprehensive global review has identified a 50% decline in the abundance of insects and more than a 25% decline in species in areas where substantial warming has been documented and where land has been converted for intensive agriculture
The combination of climate change and heavy agriculture is having a profound impact on the abundance and diversity of insects, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
In areas where substantial warming has been documented and where land has been converted for intensive agriculture — meaning it involves monoculture or the use of pesticides — insects were nearly 50 percent less abundant, and more than a quarter fewer species could be found, the study said.
Getting too hot for sperm:
Research (and the Canadian heat dome) shows that if honeybees experience a temperature of 42oC for 2 hours a third of male sperm dies and after 6 hours 50% of males die, with the expectation that increasing heatwaves could impair the fertility of beetles, bumblebees, flies, moths and wasps.
I research how heat stress affects honeybees, and Huxter’s observations reflect what I’ve seen in the lab. Our experiments show that after six hours at 42°C, 50% of male honeybees die. The results were alarming, yet conservative compared to previous work. Other researchers have found that up to 77% of drones die from exposure to 42°C for just four hours.
Worryingly, male fertility likely begins to decline well before the drones die. For example, after just two hours at 42°C, about one-third of sperm cells within drone ejaculates perish. This means that if a male bee survives a heat event, his fertility is likely impaired.
Honeybees are not the only insects whose fertility is imperiled by extreme heat. Scientists expect that worsening heat waves could impair fertility of beetles, bumblebees, flies, moths, and wasps—and those are just some of the ones we know about.
Getting too hot for scientists:
As evidence of the growing extinction crises grows and habitat destruction gathers momentum scientists are becoming increasingly alarmed, with one climate activist immolating himself in America.
Curry is part of a growing chorus of scientists worldwide calling for an immediate paradigm shift in the way humans travel, produce energy, grow their food and consume goods. Such a shift is not only necessary to tackle climate change, Curry said, but it’s also critical to mitigating the threat of mass extinction, as a rapidly increasing number of species of plants and animals face the threat of losing their natural habitats to inhospitable heat and the growing footprint of human industry and agriculture.
A sweeping new report from the United Nations found that more than 70 percent of the Earth’s land has already been altered by human activity, primarily because of expanding agriculture. And another study published by the World Resources Institute found that the world is essentially losing 10 soccer fields worth of tropical forest per minute because of development and industry.
Earlier this month, more than 1,000 scientists from around the world staged demonstrations and even faced arrest for civil disobedience as a way to decry a lack of action to address the climate crisis. And in a tragic scene last week, in what is believed to be a protest on climate inaction, a U.S. climate activist lit himself on fire in front of the Supreme Court and later died from his injuries.
In some ways, the latest batch of biodiversity studies should act as a clarion call to humanity to do far more to address the industries driving the climate crisis, including logging and agriculture, Curry said.
“You really need to remember that we are species on a planet, and our fate is tied to the health of all of the other species on this planet,” she said. “Killing the planet is killing ourselves, and that’s the message that everybody needs to absorb and start acting on.”
https://us2.campaign-archive.com/?e=6624c72df8&u=7c733794100bcc7e083a163f0&id=bdcba27df2
TURNING IT AROUND
Earth Day:
Earth Day was on the 22 April and is celebrated around the world, with overall co-ordination by EarthDay.org. Their Canopy Project focuses on tree planting, with their factsheet on reforestation noting:
Reforestation is an effective method to fight against climate change while also maintaining the many benefits forests provide. These ten facts highlight some of the social and environmental benefits forests provide, and statistics on deforestation and reforestation.
- Worldwide forest cover shrinks by an average of 4.7 million hectares per year (12 pp. 125)
- A tree must live for at least 10-20 years to have a meaningful effect on the environment (2)
- Forests are home to an estimated 80% of the world’s terrestrial species (3)
- Throughout 2015-2020, 10 million hectares of trees were removed from forests around the world each year. Only 5 million hectares of trees were planted each year throughout the same period (4)
- Forests are extremely important to humanity’s health and wellbeing. They provide tens of millions of jobs, are a vital part of the food chain, and over 28,000 species of forest plants are used in medicines (5 pp.12-15)
- A study found that urban reforestation projects improved the mental health of office workers who could view green spaces from their office (6)
- Forests play a vital role in regulating water cycles and soil quality (7)
- Adding 10% more green cover in cities and towns could potentially reduce the surface temperature of the area by 2.2 °C (8)
- Plants found in forests release phytoncides, antimicrobial compounds. Studies have found that exposure to phytoncides can reduce stress, boost the immune system, and lower blood pressure as well as heart rate. (9)
- 2,000 years ago, 80% of Western Europe was covered by forests. Today, only 34% is covered by forests. (10)
https://www.earthday.org/reforestation-fact-sheet/
https://www.echo.net.au/2022/04/its-earth-day-invest-in-our-planet/
Forest Media 22 April 2022
New South Wales
The National Parks Association (NPA) community forum about The Great Koala National Park at the Norm Jordan Pavilion at the Coffs Harbour Showgrounds, from 5:30pm until 8pm and NEFA’s 29 April rally at 10.30 to 11.30 outside the NSW Legislative Council committee inquiry into the ‘Long term sustainability and future of the timber and forest products industry’ has been reported by News of the Area.
A Clarence Valley blueberry farmer has entered into an Enforceable Undertaking with the NSW Department of Planning and Environment committing the landholder to a conservation agreement for the property, which will protect more than 22 hectares of remnant vegetation from clearing for a minimum of 25 years, following the unlawful clearing of more than 11 hectares of native vegetation on their property. A NSW company linked to a serial offender has been fined more than $250,000 for building two illegal dams in creeks and clearing 6ha of endangered swamp sclerophyll forest next to the Great Lakes Marine Park.
Residents of Dalmeny in Eurobodalla Shire on the far south coast are continuing their campaign to stop bulldozing of 100 hectares of spotted gum forest that escaped the Black Summer bushfires for housing, and are now seeking donations for a legal challenge.
Australia
The Morrison government has been accused of sitting on the Australia State of the Environment report it received in December to avoid "more bad news" before the election, despite The Greens, Labor, the independent MP Zali Steggall, environment groups and scientists calling on the government to release it.
The ABC has a series of positive case studies of farmers protecting parts of their properties under various forms of conservation agreements in return for stewardship payments or carbon credits, while land clearing goes on.
As part of the Federal Government’s promotion of logging, the Green Triangle forestry industry, hit hard by the ongoing export log ban by China, has received a $1.3 million federal grant to explore the creation of new wood products using softwood and hardwood pulp.
Species
Concerns are growing over the Lendlease housing developments at Figtree Hill and Mt Gilead as clearing of Koala habitat proceeds without the promised fauna underpasses, while Koala corridors are narrowed and the density of development increases. State Member for Campbelltown Greg Warren and the Labor opposition welcome the $193m NSW Koala Strategy but are warning that koalas cannot be saved unless the current laws, policies and planning rules are changed to protect endangered koalas.
Through vaccinations and introductions of healthy adults from other populations, the University of Queensland's koala ecology group consider they have eliminated chlamydia from Koalas in Belmont Hills Reserve in suburban Brisbane, healthy adults are breeding again and hopefully the steady decline has been reversed.
With Firesticks Alliance a Yuin-Djiringanj traditional custodian applied a ‘traditional burn’ on a private property on the edge of Biamanga National Park to protect Koala habitat. Vic Jurkiss denies the Black Summer firestorms ever reached the new koala park at Biamanga, and has his usual rant about Koalas erupting due to increased regrowth and wildfires, noting “Explosive fuels, koala plagues and megafires go together”.
Researchers have undertaken DNA surveys of waterways in Royal National Park, finding traces of 250 land and water species, but no platypus, clearing the way for proposed reintroduction of 10 platypuses in August.
On the south-coast land-owners are being requested to remove Cocos Palms as flying foxes are increasingly being forced to feed on the toxic fruits following the loss of eucalypt blossoms in the fires, followed by rain washing the nectar out of flowers.
In an attempt to avoid extinctions, eighty captive spotted tree frogs, as well as 100 southern corroboree frogs, have been released into Kosciuszko National Park, after being severely impacted by the Black Summer bushfires on top of chytrid fungus. Only 10 spotted tree frogs were thought to have survived the fires.
The Australian Wildlife Conservancy says Bilbys are experiencing a population boom inside their 5 predator-free enclosures, with numbers growing from about 1230 animals last year to around 1480 this year.
The Save the Tasmanian devil Program has shown nearly 60,000 animals were reported killed in road-related incidents in Tasmania since the government launched a smartphone app three years ago, that is an average of 32 animals every hour with many more unreported.
Since December outbreaks of bird flu have been reported amongst wild birds in America, for example it is attributed with killing more than 200 waterfowl and water birds in an Illinois forest preserve, scores of Canada geese in Strafford County, hawks and eagles in Dane County and a growing number of other cases. In America more than 24 million poultry animals have been killed in the last two months across at least 24 states, and outbreaks H5 avian influenza are reported nearly every day. Japanese authorities culled 92,000 chickens following an outbreak, and outbreaks have been reported in South Korea, United Kingdom, Netherlands and Germany.
Researchers have completed the first open-air study of genetically engineered mosquitoes in the United States, the engineered males carry a gene that is lethal to female offspring meaning they die before they can reproduce.
The Deteriorating Problem
South Africa has said it will take climate change adaption seriously after it’s deadliest storm on record resulted in torrential rains that caused floods and mudslides in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province, killing 448 people, leaving another 63 missing, destroying over 4,000 homes with thousands more seriously damaged, leaving 40,000 people without shelter, and many more without water or electricity. It was the third such catastrophe since 2017.
Turning it Around
The Conversation is undertaking a survey of its readers to find what matters to them most, so far more than 6,000 people have answered, with climate change (65%) and the environment (28%) topping the list as the issues that have the greatest impact on people’s lives (you can join in). Though they are being ignored by the main political parties.
The Magpie River recently became the first river in Canada to be granted legal personhood, giving it nine rights, among them the right to flow, maintain biodiversity, be free from pollution, and to sue.
Dailan Pugh
NEW SOUTH WALES
The National Parks Association (NPA) community forum about The Great Koala National Park at the Norm Jordan Pavilion at the Coffs Harbour Showgrounds, from 5:30pm until 8pm and NEFA’s 29 April rally at 10.30 to 11.30 outside the NSW Legislative Council committee inquiry into the ‘Long term sustainability and future of the timber and forest products industry’ has been reported by News of the Area.
Mr Graham told News Of The Area, “If the State Government is serious about doubling the koala population, then The Great Koala National Park is essential.
“Leaving the native forests alone will benefit taxpayers much more than cutting them down.
The Friends of Pine Creek will be promoting their proposal to complete a ‘forest bridge’ from the New England plateau to the coast.
Organisers want the NSW Government to end logging of public native forests and transition to plantations.
They also want to raise awareness about endangered species such as koalas, spotted-tailed quolls and barred frogs and vulnerable species of gliders.
The organisers also want to highlight the role of the Federal Government in forestry.
Blueberry farmer forced to protect 22ha after 11ha illegally cleared:
A Clarence Valley blueberry farmer has entered into an Enforceable Undertaking with the NSW Department of Planning and Environment committing the landholder to a conservation agreement for the property, which will protect more than 22 hectares of remnant vegetation from clearing for a minimum of 25 years, following the unlawful clearing of more than 11 hectares of native vegetation on their property.
https://insidelocalgovernment.com.au/blueberry-farmer-in-a-jam-over-unlawful-land-clearing/
Another fined more than $250,000 for clearing 6ha of an endangered ecosystem:
A NSW company linked to a serial offender has been fined more than $250,000 for building two illegal dams in creeks and clearing 6ha of endangered swamp sclerophyll forest next to the Great Lakes Marine Park.
The Natural Resources Access Regulator brought the case and says it should serve as a warning to landholders about what's at stake if they do the wrong thing.
https://www.northernbeachesreview.com.au/story/7707442/company-fined-over-clearing-illegal-dams/
The company, Bao Lin Pty Ltd, is linked to Chinese billionaire developer Phillip Dong Fang Lee, whose companies have been fined in Australia for environmental damage on three separate occasions since 2009.
Mr Lee’s companies were fined $200,000 in the NSW Land and Environment Court in 2009
when a dam walled collapsed and polluted water contaminated North Arm Cove.
In 2014 his companies were fined $8000 for clearing bushland and in 2019 his companies were fined $88,000 plus $20,000 costs for illegally clearing bushland.
In 2021 Mr Lee and Ms Shi’s assets were frozen by the Australian Tax Office, which is pursuing the couple for $272 million.
Protecting bush from housing:
Residents of Dalmeny in Eurobodalla Shire on the far south coast are continuing their campaign to stop bulldozing of 100 hectares of spotted gum forest that escaped the Black Summer bushfires for housing, and are now seeking donations for a legal challenge.
AUSTRALIA
Morrison sits on environment report:
The Morrison government has been accused of sitting on the Australia State of the Environment report it received in December to avoid "more bad news" before the election, despite The Greens, Labor, the independent MP Zali Steggall, environment groups and scientists calling on the government to release it.
A spokesperson for Ley said, "the report will be released within the statutory timeframe set out under the act". She would say that, but it's no excuse for using the election to avoid delaying the release of the report.
Paying to protect private lands:
The ABC has a series of positive case studies of farmers protecting parts of their properties under various forms of conservation agreements in return for stewardship payments or carbon credits, while land clearing goes on.
Recent research led by a University of Queensland team has found that 48 per cent of Australia’s threatened species’ distributions occur on private freehold land – and that conservation on farmland is critical to threatened species’ recovery.
Professor Lindenmayer says it’s paradoxical that there is so much emphasis on putting trees and shrubs back into the landscape, while legislation still allows large amounts of land clearing, especially in New South Wales and Queensland
Investing in composite timber products:
As part of the Federal Government’s promotion of logging, the Green Triangle forestry industry, hit hard by the ongoing export log ban by China, has received a $1.3 million federal grant to explore the creation of new wood products using softwood and hardwood pulp.
SPECIES
Putting the squeeze on Koalas:
Concerns are growing over the Lendlease housing developments at Figtree Hill and Mt Gilead as clearing of Koala habitat proceeds without the promised fauna underpasses, while Koala corridors are narrowed and the density of development increases.
However, Lendlease has yet to secure approval for the underpasses, and scientists fear other changes made since the plan was approved could harm the population of about 500 disease-free animals.
Koala ecologist Dr Steve Philips said he understands that koala corridors may now be constructed to an average rather than minimum size, which could create “pinch points” that prevent the animals from using them.
“Pinch points … will impede koala movements along the corridor. Males will block transit by other males … rendering them ineffective,” Philips said.
Labor says policies and planning rules need to be changed to double Koalas:
State Member for Campbelltown Greg Warren and the Labor opposition welcome the $193m NSW Koala Strategy but are warning that koalas cannot be saved unless the current laws, policies and planning rules are changed to protect endangered koalas.
State Member for Campbelltown Greg Warren says that while the overdue NSW Koala Strategy is welcome, what the residents of Campbelltown need and deserve is genuine action rather than lip service.
Mr Warren and the Labor opposition are warning that koalas cannot be saved if the current laws, policies and planning rules fail to protect endangered koalas.
Labor says koala numbers cannot be doubled if:
-
The NSW Government fails to apply clear rules through the planning system that protect key koala corridors and ensure there are safe road crossings before development occurs;
- The changes to land clearing laws that have seen a 300 percent increase in land clearing are allowed to continue in their current form;
- The stalled private native forestry code waters down protections for koala habitat on private land;
- The political bickering over the Koala State Environment Planning Policy (SEPP) continues;
- The NSW Government continues to ignore the Natural Resources Commission Report that sets out key actions to save and restore severely burned forests after the Black Summer bushfires;
- The NSW Government refuses to legislate net zero greenhouse gas emissions targets.
https://southwestvoice.com.au/saving-koalas/
Saving urban Koalas:
Through vaccinations and introductions of healthy adults from other populations, the University of Queensland's koala ecology group consider they have eliminated chlamydia from Koalas in Belmont Hills Reserve in suburban Brisbane, healthy adults are breeding again and hopefully the steady decline has been reversed.
[Dr FitzGibbon] accepts the new system is too labour intensive for large areas of habitat but believes it could help save urban colonies living in pockets of bushland.
https://www.blayneychronicle.com.au/story/7705414/new-approach-could-save-urban-koalas/
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2022/04/20/chlamydia-urban-koalas/
Burning to protect Koalas:
With Firesticks Alliance a Yuin-Djiringanj traditional custodian applied a ‘traditional burn’ on a private property on the edge of Biamanga National Park to protect Koala habitat.
For Dan Morgan, the next, crucial step to secure the future of the forests and vulnerable wildlife is to restore the country's traditional fire regime.
He is working with Yuin traditional knowledge holders and the local Koori community, to reclaim and apply cultural fire practices on their traditional lands.
It is a complex path to navigate, reclaiming ancient fire practices within the constraints of the prescribed burning regimes and regulations of different land tenures, and to support a koala population that is more vulnerable than ever.
"It's our cultural responsibility, to care for the land the way our ancestors did for thousands of years," Mr Morgan said. "Because that represents who we are.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-17/koalas-saved-by-traditional-indigenous-burning/100988672
Vic Jurkiss denies the Black Summer firestorms ever reached the new koala park at Biamanga, and has his usual rant about Koalas erupting due to increased regrowth and wildfires, noting “Explosive fuels, koala plagues and megafires go together”.
Koalas are not a vulnerable or endangered species, but there is multi-million dollar multinational industry exploiting their cute and cuddly appearance whilst peddling propaganda about their imminent extinction to raise funds, supposedly for wildlife conservation.
https://quadrant.org.au/opinion/doomed-planet/2022/04/explosive-fuels-koala-plagues-and-megafires/
Reintroducing platypuses into Royal NP:
Researchers have undertaken DNA surveys of waterways in Royal National Park, finding traces of 250 land and water species, but no platypus, clearing the way for proposed reintroduction of 10 platypuses in August.
A landmark assessment by UNSW scientists in 2020 found that the area of eastern Australia where platypuses live has shrunk by up to 22 per cent over the past 30 years, with key threats to their habitats including historic land clearing, river regulation, and extreme droughts.
https://www.openforum.com.au/the-return-of-the-platypus/
Cocos Palms killing flying foxes:
On the south-coast land-owners are being requested to remove Cocos Palms as flying foxes are increasingly being forced to feed on the toxic fruits following the loss of eucalypt blossoms in the fires, followed by rain washing the nectar out of flowers.
[Janine Davies] “Unfortunately eating the Cocos palm fruit can be toxic.”
She says removing the Cocos fruit will help reduce the death toll.
“There are many flying foxes being found deceased at the base of Cocos palms and other trees, some with fruit still in their mouth,” Janine says.
Flying fox wings can also get caught in the flower sheaths or leaves and the seeds can cause severe constipation resulting in dehydration and death in younger flying foxes.
Restocking endangered frogs:
In an attempt to avoid extinctions, eighty captive spotted tree frogs, as well as 100 southern corroboree frogs, have been released into Kosciuszko National Park, after being severely impacted by the Black Summer bushfires on top of chytrid fungus. Only 10 spotted tree frogs were thought to have survived the fires.
https://www.aap.com.au/news/endangered-frogs-jump-back-in-the-wild/
https://www.sydneytimes.net.au/critically-endangered-frogs-hop-back-into-the-wild/
Locking Bilbys up for their own good:
The Australian Wildlife Conservancy says Bilbys are experiencing a population boom inside their 5 predator-free enclosures, with numbers growing from about 1230 animals last year to around 1480 this year.
https://7news.com.au/technology/bilby-populations-climb-across-the-country-c-6464226
https://www.northernbeachesreview.com.au/story/7701492/bilby-populations-climb-across-the-country/
Car-nage:
The Save the Tasmanian devil Program has shown nearly 60,000 animals were reported killed in road-related incidents in Tasmania since the government launched a smartphone app three years ago, that is an average of 32 animals every hour with many more unreported.
Bird Flu continues to spread:
Since December outbreaks of bird flu have been reported amongst wild birds in America, for example it is attributed with killing more than 200 waterfowl and water birds in an Illinois forest preserve, scores of Canada geese in Strafford County, hawks and eagles in Dane County and a growing number of other cases. In America more than 24 million poultry animals have been killed in the last two months across at least 24 states, and outbreaks H5 avian influenza are reported nearly every day,
“Waterfowl are a natural host for Avian Influenza viruses and this strain has been identified in every North American Flyway this year,” she wrote. “Flyways are the migratory routes that many species of bird take between the areas they overwinter and summer. The summering and wintering grounds may overlap with those for species from other parts of the globe.”
https://www.concordmonitor.com/avian-flu-nh-new-hampshire-45828844
https://fox47.com/news/local/avian-influenza-found-in-wild-birds-in-wisconsin-dnr-says
Japanese authorities culled 92,000 chickens following an outbreak, and outbreaks have been reported in South Korea, United Kingdom, Netherlands and Germany.
https://www.poultryworld.net/health-nutrition/japanese-authorities-battle-bird-flu-outbreak/
Genetically engineered mosquitoes released:
Researchers have completed the first open-air study of genetically engineered mosquitoes in the United States, the engineered males carry a gene that is lethal to female offspring meaning they die before they can reproduce.
THE DETERIORATING PROBLEM
Time to adapt:
South Africa has said it will take climate change adaption seriously after it’s deadliest storm on record resulted in torrential rains that caused floods and mudslides in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province, killing 448 people, leaving another 63 missing, destroying over 4,000 homes with thousands more seriously damaged, leaving 40,000 people without shelter, and many more without water or electricity. It was the third such catastrophe since 2017.
TURNING IT AROUND
Climate Change and the environment main issues:
The Conversation is undertaking a survey of its readers to find what matters to them most, so far more than 6,000 people have answered, with climate change (65%) and the environment (28%) topping the list as the issues that have the greatest impact on people’s lives (you can join in). Though they are being ignored by the main political parties.
Climate change (65%) and the environment (28%) topped the list as the issues that have the greatest impact on your lives. The cost of living (20%), misinformation (17%), housing (15%) and aged care (13%) comprise the remaining top spots on the list, followed by education, mental health, gender equality and COVID-19. These issues will all be prominent in our coverage.
The #SetTheAgenda survey will be open for a while yet, so please fill it out if you haven’t done so yet.
Mention forests if you do the survey
As far as political debate goes, this federal election seems to be less about climate change than any in the past 15 years. Unlike in 2010, 2013 and 2016 – when governments were elected and leaders deposed over climate policy – this time there’s no brutal contest over the issue.
In 2019, climate change determined how about 13% of Australians voted. And while it’s early days in the campaign, several polls suggest climate change remains a defining issue for voters this time around. If they’re right, the Coalition is in trouble.
Public anxiety over future climate damage is growing. The Lowy Institute has found 60% of Australians now say global warming is a significant and pressing problem. The same poll showed 55% of Australians say the government’s energy policy should prioritise “reducing carbon emissions” – up eight points since 2019.
The crucial indicator is the short-term national emissions target. The Coalition is sticking with a 26-28% reduction on 2005 levels by 2030. Labor is aiming for a 43% cut in the same period. The Greens and independents want more, and would legislate their targets.
While the Coalition has no renewable energy target, Labor is promising renewables will comprise 82% of the national grid by 2030.
Granting rivers legal rights:
The Magpie River recently became the first river in Canada to be granted legal personhood, giving it nine rights, among them the right to flow, maintain biodiversity, be free from pollution, and to sue.
To protect the natural landmark, the Innu Council of Ekuanitshit and the Minganie Regional County Municipality declared the Mutuhekau Shipu a legal person in 2021. Now the river has nine rights, among them the right to flow, maintain biodiversity, be free from pollution, and to sue.
While this is a first in Canada, it’s part of a global, Indigenous-led campaign echoing the rights of nature movement, which aims to provide concrete protections for the natural landscape. In recent years, many rivers—from New Zealand’s Whanganui to the United States’ Klamath River—have been given personhood. In 2018, Colombia’s Supreme Court granted the Amazon—the world’s largest river—legal rights.
Forest Media 15 April 2022
New South Wales
Echonet has a lengthy article against the burning of forests for electricity, noting that earlier this year (17 March) Tweed Shire Council passed (with only one dissenting) an amendment to exclude the purchase of renewable energy sourced from the burning of wood or waste as part of their procurement of Large-scale Generation Certificates.
Eurobodalla Council Deputy Mayor Alison Worthington put a motion to Council on 12 April calling for the cessation of logging of native forests in the Eurobodalla and a transition to sustainable plantations. Though it didn’t go according to plan, with Council voting to defer most issues. Fiona McCuaig gave a presentation to a public meeting for why logging of public native forests should cease in Eurobodalla.
The Forestry Corporation being fined $45,000 for cutting down ‘hollow bearing’ trees in Mogo State Forest on the South Coast is still generating media (repeatedly since 18 March), though it appears that Forestry Corp has appealed one of the 3 $15,000 fines which means it will be tested in court – generating yet more media.
If you are planning on visiting a national park check before you go, the NPWS have temporarily closed some of its campgrounds, walking tracks and vehicle accesses throughout NSW due to landslips, flooding and coastal erosion.
Australia
The Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) have been engaging closely with both the Coalition and Federal Labor throughout this election campaign to secure the best deal for Australia’s forest industries, focussing on Government subsidised plantations, no forest protection, and more pulplogs. It quickly bore fruit, as Scott Morrison promised his government “won’t support any shutdowns of native forestry” as he announced $220m to make more wood products in Australia, including $100 million to set up a National Institute for Forest Products Innovation in Launceston as part of his bid to hang on to marginal seats in Tasmania. The Australian Forest Products Association were delighted, claiming they would be able to quickly develop new methodologies for manufacturing structural timbers. Christine Milne joined the chorus of environmentalists decrying Morrison’s delusional fantasy of creating 73,000 new jobs in a dying industry. The Greens called for an end to logging native forests, and completing the transition to plantations.
For the industry ABARES are assessing the available resources for logging outside State forests over privately managed native forests, planted farm forestry, and native forests managed by Indigenous peoples. They have now released the Farm forestry sector report, identifying 73,400 hectares of farm forestry in Australia, of which 53,100 hectares have previously been identified and reported as commercial plantation.
The debate about whether logging makes forests more vulnerable to burning continues in the academic journals, most recently Lindenmayer et. al. reinterpret the data presented by Bowman et. al, concluding “Their data clearly show the effect of logging on the probability of high-severity fire and such findings, coupled with the results of other empirical analyses, indicate that forest management can lead to long-term elevated risks of high-severity fire. Even in mild fire weather, logged forests were more likely to suffer high-severity fire than undisturbed forests under more severe fire weather conditions”, in response Bowman et. al admit “a relatively small positive effect of recent harvesting on fire severity; however, the overall effect size is negligible on an area basis because such a small proportion of the area burned (<5%) was affected by recent harvesting”, regarding as critically important “the vulnerability of recently clear-felled native forests, plantations and the very large area of native forests regenerating following the recent fires”.
Species
On Saturday 9 April the NSW Government released its NSW Koala Strategy, to avoid scrutiny strategically timed to be sandwiched between the launch of the Federal Government’s Koala Recovery Plan and announcement of the federal election. Despite a promise to double Koala populations by 2050, with $193.3 million for the next 5 years, the strategy is set to fail because it does not fulfill the most fundamental requirement of stopping existing Koala habitat from being cleared and degraded, and lacks a strategic approach to identify the highest priority lands for protection and revegetation. It was praised by WWF though they did have a qualification about not stopping landclearing. NEFA’s criticisms for not stopping clearing and logging of koala habitat, while ignoring public lands (such as the Great Koala National Park and Sandy Creek Koala Park) and their proposed reductions of private land protections, were widely publicised. The Greens said it would be better to stop logging public forests. Labor emphasised the need to stop landclearing and adopt policies and laws for koalas.
The announced 5,000 ha Taronga Zoo Box-Gum Woodland Rewilding Reserve is assumed to be another fenced breeding compound, though no details were found. Koalas are intended to be introduced into it, though it seems inappropriate to fund it with Koala strategy money as they don’t need feral predators excluded.
There is no need to worry about clearing and logging Koala habitat, or biobanking habitat as compensation, when for a fraction of the cost we can just biobank sperm. A new koala rescue course has been launched nationwide by WIRES for registered wildlife carers.
NSW loggers have welcomed the Federal Government’s National Recovery Plan for the Koala, because, like NSW’s Strategy, it focuses on DPI Forestry’s dodgy findings that logging has no impact on Koala occupancy and ignores all the other studies which found logging has significant impacts, to justify doing nothing about logging.
NSW is missing in action as the Queensland Department of Environment and Science joined the Commonwealth in updating the conservation status of the koala to ‘endangered’.
An article in the Conversation (with audio) identifies Albert’s Lyrebird can mimic 11 other birds and 37 different sounds, each population with their own songs, though worryingly a third of their habitat was burnt.
A biologist fears last year's mysterious mass die-off of Australian frogs, which has been partially attributed to the skin-attacking amphibian chytrid fungus, could be on the cards again this winter, amplified by the recent floods. In the recent Queensland floods invasive fire ants formed rafts out of their bodies enabling them to float around with their queen and larvae on floodwaters for weeks before finding dry ground and starting new colonies.
Forestry had been monitoring wildlife at 40 sites in state forests south of Eden since 2007. Small mammals started declining with the drought in 2016-17 and then the 2019-20 fires caused a greater than 50 per cent decline in some species, though according to Forestry increased rainfall and prolific vegetation regrowth over the past 2 years have led to rapid recovery of a range of animal species including Southern Brown Bandicoots, Long-nosed Bandicoots, Bush Rats, Agile Antechinus and Painted Button quail.
The Sydney Morning Herald has an in-depth article about recovery efforts for the Orange-bellied Parrot as it teeters on the brink of extinction in the wild, with a massive investment there has been a slight improvement in the last few years.
Park rangers in China’s Ailaoshan Nature Reserve collected and preserved 30,468 leeches over a few months, whose blood was then analysed to identify the DNA of 86 different species from frogs to bears, enabling researches to identify what parts of the park the species utilised – wild animals preferred wild areas.
The Deteriorating Problem
National Geographic has a series of articles on the plight of our forests. ‘The Future of Forests’ documents cases of mass die-offs of forests around the world, including cases where repeat fires or other factors stop regeneration. While heating is enabling boreal forests to expand north, and CO2 fertilisation is enhancing growth, the apocalypse of intensifying heatwaves, droughts, fires, storms, and insect infestations are killing forests on a massive scale, as trees die they release their carbon, the land warms and the air dries. We can still limit the losses. In ‘4 solutions for trees and forests threatened by a hotter world’ they identify 1. Help forests migrate to beat the heat (climate is shifting faster than trees can), 2. Plant trees—but the right ones in the right places (too often inappropriate species are planted and the capacity for natural regeneration ignored – though the most effective action is to restore forests), 3. Build tougher trees with genetic engineering (in America they have genetically engineered a variety of native trees to resist diseases, though there is strong concern about releasing them into the wild), and 4. Leave forests alone to heal themselves (moving away from treating forests as plantations and allowing natural processes to restore forests, while logging occasional mature trees).
Mongabay has an article on the various metrics that can be used to measure biodiversity loss and planetary boundaries, concluding that by all measures biodiversity and ecosystems are in dramatic decline necessitating radical action.
A recent study of tropical forests identified how the regional warming and rainfall declines caused by deforestation affected remaining forests, finding significant biomass losses across the remaining rainforest.
Turning it Around
A recent study has claimed that we have a 50% chance of keeping warming to 2oC if all countries honour their promises, though limiting it to 1.5o warming will require deeper cuts. At the National Press Club the Greens focussed on the climate crisis as a war, and accused Liberal and Labor of aiding the enemy by backing more coal and gas, while spruiking how they will turn it around if they get the balance of power.
Last week, as part of the ‘Scientist Rebellion’ an estimated 1,000 scientists in more than 25 countries staged demonstrations to demand that world leaders do far more to reduce climate-warming emissions, with some locking themselves to the gate of the White House and to the front door of the JPMorgan Chase bank in Los Angeles, as well as blocking highway traffic in Washington, D.C. In a Guardian article a scientist speaks of his growing terror of the impacts of climate change, grief at the loss of reefs and forests, increasing activism, and inability to effect change – still urging others to action, citing Martin Luther King Jr.: “He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”
Dailan Pugh
NEW SOUTH WALES
Tweed votes against incinerating forests:
Echonet has a lengthy article against the burning of forests for electricity, noting that earlier this year (17 March) Tweed Shire Council passed (with only one dissenting) an amendment to exclude the purchase of renewable energy sourced from the burning of wood or waste as part of their procurement of Large-scale Generation Certificates.
[Greens Councillor Nola Firth] ‘The reasoning used to justify burning wood for energy is that wood regrows so is a renewable source. This reasoning is deeply flawed because we know trees take time to grow and also that trees are disappearing from the earth at a disastrous rate- in Australia one Melbourne Cricket Ground is cleared every 86 seconds, This at a time when over a million species are at risk of extinction and loss of habitat is the main cause.’
Mayor Chris Cherry supported the amendment pointing out that ‘we do have options for wind and solar that is the better option at this time. I am happy to see this going forward to meet our target for 2022 and 2030’.
Eurobodalla Council is being asked to support stopping logging of public forests:
Eurobodalla Council Deputy Mayor Alison Worthington put a motion to Council on 12 April calling for the cessation of logging of native forests in the Eurobodalla and a transition to sustainable plantations.
Deputy Mayor Councillor Worthington says "There is growing community demand here in the Eurobodalla, across NSW, as well as around Australia and the world, for native forest logging to stop, and for the native forest timber industry to be transitioned to sustainable plantations. We are in the middle of twin deteriorating crises - the Biodiversity Crisis and the Climate Crisis.
"Native forest logging practices in our south coast State Forests, which make up 31% of our shire’s land area, directly contribute to both crises. Logging of our south coast State Forests is not economically or environmentally sustainable.
Though it didn’t go according to plan, with Council voting to defer most issues.
In what was an argumentative, cumbersome, poorly informed debate the majority of Eurobodalla Shire Councillors voted to defer many of the points in a motion calling for an end to native forest logging in the State Forests within Eurobodalla.
As if it was painfully pulling teeth the Council voted to acknowledge and raise the concerns of south coast residents with FCNSW asking for better management of State Forests to support nature-based tourism enterprises, recreational usage, threatened species habitat protection and carbon sequestration.
https://www.beagleweekly.com.au/post/visionary-forest-policy-deferred-by-eurobodalla-council
https://www.beagleweekly.com.au/post/council-shows-its-underbelly-on-continued-native-forest-harvesting
In light of the passed motions to defer, Council will now seek further information on each of the matters.
Based on debate in the chamber, it is understood Council will ask NSW Forestry Corporation about the organisation's profitability and viability; discussions are also likely to occur with local tourism operators impacted by this issue.
The current deferrals are active until council receives the extra information it has requested. At this stage, there is no set date for when the motion will return to the council chamber.
Fiona McCuaig gave a presentation to a public meeting for why logging of public native forests should cease in Eurobodalla.
https://www.beagleweekly.com.au/post/presentation-to-public-forum-fiona-mccuaig
Mogo repeating fines:
The Forestry Corporation being fined $45,000 for cutting down ‘hollow bearing’ trees in Mogo State Forest on the South Coast is still generating media (repeatedly since 18 March), though it appears that Forestry Corp has appealed one of the 3 $15,000 fines which means it will be tested in court – generating yet more media.
The EPA issued three $15,000 Penalty Infringement Notices to FCNSW for felling hollow bearing trees across three areas in Mogo State Forest in 2020. These trees provide vital habitat for endangered species.
Forestry Corporation has appealed against one of the fines.
The EPA set Site Specific Operating Conditions for forestry activity in the Mogo State Forest following damage from the 2019/20 Black Summer Bushfires.
EPA Executive Director Regulatory Operations Carmen Dwyer said these conditions were in place to provide additional environmental protections for damaged forests, including the requirement to permanently retain all hollow bearing trees, which were particularly important for the habitat of native animals.
https://www.miragenews.com/forestry-corporation-fined-for-destroying-762091/
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7695117/habitat-loss-costs-forestry-corp-nsw-45k/
https://www.tenterfieldstar.com.au/story/7695117/habitat-loss-costs-forestry-corp-nsw-45k/?cs=7
https://www.thebharatexpressnews.com/forestry-corp-nsw-fined-for-habitat-loss/
https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/nsw/2022/04/11/forestry-corp-nsw-fined-over-habitat-loss/
Check before going bush:
If you are planning on visiting a national park check before you go, the NPWS have temporarily closed some of its campgrounds, walking tracks and vehicle accesses throughout NSW due to landslips, flooding and coastal erosion.
https://psnews.com.au/2022/04/12/visitors-on-way-to-parks-advised-to-check-first/?state=aps
AUSTRALIA
Loggers after election commitments:
The Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) have been engaging closely with both the Coalition and Federal Labor throughout this election campaign to secure the best deal for Australia’s forest industries, focussing on Government subsidised plantations, no forest protection, and more pulplogs.
The four themes under which more detailed policy requests are included in the Plan for Growth, are:
- Rapidly delivering on the bipartisan agreement of an additional one billion new production trees to meet Australia’s future timber needs
- Ensure hardwood supplies for floors and other high value uses continue through no more forest lock ups
- Turbocharge the job creating, value adding new fibre-based industries by establishing the National Institute for Forest Products Innovation (NIFPI) in Launceston
- Enhance our world leading pulp, paper and packaging sector to allow it to play a larger role in moving Australia to a recyclable bioeconomy replacing plastics
https://www.miragenews.com/this-election-vote-for-forest-industries-to-762078/
… and quickly get cash handouts:
Scott Morrison has promised his government “won’t support any shutdowns of native forestry” as he announced $220m to make more wood products in Australia, including $100 million to set up a National Institute for Forest Products Innovation in Launceston as part of his bid to hang on to marginal seats in Tasmania.
Morrison s