The case of logging and clear felling the proposed Great Koala National Park - On Consultation and consent 1/3

Times have rapidly changed. The old school extractive ways were perceived as legitimate under colonial extractive regimes.

Today we are confronted with an urgency of interlocking global crises of the environment and democracy. Anthropocene defaunation and an increasingly uninhabitable climate exposes human well-being under increasing threat.

'Business as usual' is no longer tenable. A new set of circumstances demands a rapid transition and consensual modes of action. Trust and legitimacy can be generated by genuine participatory deliberation of all 'stakeholders' and societal institutions.

People increasingly claim ownership of their planet and question the legality of the commodification and financialization of their only home.

Consultation and cooperation in a democratic civil society must consult all 'stakeholders' in public (digital or f2f) for a consensual outcome. The operating party has to face the affected community in person in public meetings. Stewards of biodiversity and the climate have to be present 'at the table'.
Discussions and negotiations should be public, transparent and take all aspects (externalities) into account.

Stop deforestation and clearfelling in a climate emergency
Stop eradicating ecosystems in a biodiversity crisis
Stop the denial of reality
Stop logging the proposed Great Koala National Park now

There is no consent.

#financialisation #forests #NativeForests #biodiversity #climate Emergencies #consultation #bellingen logging #save Trust

https://timcadman.wordpress.com/2023/08/18/formal-advisory-to-minister-moriarty-regarding-evidence-of-remnant-original-forest-within-tuckers-nob-plantation-compartments-026-and-027/

North Coast Local Land Services
https://www.lls.nsw.gov.au/regions/north-coast/financial-assistance/protecting-koalas-through-habitat-restoration

Richards, Carol and Lyons, Kristen (2016). The new corporate enclosures: plantation forestry, carbon markets and the limits of financialised solutions to the climate crisis. Land Use Policy 56 209-216.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2016.05.013
https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:398969

Analysis of Vegetation Management Regulatory Frameworks in Australia

"EDO’s Analysis of Vegetation Management Regulatory Frameworks in Australia examines land clearing laws across all Australia jurisdictions, highlighting key issues and areas for improvement."

"In 2021, over 100 countries, including Australia, pledged to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation by 2030 through the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use (Glasgow Declaration). The Glasgow Declaration includes six key commitments, including to conserve forests and accelerate their restoration; and to reverse forest loss and degradation while ensuring robust policies and systems are in place to accelerate the transition to an economy that is resilient and advances forest, sustainable land use, biodiversity and climate goals."

"WWF-Australia commissioned EDO to undertake an analysis of legal frameworks across Australia that regulate land clearing, to see how they match up against the Glasgow Declaration."

"The scorecard shows New South Wales and Queensland sit at the bottom of the leaderboard, with South Australia placing first."

https://www.edo.org.au/2023/08/29/vegetation-management-regulatory-frameworks-analysis/
#EDO #Australia #NSW #NSWlogging #ForestryCorporation #NativeForests #BellingLogging #ClearFelling #degradation #RemnantVegetation #SaveTuckersNob #biodiversity #koalas #GlasgowDeclaration #biodiversity #climate

Air pollution kills 3,200 Australians a year.
"Air pollution is the world’s single greatest environmental cause of preventable disease and premature death. In Australia, it’s linked to more than 3,200 deaths a year at an estimated cost of A$6.2 billion."

"Decarbonising transport will improve air quality as well as reducing emissions."

End
Killer mobility (Bushmaster like combustion tanks: SUVs)
Treating the Earth's air/atmosphere as a tip
Slash and burn 'plantation' forestry
Burning everything down before it might burn culture

https://theconversation.com/3-200-deaths-a-year-1-of-many-reasons-air-pollution-in-australia-demands-urgent-national-action-212973
#FossilFuel #transportation #cars #trucks #traffic #HeavyMachinery #roads #bushfires #smoke #NativeForests #NSWlogging #BellingLogging #burning #smoke #pollution #air ##climate OneHealth

Stop logging koala habitat in a biodiversity emergency
Sign the petition:

Destruction of Australia's National Icon - the Koala
On September 11, 2023, the Australian Government plans to strike at the very heart of our Nation – the rich koala habitat at the core of the proposed Great Koala National Park.
https://www.change.org/p/destruction-of-australia-s-national-icon-the-koala?source_location=search
#StopLogging #NativeForests #NSW #MidNorthCoast #BellingenLogging #biodiversity #GreatKoalaNationalPark #Koalas #petition #SaveTuckersNob

Would you pulp their home and send it overseas?

Image: Image #Bellingen Activist Network, poster
#StopLogging #NativeForests #TheGreatKoalaNationalPark #biodiversity

Monopolising and overusing residential roads for the purpose of industrial extraction.

For over half a year they made a highway out of the scenic Gleniffer Road so that the forest ' stuff' can be extracted and monetised before all that 'bush' is possibly declared a Koala National Park.

When Gleniffer Road was closed and traffic went along Roses Rd., the steep and bendy road was smashed into bits by overuse in the last seven month.

Almost on a daily basis various fossil fuel trucks and machinery patch the damage with small fossil fuel 'bandages' and widen the shoulders so that they can accommodate the machinery of (forest) destruction.

Stop logging native forests
Stop logging the homes of biodiversity

#GlenifferRoad #RosesRoad #BellingenLogging #forests #NativeForests #LoggingImpacts #roads #Bellingen #TheGreatKoalaNationalPark #climate #FossilFuel

Logging The Proposed Great Koala National Park
Logging has accelerated since labor was elected

NSW Government Under Fire For Logging Proposed Great Koala National Park
The NSW government is under fire for logging in the rainforest area that was promised to be turned into the Great Koala National Park, as the iconic Aussie animal is being threatened with extinction by 2050.
8 min video>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fhFY52oKGE
#StopLogging #NativeForests #NewryStateForest #SaveTuckersNob #NSWLogging #CulturalHeritage #koalas #biodiversity #extinction makers

Logging koala habitat in Bellingen
#SaveTuckersNob #NSW #logging #NativeForests #BellingenLogging #biodiversity

The "smash-and-grab operations" in the Great Koala National Park

"One of the reasons the Victorian industry was eventually closed was because citizen scientists proved the state loggers were not properly protecting greater gliders. The failures cost VicForests millions of dollars in fines and access to forests it needed".

"As the legal challenges wind their way through the courts, the NCC is about to ramp up the pressure by announcing the creation of B r e a c h w a t c h , a network of volunteers trained and equipped to monitor, record and report evidence of Forestry Corp breaches".
https://www.watoday.com.au/environment/conservation/minds-were-blown-these-scientists-were-stunned-at-what-s-happening-on-the-nsw-north-coast-20230831-p5e11w.html?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=other

Breach Watch website
https://www.breachwatch.org.au/
You can help identify threatened species and expose planned illegal logging

Identify a forest scheduled for logging
A citizen science project to protect forests, Nature Conservation Council
https://assets.nationbuilder.com/natureorg/pages/4186/attachments/original/1693443382/BREACH_WATCH_HANDBOOK-FINAL-2.pdf?1693443382

#StopLogging #NativeForests #NSW #FCNSW #BellingenLogging #SmashAndGrab #sousveillance #breachwatch #SaveTuckersNob #GreatKoalaNationalPark #GNKP #koalas #climate #biodiversity

The logging industry and The Great Koala National Park

"The days of hand tools have given way to heavy machinery that tears through the landscape in pursuit of trees. Vast hectares are now stripped down to bare soil. These 40-tonne machines compact the dry ground, hindering the forest's natural growth, healing and regeneration."

"There is also the unseen financial burden carried by Australians through taxes. According to the NSW Forestry Corporation's (2021-22) annual report, logging native forests not only threatens species on the brink of extinction but also costs taxpayers millions. The report reveals NSW taxpayers unknowingly fund the felling of forests the public wishes to protect, making this practice not only environmentally but also economically unsustainable.'

Excerpt>
https://mashable.com/article/for-the-trees-a-quest-to-protect-australias-forests
#tourism #NativeForests #LoggingIndustry #BellingenLogging #NSWLogging #NSWForestry #FossilFuel #machinery #climate #biodiversity #extinction makers

Senseless killing of endangered gliders highlights the need to S T O P L O G G I N G glider habitat.

The Nature Conservation Council (NCC) of New South Wales provides a toolbox to watch, record and report destruction.

“Everything in this t o o l k i t is entirely legal. It offers concerned citizens with a tangible way they can p r o t e c t t h e f o r e s t s. Over the coming weeks and months, we will be working with groups on the ground to further support people prevent or report breaches illegal logging activity."   

“The strategic use of citizen science was instrumental in the recent decision by the Victorian Government to e n d to native forest l o g g i n g by 2024."
 
T o o l s:
"NCC has been working with local environmentalists and scientists to develop a toolkit to help people from across NSW to monitor, report and stop illegal logging activities." 

"Our Breach Watch website and handbook is designed to support people to survey a forest before it has been logged (both from home and in the field) report future of previous breaches to the EPA. This can lead to measures like ‘exclusion zones’ being implemented to protect critical habitats and species, and fines issues for egregious breached in logging conditions."  
https://www.nature.org.au/senseless_killing_of_endangered_gliders_highlights_the_need_to_stop_logging_glider_habitat

Tool Box:
Breach Watch website 
https://www.breachwatch.org.au/

Identify a forest scheduled for logging
https://assets.nationbuilder.com/natureorg/pages/4186/attachments/original/1693443382/BREACH_WATCH_HANDBOOK-FINAL-2.pdf?1693443382
#activism #ToolBox #logging #StopLogging #NSW #NativeForests #biodiversity #ClimateAction

‘Back the chainsaws’: Albo slammed amid calls to end decades-long ‘damaging’ forest logging

“Over 90 per cent of native forest that is logged in NSW is pulped and sent overseas to be used in woodchips and cardboard.”

“The NSW government has been covering the losses of the native forest logging industry for nearly a decade. It is not a profitable industry; in the past two years alone, $29 million of taxpayer money was spent subsidising native forest logging".

"...The NSW government's audit office found FCNSW did not consistently monitor compliance of its contractors or assess risks."

https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/back-the-chainsaws-albo-slammed-amid-calls-to-end-decadeslong-damaging-forest-logging/news-story/0add77f23b869ae6edfe91dba712581a
#FCNSW #StateForests #LoggingIndustry #subsidies #NSW #compliance #outsource #risks #WorthMoreStanding #BellingenLogging #NewryStateForest #NativeForests #SaveTuckersNob #biodiversity #climate

Yes, brand damage for scenic Bellingen, surrounds and Australia
Immerse yourself in one of the many logging sites at the Mid North Coast of NSW.
#Bellingen #NSW #tourism #beautification #logging #SaveTuckersNob #FossilFuel #climate #pollution #BiodiversityLoss #wildlife #GKNP #NativeForests #GreatKoalaNationalPark #degradation

"Native forest logging is a travesty in the 21st century."
Labor Environment Action Network spokesperson, Felicity Wade

Labor rejects ban on native forest logging...

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/aug/17/alp-national-conference-labor-rejects-push-to-ban-native-forest-logging-as-pm-lambasts-greens-over-housing-bill
#labor #NativeForests #logging #biodiversity #landClearing #ClimateEmergency #NSW #BellingenLogging #SaveTuckersNob

There we have it!
"Regulated timber harvesting does not reduce koala density in north‑east forests of New South Wales"
This is the first study to directly assess the effects of native forest harvesting on koala density."
#Noise helps "to nudge koalas away from advancing #machinery..."

https://www.forestry.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Law-et-al-2022-koalas-NSW-north-coast.pdf
#NativeForests #Logging #Harvest #Mortality #Koala #Science

“Koalas are listed as threatened with extinction at both the state and federal level and without intervention will be extinct in NSW by 2050”
But
“Forest areas that include 41,000 hectares of nationally important koala habitat have been identified for potential logging on the north coast of New South Wales in the region’s 12-month logging plan”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/28/more-than-40000-hectares-of-nationally-vital-koala-habitat-marked-for-potential-logging-in-nsw
#Koalas #Logging #Biodiversity #NativeForests #NorthCoast #NSW #GKNP #Extinction makers

Loggers get their way in proposed koala national park
"The NSW government’s refusal to stop logging in the proposed Great #Koala National Park on the Mid North Coast is in stark contrast to the Andrews government’s new move to end the Victorian native timber logging industry, possibly by the end of next year."
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/loggers-get-their-way-in-proposed-koala-national-park-20230523-p5daib.html

Exploring Alternate Land Use Options for the #NativeForests of #NSW, the institute said money was in plantations, not native forests
https://www.blueprintinstitute.org.au/branching_out_exploring_alternate_land_use_options_for_the_native_forests_of_nsw

#Logging #MidNorthCoast #GKNP #BellingenLogging #Bellingen #Impacts #Biodiversity #Climate

After the chainsaws, the quiet: Victoria’s rapid exit from native forest logging is welcome – and long overdue https://theconversation.com/after-the-chainsaws-the-quiet-victorias-rapid-exit-from-native-forest-logging-is-welcome-and-long-overdue-206181 #NativeForests #Logging #Victoria

Good news! Logging native forests to end by Jan 2024. Well I'll be interested to hear what's in the fine print, but on the face of it this is a long overdue acknowledgement of reality by the Vic government.
#NativeForests #Forests #Conservation #JustTransition
https://theaimn.com/conservationists-celebrate-reports-that-state-government-will-end-native-forest-logging-by-the-end-of-the-year/

RT @BiogeoBerlin
Together with @IBiologicos & @IERconicetunt, we @BiogeoBerlin celebrate #ForestDay today!🌳🌲

Do have a look at our #PASANOA Project, where we studied and raised awareness about the importance of #Conservation of #NativeForests and #Biodiversity in #GranChaco.