Wilderness Society says forest ad is wrong

Wilderness Society says forest ad is wrong

By Peter Anderson

SYDNEY — The Wilderness Society has appealed to the Trade Practices Commission, the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal and the Advertising Standards Council for a nationwide ban on a Forest Industries television advertisement.

The commercial, which features a school excursion to a regrowth forest, is said to be in breach of Section 52 of the Trade Practices Act and Clause 7 of the Advertising Code of Ethics: "Advertisements shall be truthful and shall not be misleading or deceptive".

The Wilderness Society claims much of the information imparted as fact in the advertisement is false, particularly that logging old-growth forests is beneficial in reducing the greenhouse effect. No available evidence supports this claim.

The Wilderness Society disputes other claims, too, such as that plants and animals return after logging and the whole ecosystem is renewed, that only 1% of managed forests are logged each year, and that the impact of logging is similar to that of natural phenomena such as storms.

These claims are either completely false, misleading or deceptive, says the Wilderness Society.

Spokesperson Marty Branagan said "US and Australian research-based data indicates that the logging of old growth forests ... increases the concentration of atmospheric greenhouse gases such as carbon monoxide, methane and nitrous oxide, thereby adding to the greenhouse effect.

"The impact of logging and associated activities such as roading and prescribed burning have repeatedly been found to be deleterious to the ecosystem, causing local and general extinctions at an unprecedented rate in Australia. Globally, at least half a million species are currently threatened with extinction, primarily from vegetation clearing activities like logging.

"Deforestation, furthermore, causes soil erosion and native-threatening invasions of feral animals and introduces weeds, degrades water catchment areas, destroys habitats, impinges on Aboriginal land rights, and reduces tourist and hence employment potential."

The Wilderness Society has demanded a moratorium on the advertisement until such time as the Forest Industries provide valid statistical and factual scientific evidence to support the claims.

From GLW issue 75