By Deva Darshi
The Friends of the Forest Campaign arose from the 1994 decision to use non-violent direct action to try to halt the rapid destruction of our old-growth forests in the south-west of Western Australia.
Concern for the way in which our forests have been managed was first aired at a public meeting in the early 1970s convened by a group of concerned printers and a forester named John Thompson. The well-attended meeting focused on the build-up of the woodchip industry.
Initially, contracts to supply half a million tonnes of woodchips per year from native forests were issued. The quotas have steadily increased; today, 1 million tonnes are extracted each year. Three thousand tonnes of chips are processed each day through the Bunnings Diamond Chip Mill, which operates 24 hours per day and employs approximately 30 people.
Considering that the these chips come from the karri-marri-jarrah forests (which are the only ones of this kind on the planet) our concerns are very real and, we believe, justifiable. Clear-felling these precious ancient forests to export them to Japan to be turned into packaging and paper blatantly ignores the environmental disaster facing the planet.
It is understandable that 25 years ago many thought it a great idea that we should process forest residue into chips, and use what would normally become food for the forest floor. But to increase output to the point where 97% of all marri (western red gum) trees are chipped is to bring it to the point of the ridiculous. Figures released by the Bureau of Statistics (based on Conservation and Land Management [CALM] records) show that as much as 85% of timber from forest operations is chipped.
The common argument, from industry and CALM, that these areas are regenerated on a sustainable basis is still only in the experimental stages: it takes 25 years before the first thinnings are sent to the chipper, and 70 years before millable timber is realised.
For a forest which formed when Australia was still connected to Africa, there is no hope that life will ever be the same again. To destroy so much life, which is yet to be adequately studied, is in direct contravention of the 1992 National Forest Policy Statement.
In an area which has over 800,000 hectares of cleared land suitable for timber production, it just doesn't make sense to destroy our heritage and that of future generations.
If we were to take 6% of this land for timber production, we would be able to realise the same amount as is currently extracted from native forests. To incorporate cropping on farmland with tree planting increases production to almost twice that of plantations. This is called "agro-forestry" and has the added benefit of reducing salinisation (rising salt), which has become a huge problem in recent years.
This is a way in which the timber industry can operate in a truly sustainable way. If Bunnings, Whittakers and the government were serious about the job security of their workers, these steps would have been taken many years ago — and on a much larger scale.
The rift between timber workers and environmentalists is being exploited by big business. It is for this reason that the West Australian Forest Alliance (WAFA) has taken the initiative in the Building Bridges seminars, which involve unions, timber workers and environmentalists.
In creating a forum in which we have the opportunity to listen to each other's views, we may find common ground, and work together to overcome the misconceptions which have for so long been exploited by those whose motives are purely profit-driven. No-one wants to see people out of work waiting for handouts; then again, who wants to see our old-growth forests reduced to woodchips?
The government must face up to this unpleasant situation and implement proper strategies which can produce long-term solutions and employment — not just retraining, relocation and redundancy. Together we should make sure that we are not handed more committees, inquiries and bureaucracies that only pay lip-service to issues which affect us all.
If CALM continues with the 10-year logging plan which it set in place in 1993, there will be very little forest left in the 21st century. Already it seems intent on targeting some of the most pristine of these wilderness areas, including some as close as 15 minutes to major tourist areas such as Walpole, Northcliffe and Pemberton.
Tourism-related jobs in the Pemberton region have risen 300% in the last six years, and far outweigh jobs in the timber industry. It is pure myth that these towns will disappear with the mills gone. People come to see these beautiful, majestic old-growth forests, not clear-felled barren landscapes and regeneration.
Change is necessary if we are to move out of an industry which is doomed anyway. It is up to all of us to work together towards a future where we have both forests and jobs.
To be left with a representative system — which would leave a 20 kilometres square karri forest if you included all road reserves and stream reserves — would be like living in a museum. At a time when our already minuscule national parks are overcrowded, how can we afford to continue with the absurd practice of clear-felling to produce mainly woodchips?
We should strongly question those who manage our forests. Do they represent the wishes of the people? Are they accountable, and if so, to whom? We have a saying in the south-west: "If we keep CALM today, there will be no forests tomorrow!"