By Dailan Pugh
NSW Premier Bob Carr claims that his decision to protect 375,000 hectares of public forests, as an outcome of the upper north-east and lower north-east comprehensive regional assessments, is a great one for the forests. Conservation groups disagree, saying it is a betrayal of his promises and the 1992 National Forest Policy.
Prior to the last state election, Carr won the support of conservation groups because he promised to protect old-growth forest and wilderness, and to establish a comprehensive, adequate and representative reserve system. In effect, he promised to implement the National Forest Policy, with a special pledge to protect old-growth forests.
The two north-east assessment regions span some 10 million hectares, north from Gosford to the Queensland border and west from the sea to the New England tablelands.
For these regions, data was collected on the distribution of 240 forest ecosystems, 140 of the rarest and most threatened animal species, 610 of the rarest and most threatened plant species, old-growth forest, wilderness and other forest values.
Using the environmental data and national reserve targets, the NSW government agencies identified more than a million hectares of public forests in the north-east as requiring protection from logging to meet the national reserve criteria. In the end, the Carr government identified only 375,000 hectares of public forests for protection.
Having caved in to industry pressure, Carr's final north-east forests reserve system achieves only 30% of the nationally agreed reserve targets, the worst outcome for any regional assessment in Australia.
It also achieves only 39% of the national targets for forest ecosystems, the worst levels of protection being in those areas identified as most vulnerable to logging and most in need of reservation.
It excludes 238,000 hectares of old-growth forest on public lands and meets only 28% of the national old-growth targets, the worst regional assessment outcome for old growth in Australia.
It also excludes 56,600 hectares of wilderness on public land and 144,000 hectares on leasehold and private properties, thereby protecting only 74% of high quality wilderness. In the process it condemns numerous species to extinction by protecting only a small fraction of the habitat identified as needed for their survival.
Carr has failed to deliver: on his pre-election promises, on his own forests policy, on the national reserve criteria and on the National Forest Policy. Is it any wonder that conservationists believe they were sold out?
[Dailan Pugh is the Nature Conservation Council representative in the regional forest assessment process.]