Logging continues despite forest pact

March 19, 2011
Issue 

More than 100 people attended a March 15 public forum in Hobart Town Hall about Tasmania’s logging moratorium. The forum was organised by The Wilderness Society (TWS) and the Huon Valley Environment Centre.

TWS, the Australian Conservation Foundation and Environment Tasmania signed the forests “Statement of Principles” agreement with the Forest Industries Association of Tasmania, the Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union and Timber Communities Australia on October 14 last year.

The groups have proclaimed the agreement as the beginning of the end of forest conflict in Tasmania.

The Tasmanian and federal governments have since committed to the process.

The agreement said a moratorium on logging in the listed native forests would be in place by March 15.

However, as the date loomed the parties to the agreement announced that native forest logging would continue for a further six months. At the same time, negotiations continue about legislation to protect Tasmania’s remaining “high conservation value forests”.

Still Wild Still Threatened and the Huon Valley Environment Centre have called for the state government to place an immediate moratorium on logging in all high conservation value forests.

Huon Valley Environment Centre spokesperson Jenny Weber said in the March 16 Tasmanian Times: “Sadly, forests that today could have been saved as national parks and world heritage areas are still falling.

“The state government failed to take action over the past three months to implement a full and true moratorium, and now the promised protection of our forests is overdue.”

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