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Tasmanian world heritage land dispute erupts into war of words Tasmanian world heritage land dispute erupts into war of words
(7 months later)
On Friday the Coalition announced it would follow through on an election commitment to request a rollback of last year’s 170,000 hectare extension of world heritage listed forest. On Friday the Coalition announced it would follow through on an election commitment to request a rollback of last year’s 170,000 hectare extension of world heritage listed forest. The final proposal sought to delist a smaller area of 74,000 hectares but was met with strong opposition from environmental groups, the Tasmanian state government and representatives of the timber industry.
The final proposal sought to delist a smaller area of 74,000 hectares A spokesman for the environment minister, Greg Hunt, told Guardian Australia the delisting sought to remove areas from the world heritage extension that the government considers “detract from the overall outstanding universal value of the property and diminish its overall integrity”.
but was met with strong opposition from environmental groups, the Senator Richard Colbeck, parliamentary secretary to the minister for agriculture, has released a newsletter with pictures he says are of forest areas within the extension zone that have been recently harvested or contain access roads and power lines.
Tasmanian state government and representatives of the timber industry. “They clearly show the extension does not meet any definition of Wilderness World Heritage, which is how the rest of the [world heritage area] is classified,” wrote Colbeck, who labelled the extension a “deceit”.
A
spokesman for the environment minister, Greg Hunt, told Guardian
Australia the delisting sought to remove areas from the world heritage
extension that the government considers “detract from the overall
outstanding universal value of the property and diminish its overall
integrity”.
Senator Richard Colbeck, parliamentary secretary to the minister for agriculture, has released a newsletter
with pictures he says are of forest areas within the extension zone
that have been recently harvested or contain access roads and power
lines.
“They
clearly show the extension does not meet any definition of Wilderness
World Heritage, which is how the rest of the [world heritage area] is
classified,” wrote Colbeck, who labelled the extension a “deceit”.
“The Tasmanian and Australian people have been grossly deceived, as has the World Heritage Commission.”“The Tasmanian and Australian people have been grossly deceived, as has the World Heritage Commission.”
In response, the Wilderness Society released their own photographs, In response, the Wilderness Society released their own photographs, which they say refute Hunt’s and Colbeck’s claims. In a statement it said more than 93% of the extension area was old growth, rainforest or intact natural forest and non-forest areas.
which they say refute Hunt’s and Colbeck’s claims. In a statement it “These images demonstrate what’s at stake with Mr Hunt’s plan to undo world heritage protection to allow new logging in areas like the Upper Florentine, Weld and Great Western Tiers,” said Vica Bayley, spokesman for the Wilderness Society.
said more than 93% of the extension area was old growth, rainforest or Hunt said “a wide range of stakeholders were consulted” before the government made the proposal to Unesco, but that has been labelled a “smokescreen” by environmentalists. Representatives of the logging industry have also said they do not want the change.
intact natural forest and non-forest areas. The chief executive of the forest industries association of Tasmania, Terry Edwards, wrote to Tony Abbott in December requesting that the government back away from its election pledge, the ABC reported.
“These A number of stakeholders who are against the proposal told Guardian Australia they doubted Unesco would agree to it. The organisation has never delisted something from world heritage on request from a national government.
images demonstrate what’s at stake with Mr Hunt’s plan to undo world
heritage protection to allow new logging in areas like the Upper
Florentine, Weld and Great Western Tiers,” said Vica Bayley, spokesman
for the Wilderness Society.
Hunt said “a wide range of stakeholders were consulted” before the government made the proposal to Unesco, but that has been labelled
a “smokescreen” by environmentalists. Representatives of the logging
industry have also said they do not want the change.
The
chief executive of the forest industries association of Tasmania, Terry
Edwards, wrote to Tony Abbott in December requesting that the
government back away from its election pledge, the ABC reported.
A
number of stakeholders who are against the proposal told Guardian
Australia they doubted Unesco would agree to it. The organisation has
never delisted something from world heritage on request from a national
government.
However, specialty timber suppliers and the federal government hope the request will be granted when Unesco meets in June.However, specialty timber suppliers and the federal government hope the request will be granted when Unesco meets in June.
Andrew Andrew Denman, the president of the Tasmanian special timbers alliance, said his industry welcomed the potential delisting because a “very significant proportion of the specialty timber resource was locked up without any consultation” by the Tasmanian forest agreement and extension of world heritage areas. The specialty timber sector has consistently voiced opposition to extensions of the world heritage area and the TFA.
Denman, the president of the Tasmanian special timbers alliance, said his Denman said as soon as the TFA was enacted “the taps were turned off” on specialty timber supply. The industry primarily uses old-growth timber but Denman said it was harvested sustainably on a small scale.
industry welcomed the potential delisting because a “very significant “There’s an ideological opposition from ENGOs [environmental non-government organisations] to harvesting specialty timber,” he said. It was "completely impossible" to transition to a plantation resource.
proportion of the specialty timber resource was locked up without any “I’m very pro-environment, all we want is a sustainable resource on a limited extraction. We're not going and clearfelling great swathes of land.”
consultation” by the Tasmanian forest agreement and extension of world It remains unclear whether the delisting would result in the resumption of old-growth logging. The Tasmanian state government says there is no demand for the timber.
heritage areas. The specialty timber sector has consistently voiced “It is almost impossible to see there being any market demand to support broad-scale harvesting within a world heritage area,” the Tasmanian resources minister, Bryan Green, told Guardian Australia in a statement.
opposition to extensions of the world heritage area and the TFA.
Denman
said as soon as the TFA was enacted “the taps were turned off” on
specialty timber supply. The industry primarily uses old-growth timber
but Denman said it was harvested sustainably on a small scale.
“There’s
an ideological opposition from ENGOs [environmental non-government
organisations] to harvesting specialty timber,” he said. It was
"completely impossible" to transition to a plantation resource.
“I’m
very pro-environment, all we want is a sustainable resource on a
limited extraction. We're not going and clearfelling great swathes of
land.”
It
remains unclear whether the delisting would result in the resumption of
old-growth logging. The Tasmanian state government says there is no
demand for the timber.
“It
is almost impossible to see there being any market demand to support
broad-scale harvesting within a world heritage area,” the Tasmanian
resources minister, Bryan Green, told Guardian Australia in a statement.
“Without a demand there would be no point in Forestry Tasmania, or anyone else, conducting harvesting in these areas.”“Without a demand there would be no point in Forestry Tasmania, or anyone else, conducting harvesting in these areas.”
Green told the ABC he believed the Unesco proposal was just a vote-gathering exercise.Green told the ABC he believed the Unesco proposal was just a vote-gathering exercise.