The lion's share of land cleared in Western Australia was for agriculture, horticulture and forestry. This includes Australias diverse native forests and plantations, regardless of age. While there is increasing community support for the protection of forests, NSW laws explicitly reduce the right of communities to have a say about what happens to the states forests. Amazon deforestation is stopping forest from recycling rainwater, which The Regional Forestry Hubs were created under the National Forest Industries Plan[PDF 3.1 MB] and associated budget measures to identify economic and social opportunities and benefits in regions with existing concentrations of wood supply resources, processing and/or manufacturing operations, established transport links, and strong potential for growth. They are designed to provide certainty for forest-based industries, forest-dependent communities and achieve conservation outcomes. Neither Queensland's Department of Environment and Science (DES) nor the Federal Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources responded directly to questions from the ABC about the differences in their methodologies, but both said they were confident in their systems. However, that figure comes with some very big caveats because during that same period, more than 82,000 hectares were granted approval for clearing under pastoral land clearing applications in the NT. Despite a range of reports recommending the urgent protection of unburnt patches to limit species decline, the NSW government continues to allow industrial logging at a rate of around 14,000 hectares per yeareven in extreme risk areas! Deforestation in Australia has now reached globally significant levels, driven largely by land clearing in Queensland. To get to that conclusion, they have compared the amount of cleared land (3.78 million hectares) with the amount of land regrown (4.19 million hectares), to come up with a "net forest clearing" figure of negative-401,000 hectares. The latest figures show that deforestation in Queensland is still rampant, damaging the health of the Great Barrier Reef, destroying biodiversity and worsening climate change. WWF wants this to be the last time Australia winds up on this infamous list of deforestation fronts. In a statement to the ABC, a spokesperson for the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources said that is was "misleading to make simple comparisons" between the different reporting methods, and that the Department was confident its records are "complete and accurate". As the only developed country with a deforestation front, it's no surprise Australias mammal extinction rates are the highest in the world. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. Its primarily driven by agriculture (mostly for beef production), mining and urban development. The once abundant koala is rapidly vanishing from New South Wales and Queensland. by Basten Gokkon on 21 April 2023. Taylor said the analysis focused on so-called hotspot parts of the eastern states where land-clearing rates were highest. Wilderness Society | Deforestation According to Dr Taylor that means a dense forest can be thinned from 95 per cent canopy to 21 per cent canopy, for instance, without registering as having been cleared under the NGA method. If we go back to our 1-kilometre-wide strip of land, South Australia's total clearing stretches almost 1,100km from Newcastle to Melbourne. ('Primary' refers to forests 30 years and older. "We know that the general public is outraged by this whenever they hear about it. Calling on big business to source and sell products free from deforestation. Meanwhile, Australia continues to be compared with some of the worst offending countries in the world when it comes to land clearing. State of the forests The data for the 2018-19 reporting periods, particularly from Queensland and New South Wales, will determine whether that has changed. 'Glum future for the platypus': why the elusive mammal is disappearing under our noses, Australian wildlife 20 times more likely to encounter deadly feral cats than native predators, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. The ownership of a forest, especially native forest, has a major bearing on its management intent. Deforestation puts human health and the health of our planet at risk. He estimated that in Queensland and NSW alone 970,349ha were cleared in the years 2004 to 2017. Your feedback has been submitted. Australia Deforestation Rates & Statistics | GFW - Global Forest Watch The pact put the spotlight on an issue that combines carbon emissions and threatened species. The data on this page will also be updated at that time. statistics, Australia's Indigenous land and forest estate, Forestry regional profiles - data visualisation, Australia's native forest types - data visualisation, Australias State of the Forests Report 2018, an analysis by the CRC for Developing Northern Australia, Boundary maps for the eleven Regional Forestry Hubs, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry website. Read the, Weighing ESG risks of nickel as a critical mineral: ISS ESG, Hybrid working can reduce carbon emissions by up to 90%, No role for monetary policy to address climate change, $500bn investment needed to decarbonise NEM, Turning PV waste into investment opportunity, 140 years to gender parity in finance: OMFIF, Government to fund sustainable finance taxonomy development, South Korea leads with ESG fund disclosure taskforce and anti-greenwash laws, Executive directors overwhelmingly male: AICD. Wilderness Society | Forests of lutruwita / Tasmania The following map was prepared and published by ABARES: This map provides a detailed snapshot of the forestry industry, including the location of major wood processing facilities, native forest tenure, hardwood and softwood plantations, as well as roads and forestry ports: PDF [12.1 MB] and higher resolution version PDF [36.6 MB]. Through these regions, forests grow on soils that vary from ancient, fragile and infertile soils, to recent, fertile soils of volcanic origin. Deforestation in Australia & its Impact on Koalas A key element of the approach adopted in the NFPS involved the negotiation of Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs) between the Australian Government and some state governments. Thanks! The most recent land-clearing data from Queensland for 2019-20 reveals a dire state of affairs in this state alone with: 418,656 hectares of forest and bushland was bulldozed between 2019/20; 85% of the deforestation and land clearing in Queensland was to make space for pasture; More than 180,000 ha was destroyed in Great Barrier Reef catchments, placing further serious stress on the natural wonder. It is estimated that up to 10%, or approximately $900 million, of our timber imports could come from high-risk sources every year. The following selection of maps is from the Australian forest profiles 2019: This map shows the distribution of the Acacia native forest type across Australia: PNG [2.2 MB], PDF [0.5 MB]. The only nationally consistent data comes from the Federal Government's National Greenhouse Accounts (NGA). "Only the Australian Government's reporting is undertaken in accordance with international standards established by the UNFCCC.". Is social the most important part of ESG investing? State and territory governments have primary responsibility for forest management. Undertaking research and collecting data to support informed decisions and policies. The extent of northern Australia in this analysis includes Western Australia and Queensland north of the Tropic of Capricorn and the entire Northern Territory. 2023 The Wilderness Society, Drivers of deforestation and land clearing in Queensland, Qld koala habitat clearing linked to beef production: 2018-19, Australian beef and deforestation: Corporate scorecard, Australia is facing a deforestation crisis, with an area equivalent to MCG being destroyed every 86 seconds. Eastern Australia is now a recognised global deforestation hotspot, alongside places including the Amazon, the Congo and Borneo. Tree-clearing | WWF Australia "Nearly a million hectares of forest has been cleared just in Queensland and New South Wales and just in the hotspot areas," Dr Martin Taylor, Senior Scientist with WWF Australia, told Hack. ACT is tiny, and since 2011 its forestry industry figures are reported as part of New South Wales. For instance, using the SLATs method the Queensland state government reported 356,000 and 392,000 hectares were cleared in Queensland in the periods 2016-17 (winter-to-winter) and 2017-18 respectively. In 2010, Australia had 38.0Mha of natural forest, extending over 5.1% of its land area. Today, bare land is worth more than the intact ecosystems that support our lives. "There is no underestimate of areas or emissions reported in the National Greenhouse Accounts," the spokesperson said. Check out 10 facts about deforestation in Australia The southwest of Western Australia has been experiencing a long-term climate shift since the 1970s, which researchers have attributed to historical deforestation resulting in decreased rainfall. Our 1km wide strip of cleared land would stretch for a whopping 24,466 kilometres roughly all the way around Australia . The primary issue I have found is that deforestation leads to mass habitat and food loss for koalas. Mangroves on the move. EU parliament passes historic law forcing companies to track deforestation The countries with high rates of deforestation include Brazil, Bolivia, Madagascar and Borneo. Deforestation is Australia's hidden emitterlike adding 10 million cars to our roads. Over roughly the last 20 years, koalas numbers have declined by almost 50% across Queensland and they have continued to do so. Statistics - including rates of forest change and forest extent - can be . With clearing on this scale, no wonder they were recently declared endangered in Queensland, NSW and the ACT. We can't protect nature and wildlife, safeguard human . Land clearing in the ACT was the lowest of any Australian state or territory between 2010 and 2018. . The Regional Forestry Hubs were created under the National Forest Industries Plan [PDF 3.1 MB . Additional references: State of the Environment report 2021, We recognise First Nations as the custodians of land and water across Australia and pay our respects to Elders past and present. Without a liveable climate, the vulnerable ecosystems that sustain us, wont. Of the 288,400 hectares cleared in Western Australia, 68,7000 hectares were primary forests at least 30 years old. Learn more about deforestation in Queensland. Your feedback has been submitted. Deforestation in Borneo threatens three endangered, endemic plant species Australia's land clearing rate is once again among the highest in the woodland, open, closed, or unknown): PNG [0.9 MB], PDF [3.6 MB]. In May of this year, a federal court ruled that VicForests had breached environmental laws by logging the habitat of threatened species. Unlike other states and territories, Queensland also has its own statewide annual land clearing monitoring program based on a method called Statewide Landcover and Trees Study (SLATs). But the Liberal state government came to power in 2014 on a promise to revive the Tasmanian forestry industry, and soon after their election, reclassified around 400,000 hectares of forest designated as "future reserve land" to "future potential production forest". The total area of land cleared in Queensland was 2,446,600 hectares. While the majority of landholders are eager to embrace new ways to look after their land, scattered rogue operators are holding us back. More than 40 per cent of the country's forests and woodlands are estimated to have been cleared since European colonisation. Deforestation threatens much of Australia's extraordinary biodiversity and, if not redressed, will blight the environmental legacy we leave future generations, warn scientists including Richard Kingsford, Martine Maron and Brendan Wintle. If we want to protect our climate, and the ecosystems that make our lives possible, theres no role for deforestation in Australias future. Australia has strengthened seasonal measures to manage the risk of BMSB. The main cause of deforestation is agriculture (poorly planned infrastructure is emerging as a big threat too) and the main cause of forest degradation is illegal logging. Undertaking research to blow the lid off this hidden crisis. The six tenure classes used for forests in the National Forest Inventory are amalgamations of the wide range of classes used by various state and territory jurisdictions. Australias Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act was reviewed last year and the government must release the final report, led by the former competition watchdog head Graeme Samuel, in February. An MCG-sized area of forest and bush is bulldozed every 86 seconds in Australia. Despite Queensland restoring some restrictions in 2018, eastern Australia remains a deforestation front. Most of it is out bush, far from the public gaze, and most people don't know it's going on," he explained. Just over 49% of alerts have been in areas classified as high or very high risk. Everything you need to know about the deforestation crisis taking place across Australia. Sadly, these forests are under threat. These RFAs include their own environmental protections and because of this timber harvesting operations done in accordance with these agreements "are not subject to certain Commonwealth legislative requirements", according to the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP). Australia's forest policies - DAFF - Agriculture Could AI save the Amazon rainforest? An analysis of the imagery for Unearthed has identified 13,500 hectares of deforestation since 2018 - an area more than twice the size of Manhattan - across 57 beef cattle properties in . Other questions have also been raised about the NGA land clearing data. Its an old colonial idea. Land clearing in Australia describes the removal of native vegetation and deforestation in Australia.Land clearing involves the removal of native vegetation and habitats, including the bulldozing of native bushlands, forests, savannah, woodlands and native grasslands and the draining of natural wetlands for replacement with agriculture, urban and other land uses. First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we It is also sufficiently broad to encompass areas of trees that are sometimes described as woodlands. In addition to native forests, Australia's National Forest Inventory recognises two other categories of forest. This makes it easier for you to meet your legal requirements. View an interactive version of this map in ArcGIS Online map viewer. WWF-Australia 2018, All rights reserved. Deforestation Fronts | WWF It stuffs our soil and water, suffocates the Reef, kills wildlife, drains our carbon budgetand leaves our towns and suburbs hotter and less liveable. Australia on global list for deforestation hotspots: WWF Western Australia's forests, woodlands and outback native vegetation play a critical role in preserving biodiversity, providing a home for threatened species and storing huge quantities of carbon. Learn more about these deforestation hotspots. In contrast to New South Wales, Queensland's land clearing laws were tightened in 2018 and it's expected that clearing figures will drop significantly in the coming reporting periods. About half of Australia's Commercial plantations are exotic softwood (predominantly Pinus radiata), while the other half are hardwood (predominantly eucalypt species). The series of billboards across Brisbane drew attention to the devastating effects that deforestation and land clearing have on wildlife across Queensland. On 11/02/22 the government officially listed the koala as Endangered in Queensland, NSW and the ACT. Sediments and chemicals run off cleared areas into waterways that flow out to the Great Barrier Reefsmothering this already struggling icon. However, the report says Forest fires are likely to increase due to longer and more extreme dry seasons as a result of climate change. They also provide clean water; protect soil; provide opportunities for recreation and tourism, and scientific and educational pursuits; and support cultural, heritage and aesthetic values. We enhance our agricultural industries and trade, and manage the threat of biosecurity risks to Australia.
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