WA Forest Alliance

The community will condemn government inaction over serious threats to the survival of WA's forests.

A report by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) on implementation of the Forest Management Plan (FMP), released on Monday, has warned that forests in the low and intermediate rainfall zones are unlikely to recover if they are logged.

The response of Environment Minister Donna Faragher is to brush aside the findings and continue with business as usual.

Jess Beckerling, spokesperson for the WA Forest Alliance, said, "If the Government fails to respond to this warning of the likely catastrophic consequences of continued logging, it will stand condemned in the eyes of this and future generations.

"Our forests are suffering from greatly reduced rainfall, Phytophthora dieback and a range of pests and diseases.  To continue logging and burning as proposed would be the last nail in the coffin.

"With the plantation sector huge and growing (see ABARE statistics below), the forest industry must address the writing on the wall and future proof itself by moving to a sustainable plantation based sector. The Government must consider how it will enable this to happen in a smooth manner that does not harm timber communities.

"It is useless having a forest management plan that is supposed to control logging and burning and at the same time protect biodiversity when the plan isn't being implemented.

"The EPA report highlights the serious failures of the responsible government agencies - the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) and the Forest Products Commission (FPC) - to implement the plan and the total inability of the Conservation Commission to make them.

"Provisions in the FMP intended to protect all the plants and animals in our forests have been ignored.

"The claim that the FMP gives us ecologically sustainable forest management is a lie.

"The only logical solution is to stop all logging for the environmental and practical reasons given by the EPA. And we can't wait another three years until the current FMP expires.

"We have been warned now.  We must act now," said Ms Beckerllng.

Australian forest and wood products statistics (ABARE), September and December quarters 2009 (25 May 2010), show that in 2009 in WA:

• Only 12% of WA log production came from native forests; 88% came from plantations.
• Only 31% of sawnwood produced in WA came from native forests; 69% came from plantations.