Representatives of the Conservation Council of WA (CCWA), The Wilderness Society of WA (TWS) and the WA Forest Alliance (WAFA) have welcomed the mid-term audit of performance of the Forest Management Plan 2004-13 (FMP) released today by the Conservation Commission.

The report recognises that climate change has not been adequately addressed in this FMP and that to wait until the end of this FMP to address climate change is not an option.

All three groups applaud the Conservation Commission’s recommendation that an independent task force be formed to examine the implications of climate change for the health of the forests and the sustainability of logging (p 98).

The Conservation Commission will seek support from a wide range of stakeholders and engage in public debate regarding forest management under a changing climate.

TWS spokesperson Ms Jael Johnson said, “Climate change science is showing us that we have no time to waste. We are pleased that, unlike the FMP, the Commission is giving high priority to climate change.”

The report also identified the need for further work to investigate the links between increasingly threatened fauna and logging. In particular the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) has been asked to investigate options for immediate actions to improve the plight of the Brush Tailed Phascogale (p 141), which is one of four species of forest wildlife officially moved to a higher category of threat of extinction since this FMP began.

CCWA vice-president Dr Beth Schultz said, “For a long time now, conservationists have been pointing out that the jarrah forest is being overcut and mismanaged. The report confirms our concerns when it states that there is a 15 per cent discrepancy between the amount of jarrah that DEC estimated to be available and the actual amount the Forest Products Commission got out of the forest (p 63).”

The report states that an issue recurrent throughout the report is DEC’s inability to implement the FMP due to resource constraints.  The Commission does not accept that “progress on outstanding actions can be delayed any further [and that] if additional resources are not forthcoming then forest management will need to be scaled back to match resourcing levels with requirements for implementation of the plan”.

WAFA spokesperson Mr Rob Versluis said, “If you can’t do it properly, don’t do it.”

All three environment groups encourage the West Australian public to get involved in this process and to express their concern about how our unique and irreplaceable forests are managed. The public comment period closes on 30 June 2009.

Media comment:

CCWA                                      
9420 7266                                

Jael Johnson

TWS

0429 429 958                                                    

Rob Versluis

WAFA

9420 7265