Executive summary
The coming years offer a historic opportunity to protect public native forests, the wildlife they support and the services they provide to people. As the Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs) expire in the coastal forests of NSW, The National Parks Association of NSW (NPA) is proposing an exit from logging public native forests so that forests better deliver benefits to the entire community. We want to protect forest wildlife, safeguard the benefits of forests to people and increase public access to forests so regional communities can flourish. We can achieve this by using our public native forests—two million hectares of precious public land—in a better, more inclusive way.
What do we want?
In a nutshell, we want to see our forests better protected and used more inclusively. So we’re proposing that public native forests, those currently used primarily for timber extraction, are protected in one of the reserve categories under the National Parks and Wildlife Act or in Indigenous Protected Areas that best considers the needs of local communities. We believe this shift in management would help NSW maximise its natural advantages of a beautiful climate, majestic landscapes and unique forests and protect the important services that forests provide to communities.
This would protect incredible wildlife like koalas, quolls, gliders and large forest owls—all currently suffering major declines. But with smart, regional-scale recreation planning, these forests could also be used alongside other protected area categories for an expansion of nature-based and adventure eco-tourism; increase opportunities for outdoor education and to provide high quality recreation options for communities.
The use of different protected area categories means recreation activities not suitable for national parks could be accommodated. So too could ecologically sensitive infrastructure such as tree-top walks, eco-hubs and outdoor education facilities. This approach would simultaneously ensure national parks and nature reserves—the jewels in the crown of protected areas—are protected from damaging development and activities.
Importantly, it could also provide increased opportunities for Indigenous people. Joint or co-management arrangements, the use of traditional practices to be employed in forest management, cultural tourism and Aboriginal use of forest products are some of the ways in which Aboriginal people could benefit economically and culturally from forest management should they choose to do so.
It would also increase the opportunities for small business creation and provide long-term, rewarding jobs for people in regional areas that are crying out for job diversification. This includes jobs in forest rehabilitation for foresters, forest-based jobs and business opportunities for Indigenous owners and jobs for the broader community in eco-tourism, recreation, service and support industries.
We see a future where outdoor education for our children is focussed on forest eco-hubs that would also serve as focal points for tourist infrastructure and recreation. We want to make sure future generations in NSW have regular opportunities to get away from screens to visit forests, learn new skills and stay fit and healthy. This would help achieve the Premier’s Priority of reducing childhood obesity.
When do we want it?
The tail end of the RFAs is the time to act. The RFAs, and the timber contracts they underpin, have been in place for 20 years and have dominated the use of public forests. When they expire from 2019, we must seize the opportunity to protect nature and support regional communities in the management of this vast swathe of public land for public good.
Why do we want it?
Our forests are more than just sources of wood. They support some of the most unique species in the world, and they’re the only place on earth where many of these species are found. They’re sites of cultural significance for Aboriginal communities. They provide every citizen on the east coast of Australia with clean and reliable water, and remove carbon from the atmosphere that helps keep our climate benevolent for humans to thrive. This importance is explicitly recognised in the Paris Climate Agreement by forests having been afforded a separate article in recognition of their vital role as carbon stores. And of course, forests provide places for humans to have fun and enjoy nature which is beneficial to health and wellbeing.
NPA’s analysis, conducted in 2016, showed that the RFAs have failed in all of their aims. They have failed to protect forest species, drained our water supplies and reduced carbon stores. They have even failed in the aim of providing economic stability to forest industries: employment has steadily declined and logging is propped up via a range of State Government subsidies and hidden costs borne by ratepayers at a local government level.
So let’s be brave enough to admit when something’s not working and call time on a failed experiment. So much has changed in the 20 years since the RFAs were signed. Climate change wasn’t even considered as part of the RFA process! Now climate change threatens our entire way of life, threatens our water supplies and our wildlife and logging is diminishing our best stores of land-based carbon. Continuing as if nothing has changed is reckless. We now know the value of water and carbon. We know nature is the key driver of our tourism industry and that protected areas are the foundation of regional communities. This plan outlines the next big step in the protection of NSW’s unique forests.
How can we achieve this?
NPA proposes to ensure forests are well managed under the new framework, and commits to working with stakeholders to ensure this is the case. Assessments and categorisation of forests post-logging should include a means to make sure recreational activities and visitor infrastructure are put in the right places in the landscape to protect natural and cultural values while providing high quality visitor experiences. A monitoring framework would also be built in so that impacts can be predicted and assessed, and management to reduce impacts targeted at the right place. Assessments should be in consultation with user groups, experts in protected area management, non-governmental organisations and local communities. An adequately resourced National Parks and Wildlife Service is the appropriate public agency to manage all native forests reserved under this plan.
Initial government investment would be needed to upgrade public infrastructure and provide the certainty for the private sector to take advantage of the fresh opportunities. It’s important that small businesses are encouraged, because this would kickstart employment in regional areas and drive the visitor economy. One way to help this to happen would be for government to provide low-cost loans to those that want to create new businesses based on nature based tourism or recreation in forests. This model of private sector delivery on public land using publicly owned infrastructure has been used successfully in New Zealand and Europe.
NPA proposes that the NSW and Commonwealth governments work together to incentivise both the plantation industry and farm forestry to provide a sustainable, alternative source of hardwood firewood to local regional markets in the long term. Opportunities also exist in research and development into alternative fibres, hardwood plantations to supply timber and engineered timbers. For example, acetylation can render fast-growing softwood as durable as hardwood. An expanded Indigenous Ranger program would create further jobs in forest management for Aboriginal people.
We are confident that our plan will see a net increase in jobs in regional areas—many of which urgently need alternative angles of employment. Importantly, we also want to see an increase in the number of small businesses involved in forest tourism and recreation and we want to increase opportunities for Indigenous owners to develop and run businesses and take advantage of employment opportunities.
It’s possible if we work together!
We have a golden opportunity to make this bright new future a reality as the RFAs draw to their conclusion. NPA is working to build a broad alliance of conservation, recreation, tourism, health and community groups that will support this future. We see local government as a key ally because local communities currently bear many of the hidden costs of logging. We are asking supporters to use our plan to advocate a change of use for forests to the State Government and opposition, to make their members aware of the proposal and to share updates and to provide a logo and a short paragraph about why they see this as important.