Why AMR should become a “No Logging Shire” Peter Lane August 2014, updated October 2014 This document examines impacts of logging native forests in the Shire of Augusta Margaret River. Based on a range of sound reasons it recommends that the shire take the responsible and rewarding course of acting to prevent logging of native trees in our shire. The impacts of logging are considered from the global progressing to the local perspective. Global Forests are an important carbon sink. It has been estimated that of the CO2 emitted by human activity, one third is absorbed by forests1. As well old trees absorb more CO2 than young trees2. Logging results in loss of habitat and wild life and threatens the survival of species3. While this can be seen as a local impact, from a global perspective it is our responsibility to take whatever action possible to reduce the rate of habitat and animal loss and the extinction of species. State and Local Logging our native forests is not considered to be sustainable. Since the formation of FPC in late 2000, premium, 1st and 2nd grade jarrah log production has steadily declined and is now just 14% of what it was in FPC’s first full financial year 2001-20024. The rate of regrowth compared to logging rates demonstrates that karri logging is also unsustainable5. Since the formation of the FPC in 2000 financial losses have exceeded $100 million6. The forests belong to West Australians. It is a wrong for us to pay to have them cut down. Exclusive of government grants and subsidies, in 2009 the State government gave FPC $15 million, in 2012 $72 million and a further $10.7 million in 2013. The State received nothing in return7. Employment has often been cited as the reason to continue logging native forests. Due to the part time nature of many forestry workers (in many cases split between native and plantation forestry), the number of people employed in logging and trucking native forests is considered to be less than 4008 (note, the attachment cites 495 workers are registered to engage on native forestry and transport, a number of whom work part time and/or in the plantation sector). Employment in 1 sawmills in 2012 totaled 4419, but as some mills have since closed this number would now be smaller. Downstream employment, including milling, could be maintained through plantation logging/milling and true value adding (ref. below). Logging causes severe damage to the environment*. This is caused primarily by destruction of habitat10 and spread of diseases11. Logging increases the risk of bushfires. Logging creates a lot of debris, especially leaves and small branches; the removal of trees results in exposure and drying of the understorey and forest floor; and small regrowth trees pose a far higher risk than established large trees12 (acknowledging that this research refers to clearfelling). Logging and clearing of land exacerbates rainfall decline13. Logging causes damage to amenities. In 1996 proposed logging was successfully stopped in the Bramley Forest. This is now accepted as an important recreation area close to town. Amenities include walking, bike and horse riding trails, picnic and camping areas14. Recreational use of the Mowen forest is growing and offers important potential in this respect. Tourism and its flow-on to the wine industry is arguably the region’s most important business. Logging and logging trucks are not compatible with tourism. Heavy logging trucks exacerbate damage to the shire’s roads yet loggers do not contribute to fixing them. Damaged roads decrease road safety and need to be maintained by the shire15 Logging is typically followed by burning. Historically this is known to cause severe damage to grape quality and can be a health hazard16 Logs are trucked out of the shire. The shire gains no income from logging17 As the FPC operates as a government subsidised corporation (in terms of both cash contributions and no-cost forests) the plantation industry suffers from unfair competition. many farmers in the shire own (mostly small) plantations and even mature, well managed stands cannot be logged at an operating profit. Since 2001 Western Australian annual hardwood plantings have fallen from 18,140 hectares to 360 hectares and softwood plantings from 3,440 hectares to zero in 201218, unfair native forest competition being a significant factor. I would also add that I believe there is a wide misconception of use of native timber. The actual use can be seen on the pie graph, below19. 2 WA native forest logging products Sawn timber (jarrah and karri) - 14% 14% 111 29% Sawmill residue (jarrah and karri) - 30% Chiplogs (karri) - 27% 30% Fuelwood (charcoal logs and 27% firewood logs - jarrah) - 29% *In respect of damage to the environment, I subscribe to the view that we are largely ignorant of the damage many of our activities do. Since completing this document I have received a copy of a report by the CSIRO dated 8 September 2014 (attachment 12) which claims that 75 percent of living species in Australia are unknown. As well, we less than fully understand the ecological function of the 25 percent of the species we do know exist. 1 CSIRO July 2011, reference 11/73, attachment 1 2 Nature World News, January 2014, attachment 2 3 Scientists’ statement on Protection of Western Australia’s South West forests, June 2013 attachment 3 and http://waforestalliance.org/ 4 FPC Annual Reports (Beth Schultz, Peter Lane compilation), attachment 4 5 Various, compiled by Beth Schultz, March 2014, attachment 5 6 Peter Lane, August 2014, attachment 6 7 Peter Lane, refer attachment 6 8 Hansard August 2012, attachment 7 9 URS report for Conservation Council, 2012, attachment 8 10 http://waforestalliance.org/ 11 http://waforestalliance.org/ 12 Melboune University and ANU 2014, attachment 9 13 Andrich and Imberger 2012, attachment 10 14 Jane Scott, letter attachment 11 15 Shire to check if FPC contributes to road maintenance 16 MR wine industry (awaiting reference) 17 Shire to confirm 18 ABARES 1919191919191919191919 FPC 2012 Annual Report 3 Attachment 1 CSIRO Using sophisticated monitoring equipment, scientists have constructed a profile of forests as regulators of atmospheric CO2. (CSIRO) Forests absorb one third our fossil fuel emissions Reference: 11/73 The world's established forests remove 2.4 billion tonnes of carbon per year from the atmosphere – equivalent to one third of current annual fossil fuel emissions – according to new research published today in the journal Science. 15 July 2011 This is the first time volumes of the greenhouse gas absorbed from the atmosphere by tropical, temperate and boreal forests have been so clearly identified. "This is really a timely breakthrough with which we can now clearly demonstrate how forests and changes in landscape such as wildfire or forest regrowth impact the removal or release of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2)," says CSIRO co-author of the paper: A Large and Persistent Carbon Sink in the World's Forests, Dr Pep Canadell. "What this research tells us is that forests play a much larger role as carbon sinks as a result of tree growth and forest expansion." Dr Canadell, who is also the Executive Director of the Global Carbon Project, said the international research team combined data from forest inventories, models and satellites to construct a profile of forests as major regulators of atmospheric CO2. In addition to the large carbon sink, he said scientists now know that deforestation is responsible for emitting 2.9 billion tonnes of carbon per year – an exchange that had not been known in the past because of a lack of data. For comparison, total emissions from fossil fuels are currently above eight billion tonnes of carbon per year. "This is really a timely breakthrough with which we can now clearly demonstrate how forests and changes in landscape such as wildfire or forest regrowth impact the removal or release of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2)," 4 says Dr Pep Canadell. Dr Canadell said emissions from deforestation are much larger than previously thought, suggesting that the potential benefits of avoiding deforestation through the United Nations-backed Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) scheme, are much larger than previously appreciated. The REDD scheme aims to formulate a financial value for the carbon stored in forests. Dr Canadell said a surprising finding was the large capacity of tropical forest re-growth to remove atmospheric CO2. Regrowth takes place following the end of logging and slash-and-burn land clearing projects, and, to a lesser extent, when new forest plantations are planted. "We estimate that tropical forest regrowth is removing an average of 1.6 billion tonnes of carbon per year. Unfortunately, some countries have not looked on forest regrowth as a component of REDD, and so are missing a very important opportunity to gain even further climate benefits from the conservation of forests. "Combining the uptake by established and forest re-growth plus emissions from deforestation, the world’s forests have a net effect on atmospheric CO2 equivalent to the removal of 1.1 billion tonnes of carbon every year. "Carbon exchanges from tropical forests have the highest uncertainties in this analysis and this research has required a concerted effort to refine them to our best knowledge," Dr Canadell said. This work has been undertaken as part of the Australian Climate Change Science Program, funded jointly by the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO. The paper was co-authored by: Yude Pan, Richard Birdsey, Jingyun Fang, Richard Houghton, Pekka Kauppi, Werner A. Kurz, Oliver L. Phillips, Anatoly Shvidenko, Simon L. Lewis, Josep G. Canadell, Philippe Ciais, Robert B. Jackson, Stephen Pacala, A David McGuire, Shilong Piao, Aapo Rautiainen, Stephen Sitc and Daniel Hayes.