NAFI Questions Logic Of Locking Up Forests

22 November 2007

The National Association of Forest Industries (NAFI) has appeared before the panel of the Inquiry into the Impact of Public Land Management Practices on Bushfires in Victoria, questioning the logic of simply locking-up forests in conservation reserves, only to see them devastated in catastrophic wildfire events.
NAFI’s CEO Catherine Murphy said the forest industry was concerned that there had never been any clear scientific evidence provided which set out the additional environmental or community benefits to be derived from setting aside production forests into new reserves.
In an appearance before the inquiry panel, Murphy outlined the impacts of wildfires on carbon emissions, biodiversity and water catchments.
“How we manage reserve areas for fire has major implications for climate change,” Murphy said. “The 2003 bushfires that devastated massive areas in Victoria, New South Wales and the ACT are estimated to have emitted 130 million tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere, equal to one-quarter of Australia's annual greenhouse emissions.
“As we witness one of the worst periods of drought on record, the effect that bushfires will have on water supply and biodiversity is also very concerning. As forests regenerate after major wildfires, their need for water is enormous. CSIRO studies have shown that the Melbourne water catchment has only recently recovered from the effect of bushfires in 1939.”
In its submission to the inquiry, NAFI noted that there is a growing body of scientific evidence to support the view that without active management of reserved areas, particularly in relation to fire, there can be a decline in forest health.
The submission reads …”there is no requirement to assess the impacts of not using fire as a management tool in conservation reserves” … and …”greater consideration should be given to the possibilities of using selected forest harvesting and thinning techniques together with prescribed burning as complementary active management tools.”
In addition, NAFI welcomed the Coalition’s forestry policy announcement on 19 November of a $15 million National Bushfire Mitigation Program to develop comprehensive, long-term bushfire mitigation strategies, including better reduction programs.

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