State of the forests For species like the koala, we know the biggest problem is the destruction of their forest homes. In 2021, it lost 231kha of natural forest, equivalent to 90.8Mt of CO emissions. Australia is a global deforestation front, alongside Borneo, the Amazon and the Congo. According to the report, expansion of commercial agriculture and tree plantations are the biggest drivers of deforestation around the world. For industrial plantations, the ownership of the land can be different from the ownership of the trees, and management arrangements can be complex., Of the 132 million hectares of native forest in Australia, 47.2 million hectares (36%) are native forest on leasehold land, and 41.0 million hectares (31%) are native forest on land held under private freehold title. Bulldozers destroy over 740,000 ha of forest and bush every year. More than 40 per cent of the country's forests and woodlands are estimated to have been cleared since European colonisation. The next biggest contributor to the data was "grazing modified pastures" at around 125,000 hectares. The countries with high rates of deforestation include Brazil, Bolivia, Madagascar and Borneo. Monitoring satellite imagery and recording suspicious clearing. In that case, the data would show no net loss in forest cover, despite a significant deficit of habitat occurring. Your feedback has been submitted. Blocks of land are still being sold for development in the Daintree. The WWF report lists a variety of ways in which governments around the world have tried to limit deforestation. Explore interactive charts and maps that summarize key statistics about forests in {area}. Because the analysis only covered up to the year 2017, it excludes the effects of the catastrophic 2019-20 bushfire season, with WWF saying the accelerating effects of climate change made the need for Australian governments to increase protections for wildlife and habitat more urgent. Read our WA native vegetation report detailing 7 ways to protect WA's most valuable natural asset. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. Culture is how an organisation thinks, acts, and interacts. Australia remains one of the world's hotspots for deforestation according to a new report by WWF, which finds an area six times the size of Tasmania has been cleared globally since 2004. Check out 10 facts about deforestation in Australia Rethinking ethics and code of conduct training, Key sustainability factors impacting business in 2022, From the courtroom to the boardroom: climate change risks and remedies, Why sustainability matters in real estate, Measuring sustainability performance: comparing an SDG score with ESG ratings, Deep impact: the next step in sustainable investing, We must approach public equities with an 'impact' mindset. Although native forest logging has been responsible for clearing a small area by comparison, it has been a flashpoint in Tasmania for decades. But the Liberal state government came to power in 2014 on a promise to revive the Tasmanian forestry industry, and soon after their election, reclassified around 400,000 hectares of forest designated as "future reserve land" to "future potential production forest". Thanks! . However, native forest and plantation forestry only contributed to around 86,000 hectares of clearing in this period. This map shows the extent and distribution of Australia's forests by tenure: PNG [0.9 MB], PDF [3.6 MB]. 2023 The Wilderness Society, 5 things you need to know about Deforestation in Australia, majority of landholders are eager to embrace new ways, 7 ways to protect WA's most valuable natural asset. "We're putting huge amounts of taxpayer dollars into avoided deforestation and reforestation and at the same time we . On 11/02/22 the government officially listed the koala as Endangered in Queensland, NSW and the ACT. Your feedback has been submitted. This map shows the extent and distribution of Australia's forests by forest type: PNG [1.1 MB], PDF [3.6 MB]. View an interactive version of this map in ArcGIS Online map viewer here. Want more science plus health, environment, tech and more? As the only developed country with a deforestation front, it's no surprise Australias mammal extinction rates are the highest in the world. For species like the koala, we know the biggest problem is the destruction of their forest homes. Podcast: Who Wins the Fist Bump Board Award? Here, I describe the deforestation trends, drivers and policy responses in Australia over the last four decades. The issue is that a mature forest can be cleared in one place, and an equivalent area of 2-metre saplings may have regrown in another. There are questions over the methodology used in that system which we'll get to. Australia is the only developed nation on the list of the world's deforestation hotspots, according to a new report by WWF, previously known as the World Wildlife Fund. Regional Forestry Hubs boundaries (2022) is the spatial dataset of the boundaries for the Regional Forestry Hubs. News, research and analysis of ESG integration factors for ASX listed companies and investors, * Mandatory fields. In NSW, the Berejiklian government weakened land-clearing rules in 2017 and habitat destruction has since increased. Our analysis of the Queensland government's own land clearing data for 2018-19 reveals that approximately 92,718 ha of likely or known koala habitat was destroyed across Queensland in one year alone between 2018 and 2019. It's primarily driven by agriculture (mostly for beef production), mining and urban development. The Deforestation Fronts report offers an in-depth analysis of 24 'deforestation fronts' around the globe, from Latin America to Africa and Asia. Learn more about these deforestation hotspots. We have also seen isolated cases of high-value Australian timber being illegally logged. We need to make this an issue they cant ignore, so that Queensland's spectacular forests and bushland, home to some of the most iconic animals in the world, remain intact and healthy. Only 50% of Australia's forests and bushlands remain intact compared to pre-European arrival. Australias 2019-20 bushfires were too recent to be considered in the analysis which tracked 24 deforestation fronts from 2004 to 2017. Rounding out the bottom of the top, as it were, are Ecuador, Liberia, and Haiti, all of which have witnessed 22% declines in forest cover since 1990. A new report from the World Wide Fund for Nature names eastern Australia among 24 global deforestation fronts the only developed nation on the list. "It's ridiculous to say there is more forest [now than 10 years ago]," he said. The related common names do not have capitalised initial letters (e.g. Using satellite imagery of forest cover and deforestation events across Australia . Get all the latest science stories from across the ABC. The environment minister, Sussan Ley, declined to comment on WWFs new findings as she had not seen the report. Click here to access all of the maps from Australia's State of the Forests Report 2018. Forest policy in Australia is developed and implemented at the national, state and territory levels. Forest destruction is a threat to more than 700 endangered Australian plants and animals and WWF-Australia has previously highlighted the effects of clearing conducted without threatened species assessments. Is social the most important part of ESG investing? Communities need a real voice in environmental decision-making to have an effective say on the future of NSW forests. Thats why WWF-Australia has launched Regenerate Australia, the largest wildlife and nature regeneration program in the nations history. Mining and building of town infrastructure like roads or commercial buildings are other drivers. Maps of Australia's forests are available on the Forest maps page. The Australian, state and territory governments are all signatories to the 1992 National Forest Policy Statement (NFPS). by David Tarazona, Julin Parra De Moya 27 April 2023. Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES), Australia's forest and forest products industries, Accelerate Adoption of Wood Processing Innovation Program, Exports of unprocessed wood (wood export licensing), Commercial environmental forestry: Summary of the 4 year program, Optimising transport choice for plantation harvests, Why a National Indigenous Forestry Strategy, Plantations for Australia: the 2020 Vision, Forests and People - the Social Assessment, Ecologically Sustainable Forest Management, People jobs and communities - Social assessments, Annual reports and five year reviews by state, World Heritage Sub-theme: Eucalypt-dominated vegetation, Future of Our Forest Kit - Media Releases, Australia's sustainable forest management, Australia's Sustainable Forest Management Framework of Criteria and Indicators 2009, Development of Project Planning and Evaluation for Farm Forestry, The development of an effective methodology to capture forest type condition and volume data for privately managed forests, National principles related to wood production in plantations, Australia's Long Term Ecological Research Forest Sites, Mechanical Bushfire Fuel Load Reduction Programme, Monitoring the social and economic impacts of forestry, Preparing forest industries for the future - climate change research, The Tasmanian Community Forest Agreement Industry Development Programs, Research into alternatives to clear felling in old growth forests, TCFA Research into alternatives to clearfelling (Final Report), TCFA Research into alternatives to clearfelling (Operating Plan), Research into alternatives to the use of 1080, Tasmanian Community Forest Agreement Media Releases, Tasmanian Forest Contractors Exit Assistance Program, Tasmanian Forests Intergovernmental Agreement, Tasmanian Forests Intergovernmental Agreement - Contractors Voluntary Exit Grants Program, Voluntary Exit Grants Program frequently asked questions, Terms of reference for an independent facilitator, Forestry contacts, agencies and organisations, Importing timber and wood related products, Australia's bilateral relationships on forestry, Illegal Logging: Regional Capacity Building Partnership, Asia-Pacific Network for Sustainable Forest Management (APFNet), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, International Tropical Timber Organization, Report on the visit to China by NSW Rural Fire Service Forest Fire Management, Farm Forestry Plantations and Water publications, Growing a Better Australia-A Billion Trees for Jobs and Growth, National Forest Industries Plan Progress Report, Australian Forestry - planning tomorrow for today, Growing a Better Australia A Billion Trees for Jobs and Growth. The system used to estimate tree cover/loss for the NGA defines woody vegetation as of a "height or potential height greater than 2 metres, crown cover greater than 20 per cent and a minimum patch size of 0.2 hectares". According to Dr Taylor, the SLATs method gives a more accurate measure of tree loss and the WWF are calling for a standardised national system for monitoring forest cover in Australia. A leaked report from the Natural Resources Commission last year suggested that land clearing may have surged by as much as 13 times. The 24 fronts identified in the report are: 10 West Africa Liberia/Ivory Coast/Ghana, 12 Central Africa Gabon/Cameroon/Republic of Congo. By incentivising them to rehabilitate bulldozed land, we can make our soils, wildlife and landscapes more resilient to climate change. Australia has strengthened seasonal measures to manage the risk of BMSB. Land clearing and habitat loss are the biggest drivers of animal extinction and in recent years, Australia's aggressive rate of land clearing has ranked among the developed world's fastest. Australia's climate policy is failing to deliver, government data shows, US authorities 'auction' First Republic Bank after second biggest bank failure in history, New Zealand PM in favour of country becoming a republic, 'The worm goes global': Rita Ora wowed by Adelaide lobbyist's dancefloor moves, Nurse driving home from shift among victims of triple-fatal crash involving allegedly stolen car, Lauren Cranston jailed for eight years over one of Australia's biggest tax frauds, 'They will forever know their dad was a hero': 1,000 mourners farewell slain NSW paramedic, Nationals join forces with farmers to oppose multi-billion-dollar Victoria-NSW renewable energy project, Family of man shot dead by police question why they weren't called in to help. It will take more than a century for central banks and other financial institutions to reach gender balance in leadership, according to the Gender Balance Index 2023. But critics say this does not represent what is happening in our forests from a wildlife conservation or carbon storage perspective. They also provide clean water; protect soil; provide opportunities for recreation and tourism, and scientific and educational pursuits; and support cultural, heritage and aesthetic values. It means just 50% of Australias forest and bushland remainsmuch of it degraded. Knee-high saplings are not a forest and do not balance out the ongoing destruction of older forests decades or centuries old, he said. Historical clearing has caused local climates to increase by up to 2 degrees . Agriculture was the biggest driver of land clearing in Tasmania. The analysis identifies 24 deforestation fronts worldwide where a total of 43 million hectares of forest was destroyed in the period from 2004 until 2017. The most recent land-clearing data from Queensland for 2019-20 reveals a dire state of affairs in this state alone with: 418,656 hectares of forest and bushland was bulldozed between 2019/20; 85% of the deforestation and land clearing in Queensland was to make space for pasture; More than 180,000 ha was destroyed in Great Barrier Reef catchments, placing further serious stress on the natural wonder.

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