An intact Great Koala National Park reduces fire risks

Some mainstream media, politicians and the logging industry see Australian flora and fauna as one big ' firebomb' that needs logging urgently.

"...A logged forest is at much greater risk of burning at higher severity than intact forests that have not been logged. Logged forests are at significantly greater risk of high-severity wildfire than intact (unlogged) forests." David Lindenmayer, Ecologist
>> (paywall)
https://www.smh.com.au/national/the-great-national-koala-park-is-not-a-firebomb-it-s-the-opposite-20251113-p5nf1u.html
#BushFires #deforestation #landclearing #biodiversity #ThegreatKoalaNationalPark #NSWLogging #LoggingImpacts #fires #VestedInterests #LoggingIndustry #BellingenLogging #BellingenShire #risks

The destruction of native forests

"The independent review of the EPBC Act, conducted by Graeme Samuel in 2020, described the exemption for RFAs from federal environment laws as an untenable "loophole". The Greens, who have been demanding a complete ban on native forest logging, want to end the exemption of RFAs from the EPBC Act immediately. Changes to the EPBC Act will be before the Senate on Wednesday..."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-23/labor-greens-deal-on-environment-laws-native-forests/106040766
#biodiversity #EPBCAct #NativeForests #RFAs #degradation #FossilFuels #NSWLogging #BellingenLogging

"New data has pointed to the "systemic" under-reporting of greater glider dens within areas earmarked for logging in New South Wales, which scientists say could result in localised extinctions."

"Environment groups say the new rules have allowed Forestry Corporation of NSW (FCNSW), a state government-owned logging company, to survey less of the forests they plan to log, which has resulted in the number of greater gliders being severely underestimated."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-21/environment-groups-decry-greater-glider-survey-results/106017274

Century-old trees critical to greater gliders >>
https://au.news.yahoo.com/late-night-discovery-in-bushland-sparks-fears-for-rare-aussie-animal-epic-failure-033852924.html
#biodiversity #gliders #nswLogging #LoggingImpacts #wildlife #extinction #FCNSW

“No other rich countries in the world destroy forests like Australia does." >>
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/19/australia-deforestation-hidden-official-figures-conservationists-report
#deforestation #degradation #biodiversity #NativeForests #glasgow #NSWLogging #Bellingen #Bellingenlogging #harm

NSW Forestry born-again as eco-forestry looking for new markets

"The forestry industry in northern NSW is considering new financial opportunities in eco-forestry and environmental markets."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-16/great-koala-national-park-forestry-future-carbon-market/105954932
#Biodiversity #wildlife #NSWLogging #TheGreatKoalaNationalPark #LoggingIndustry #MidNorthCoast #GKNP #KoalaTouristPark #firebreaks #LoggingAndLandclearing #extractivism #MinisterialDiscretion #EPBCAct

Image: The Bongil Bongil National Park has been included in the new Great Koala National Park, but the logging monster is always lurking... (Art by 'Danka')

Australia's new national environmental standards

"Former ACCC chair condemns proposed exemption allowing minister to approve projects that don’t comply with law. Samuel, who led a 2020 review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, also argued a loophole that effectively exempts native forest logging from the laws “shouldn’t be there”.

“Logging operations should be subject to the same rules as mining, agriculture, urban development and so on." >>
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/14/graeme-samuel-calls-for-labor-to-ditch-national-interest-workaround-for-environment-laws

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act)
The problem of ministerial discretion and “national interest” exemptions. >>
https://mastodon.au/@Bellingen/115528660854362227

Authoritarianism—but make it look like the rule of law. >>
https://mastodon.au/@Bellingen/115528971744822369

#EPBCAct #biodiversity #NationalInterest #law #exemption #MinisterialDiscretion #FastTrackApprovals #VestedInterest #ParliamentaryScrutiny #EnvironmentalLaw #conservation #regulation #governance #democracy #NSWLogging #landclearing #DualState #lawlessness #authoritarianism #LawGuardrails #normalcy #EmergencyPowers #NationalInterest #legitimisation #exemption #constitution #state #governance #LoggingImpacts

Monitoring Australia’s tinderbox landscape
New interactive map shows how flammable your part of Australia is right now

"With every update, the tool provides a continent-wide snapshot of how flammable Australia’s vegetation is....The data are also being used in insurance and risk modelling for new developments to quantify the number of “flammable days” in a given region."
>>
https://theconversation.com/new-interactive-map-shows-how-flammable-your-part-of-australia-is-right-now-268289

MAPS >>
https://maps.dea.ga.gov.au/#share=s-bbkJz9vaB0EHQ0WEBGo99Fu4Gqn
#FossilFuels #deforestation #climate #NSWLogging #dryness #risks #FlammableDays #bushfires #heatwaves #storms #maps #CulturalBurning

In the wake of wildfires, toxic smoke is a lasting health concern >>
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2527308122
#bushfires #FossilFuels #fires #suburbia #UrbanWildfires #air #pollution #toxins #smoke #plastics #VOCs #AirPollution #ClimateChange #benzene #acetone #health #harm #NSWLogging #PublicHealth

Why roads are so dangerous
Avoid the first cut into a forest...

"The first road made into a wilderness area is often the most dangerous. Following the first cut, a host of changes often become unstoppable."
>>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwwlxlMoVVQ

Conserving Tropical Forests in a Rapidly Changing World, Bill Laurance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFrSpk--QmU
#LoggingImpacts #NativeForests #deforestation #fragmentation #biodiversity #wildlife #NSWLogging #BellingenLogging #SaveTuckersNob #TheGreatKoalaNationalPark #roads #climate

Biodiversity is in catastrophic decline. Here are three ways to ensure Australia’s conservation law actually works

"The commonwealth bureaucracy has failed to enforce the existing laws."

"The exemption for native forest logging should have been phased out. Instead, it was extended."

"The highest priority for the reforms must be to ensure land-clearing is properly regulated."
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/oct/28/australia-conservation-law-biodiversity-decline
#biodiversity #NativeForests #NSWLogging #LoggingImpacts #EPBCAct #extractivism #deforestation #LandClearing #conservation #regulation

Restoring rainforest habitat for the Pink Underwing Moth

"The rainforest that once covered the Maleny plateau near Mount Mellum, between 5% and 10% remains. First came the loggers for the prized timber of giant red cedars and hoop pines. Then the dairy farmers for the rich, red volcanic soil... About 20 tiny islands of rainforest remain on the Maleny plateau. Some as small as a hectare, almost all are on private property. Highly fragmented, they are vulnerable to invasive species, fire, disease and climate change."
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/oct/26/southern-pink-underwing-moth-man-search-for-giant-australian-insect

Carronia and the Pink Underwing Moth >>
https://www.lfwseq.org.au/carronia-and-the-pink-underwing-moth/
#rainforest #restoration #destruction #moths #flora #Carronia #vines #MidNorthCoast #BellingenShire #SunshineCoast #extractivism #NSWLogging #industry

The so called "Environment Protection Reform Bill."
Protecting Australia's extraordinary wildlife ?

"The proposed changes to the EPBC Act do not deal with its fundamental problem: despite its name, the law does not prioritise protecting the environment. Its principle role is to allow projects – including fossil fuel developments – to go ahead, with some conditions attached to limit environmental damage."

"Native forest logging overseen by the states has been effectively exempt, despite a long list of legal cases in which it was found to have breached the laws. Forest destruction on private land for agriculture – a major driver of biodiversity loss across vast areas of western New South Wales and Queensland, and the Northern Territory – has rarely been assessed."

"There is little sign the legislation will tackle the huge problem of deforestation. Millions of hectares have been cleared without federal oversight, mostly for industrial farming. The state of the environment report cited evidence that 93% of the threatened species habitat cleared between 2000 and 2017 was not referred for assessment under national law. One hundred scientists wrote to Albanese this week calling for this to be urgently addressed."
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/25/as-the-coalition-shows-its-colours-on-nature-labor-faces-a-question-will-it-really-protect-australias-wildlife
#biodiversity #climate #FossilFuels #EPBCAct #CoalGas #deforestation #acceleration #offsets #NSWLogging

Spotted-tailed quoll out of habitat

"Residents have reported sightings of a spotted-tailed quoll at the Coffs Harbour Marina."
There are concerns for the animal's welfare due to a hostile environment of roads, sprawl, dogs and fishing gear.
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-23/vulnerable-spotted-tail-quoll-spotted-at-coffs-harbour-marina/105923582
#CoffsHarbour #wildlife #quoll #dogs #sprawl #NSWLogging #fishinggear #MuttonBirds

The road to climate action is a 4 lane highway through the biodiversity of the Amazon.

Why Brazil is Building a Mega Highway in the Amazon Forest >>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxWAtUgfp6I

Had a déjà vu feeling here regarding the local Gleniffer Road widening and the Coffs Harbour Bypass Highway.

#FossilFuels #CoalGas #roads #biodiversity #GlenifferRd #PacificHighway #CoffsHarbourBypass #coffs #NSWLogging #forests #destruction #harm #climate #FossilFuels #roads #highways #CoffsHarbour #GlenifferRoad #NSWLogging #biodiversity #wildlife #COP30 #deforestation

Deforestation and no regeneration

"If you go down to the forests today, you’re in for a big surprise (mass deforestation) .
The forest has failed to regenerate after being logged. More and more logged areas no longer support trees where they once did."

"Forests that have not regenerated after logging represent a clear form of deforestation. Deforestation is a major global issue driving both escalating climate change and biodiversity loss. This is why Australia signed international agreements to both halt deforestation and to prevent biodiversity loss. And yet, this problem is evident in our own backyard."
>>
https://johnmenadue.com/post/2025/10/if-you-go-down-to-the-forests-today-youre-in-for-a-big-surprise-mass-deforestation/

Deforestation harms profits

"Global investors managing over $3 trillion in assets called on governments on Monday to stop and reverse deforestation and ecosystem degradation by 2030, in a statement signed ahead of a U.N. climate conference. As investors, we are increasingly concerned about the material financial risks that tropical deforestation and nature loss pose to our portfolios. Deforestation undermines the natural systems that global markets rely on - from climate regulation to food and water security."
>>
https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/investors-managing-3-trillion-assets-urge-countries-stop-deforestation-2025-10-20/
#biodiversity #deforestation #LoggingImpacts #NSWLogging #loggingIndustry #BellingenLogging #climate #NativeForests #TheGreatKoalaNationalPark #degradation #ClimateBreakdown #Australia #governance #EcosystemDegradation #extractivism

"Some ecologists and scientists say the science behind planned burning is thin, and could result in more flammable bush material. "

"The evidence to support prescribed burning is actually remarkably thin," Professor Lindenmayer said. "The aim of the game is to reduce fire risk, but in some cases ... prescribed burning could be making it worse in the medium to long-term."
>>
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-20/scientists-challenge-fuel-load-burns-victoria/105666680
#fires #PrescribedBurns #DisturbanceStimulatedFammability #NSWLogging #bushfires #FossilFuels #biodiversity

After widespread and ongoing land clearing of native vegetation comes
Nature Repair under the market paradigm :

"Nature Repair Market: Enhancing Native Vegetation method design. The Nature Repair Market is a legislated voluntary national biodiversity market designed to increase investment in nature and deliver high integrity biodiversity outcomes. Under the Market, landholders will undertake projects that result in specific measurable biodiversity outcomes.The proposed method would support projects on areas of Australia’s landscape that have historically experienced widespread clearing of native vegetation."
>>
https://consult.dcceew.gov.au/env-methods-nature-repair-market
Have your say:
https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/environmental-markets/nature-repair-market
#LandClearing #NativeVegetation #biodiversity #ecosystem #restore #RemnantVegetation #NSWLogging #destruction #governance

Stopping deforestation and ecosystem harm
Traceability for deforestation-linked commodities

Deforestation-free Europe wants to keep deforestation-linked commodities such as cattle, wood and cocoa out of the market.
>>
https://theconversation.com/from-beef-to-timber-a-new-era-of-labels-will-reveal-where-your-shopping-comes-from-265083
#deforestation #biodiversity #climate #regulation #SupplyChains #EUDR #DueDilligence #cattle #meat #beef #livestock #LoggingImpacts #NSWLogging #timber #traceability #harm #Australia #EU

Forests and the probability of high-severity fires

"We found that dense, spatially homogeneous forests with high ladder fuels were more likely to burn at high severity. Extreme weather magnified the effect of density, suggesting that treatments which remove overstory trees are especially important in extreme conditions. Forests managed by private industry were more likely to be dense, spatially homogeneous, and contain high ladder fuel loads than publicly owned forests, offering a potential explanation for the increase in high-severity fire occurrence on private industrial land. Overall, these results illustrate the need for comprehensive forest management to mitigate fire severity in a warmer future."

"Here we discovered that the characteristics of private industrial forestland are strongly correlated with increases in the probability of high-severity fire, potentially explaining the higher incidence of high severity fire in these forests ."
>>
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.70400
The study, “Extreme weather magnifies the effects of forest structure on wildfire, driving increased severity in industrial forests,” was published on Aug. 20, 2025, in the journal Global Change Biology. doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70400
#bushfires #forests #plantations #fires #LoggingImpacts #monoculture #NSWLogging #Climate #biodiversity

The risk of serious injury by police at protests is escalating

"Lawyers and activists say such encounters are representative of an increasingly dangerous use of force at protests in Australia, including the deployment of largely unregulated “less lethal” police tools including oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray, baton rounds and explosive “distraction devices”.

"OC spray was used almost 900 times in NSW in the last financial year. There were at least 2,323 takedowns in NSW in the same year, 54% of them against people who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.“Grab/hold/push/swarm” was the force used most by police at these incidents, recorded 640 times. There were 224 uses of OC spray or foam recorded."
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/sep/27/like-being-stabbed-in-the-eye-the-risk-of-serious-injury-by-police-at-protests-is-escalating-experts-warn
#UsOfForce #violence #harm #governance #ProtectProtest #NSWLogging #activism