When it comes to reporting breaches
of environmental laws, many are reluctant to contact the relevant authorities
directly, fearing a lack of confidentiality.
The recommended avenue for
reporting such breaches is through the EnviroLine where the operators, despite
assurances of confidentiality, then request contact details in case
investigating officers require further information.
Local environment groups provide an
avenue for those who wish to remain anonymous, which saw one such recent
report, alerting us to extensive under-scrubbing of forest north of Grafton.
Under-scrubbing
is the process of bulldozing all under-storey vegetation, leaving only larger
trees, and in this instance, not only had tens of thousands of native trees,
shrubs and other plants been bulldozed, but many of the remaining trees had
been damaged in the process. That scarring invariably leads to an early death
by fire. The bulldozed vegetation was heaped into windrows some three metres
high ready for burning, further damaging and/or killing nearby standing trees.
The
cleared area is known to support Koalas, an iconic species that is in serious
decline and facing extinction. The State Government is proudly reporting the
spending of millions of dollars protecting them, so surely this clearing
couldn't possibly be legal.
In this
instance the EPA acted promptly, and responded to the complaint within days,
explaining the clearing had in fact been approved. While that in itself was
hard to believe, the reason given for the destruction was even harder to
fathom. That, they informed us, was to enhance grazing potential!
The land
in question has very low fertility soils, incapable of growing pasture so, in a
good year, might support one bullock to 5 hectares. It seems unlikely
therefore, that grazing was the objective, but allowable “thinning” for that
purpose provided the justification.
The end
result will be the loss of some 90% of the forest's biodiversity, serious
erosion potential in the short term, and a guaranteed weed invasion over the
longer term.
At a time
when we desperately require more trees and forests to sequester carbon, these
decisions make no environmental, social or economic sense.
- John Edwards
This article was originally published in the VOICES FOR THE EARTH column in The Daily Examiner on July 20 , 2020.
