In response to public outrage, Premier Chris Minns and Environment Minister Penny Sharpe today announced that 5% of the proposed great koala national park would be protected from logging.
Others suggest it is better than nothing, with Sophie Scamps, MP, saying in a statement today that “The news that logging in"koala hubs” will cease is a win for koalas and all other species that call these forests home, for the local tourism industry and for local Indigenous communities who have campaigned strongly against the destruction of this crucial habitat.
There were 106 koala hubs identified in 2017 as having evidence of hi density populations, which make up the 5% of the park which thegovernment have designated as not to be logged.
An estimated 30% of koalas on the mid-north coast died in the Black Summer bushfires, up to 30% of their habitat destroyed.
To add insult to injury, “Logging native forests in NSW is a loss-making exercise. Over the last two years, the NSW Government has subsidised the native forest logging division of NSW Forestry Corporation to the tune of $30 million just to keep it afloat,” according to Sophie Scamps.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
In response to public outrage, Premier Chris Minns and Environment Minister Penny Sharpe today announced that 5% of the proposed great koala national park would be protected from logging.
Others suggest it is better than nothing, with Sophie Scamps, MP, saying in a statement today that “the news that logging in “koala hubs” will cease is a win for koalas and all other species that call these forests home, for the local tourism industry and for local Indigenous communities who have campaigned strongly against the destruction of this crucial habitat.”
According to Sue Arnold of Australians for Animals, only a small number of forests identified as koala hubs are spared.
There were 106 koala hubs identified in 2017 as having evidence of hi density populations, which make up the 5% of the park which thegovernment have designated as not to be logged.
Conservation groups say 20% of the state’s koala population is within the park area, making 5% protection a token effort.
Conservationists battling Forestry Corporation say the protected hectares are nowhere near enough, will not prevent extinction, and that logging needs to stop throughout the whole Park immediately.
The original article contains 325 words, the summary contains 189 words. Saved 42%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
https://bobbrown.org.au/nsw-government-limping-towards-koala-protection/
Starting this Friday, the government plans to log an area that is considered the crown jewel of the Great Koala National Park.
When the new government was elected, the public didn’t expect to see it being logged first. A sustained campaign for koalas, wildlife and biodiversity has forced this latest announcement by the Minister for the Environment,” said Doro Babeck, Bob Brown Foundation’s NSW Campaigner.
This is important forest habitat for Greater Gliders, Yellow-bellied Gliders, Rufous Scrub-birds and Glossy Black Cockatoos.
These biodiverse-rich forests deserve better – they are vital for climate mitigation and store massive amounts of carbon.
This is such bullshit, no wonder their approval rate is collapsing.
