Indicators of Sustainability for Victoria's Native Forest

The major indicators of sustainability for Victoria's native forest logging are:

1. VicForests' financial position

2. The rate of forest regeneration

3. The State of the Forests Report

4. The CAR Reserve System

5. Legislation

6. Alleged breaches

Economically Unsustainable

The following captures have been taken from VicForests Annual report 2009. Economically VicForests made a 5 million dollar loss in 2009 - and closer to 10 million if you take out "other revenue" not from the sale of forest products, such as 5.7 and 1.3 million dollars given in 2008, 2009 for bushfire recovery.

Approximately 60% of the total revenue is coming from wood chips, which is a low-value commodity market that is not going to improve profits in the future.

010 vic forests economically unsustainable

The rate of forest regeneration

If native forest is being clear felled and not regenerated then it is not a sustainable industry nor is it sustainable for biodiversity. The results form the Department of Sustainability and Environments Monitoring Annual Harvesting Performance 2007/2008 states that 89% of regeneration is outstanding representing approx 14,000 ha and proves that native logging in Victoria based on regeneration performance alone is unsustainable. Read more

Victoria's State of the Forest Report 2008

The State of the Forests Report is supposed to underpin the sustainability of Victoria's native forest logging; however it is clear that 2/3 of the indicators have missing data!

CAR Reserve - Comprehensive, Adequate and Representative Reserve System for Forests in Australia Requires Immediate Review

The CAR reserve system is an area of landscape representing no less than 15% of all the ecological vegetation classes in forested estates. Outside of the CAR Reserve, the landscape is open to logging. The Regional Forest Agreements are agreements across the forests that permit logging on the proviso that a CAR Reserve is in place, however, since successive Victorian bushfire's, the CAR Reserve is longer representative nor adequate and requires immediate review. At least 10% of the reserve system in the Central Highlands is damaged and/or transformed.

Legislative requirements for sustainability of Native forest logging

Legislative requirements for Native forest logging to be sustainable Read more

Alleged Breaches to the Code of Forest Practice

Alleged breaches that question the sustainability of Victoria's native forest logging by VicForests Read more

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