BushwalkBushwalk
The current state of playThe people of NSW have two million hectares of public native forests along the coast. This beautiful country is home to diverse wildlife and myriad forest ecosystems. But the primary use of these forests is timber production. Native forest logging takes place under Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs), 20-year agreements between the NSW and Commonwealth Governments that permit logging. The aim of the RFAs was to allow timber production while protecting nature. Unfortunately, despite the intentions being good, they haven’t worked as planned.
Open canopy west of Wollombi Brook, New South Wales
Forests For All: Think Big and See the Benefits Grow!
Dr Oisín Sweeney
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With the RFAs coming to an end from 2019 the National Parks Association of NSW (NPA) believes it’s time to think laterally about whether the focus on the forests as a timber resource is the best use of this precious shared asset. The expiry of the RFAs provides a glorious opportunity to shift the use of our forests from logging to conservation, recreation, tourism and education. This would provide a means for regional communities to make money from the protection of our most important and unique asset - nature.
Back in 1995, Prime Minister Paul Keating said “(our forests) are a national treasure and their management must be ecologically sustainable and economically clever”. At the moment it’s neither, but it could be both under our plan.
Unleashing the potential of our state forestsProtected areas are already economic powerhouses in regional economies. The two million hectares of public forests currently locked up for logging have huge potential to complement existing protected areas by safeguarding nature and providing diverse recreation and tourism opportunities for the fastest growing segment of the tourism market.
NPA wants our state forests to be used for a major expansion of recreation activities and nature-based tourism, as well as providing more opportunities for outdoor education and field studies for young people. These forests are some of the most spectacular landscapes on the eastern seaboard, and some of the most attractive anywhere in the world for outdoor sports and recreation. Our plan would see their potential fulfilled. Many regional communities on the coast are predicted to grow over the next 20 years. The NPA approach will help deliver recreation and employment opportunities for these growing populations.
Yes, state forests are currently available for recreation. But recreation plays second fiddle to the main game of harvesting timber. Only 4800 hectares of the entire state forest estate are zoned primarily for recreation. The primacy of logging means it’s inevitable
that logging will undermine recreation and tourism. And we have already seen this happen: conflict arose in Tasmania in 2016 over plans to log close to a valued mountain bike track, and in NSW community members were horrified when logging took place along a scenic drive near Narooma. Mountain bike tracks in Currambene State Forest in the Shoalhaven are located in the harvest area which means their future is not assured.
A high-value nature-based ecotourism industry requires security that the scenic and natural values upon which it’s based will be there for the long term. At the moment, that certainty is lacking. Let’s be honest: would you invest your hard-earned cash or try to build a business when the forest you depend on could be turned into this overnight?
Didn’t think so. That’s why logging is a sub-optimal use of our forests; other forest activities can’t blossom in its presence and a potential source of jobs, fun and good health is neutered.
The tourism industry is now one of Australia’s most important: $107 billion is generated every year, with 534,000 people directly employed in 273,000 tourism businesses. And for every tourist dollar spent 44 cents are spent regionally, and a further 87 cents are generated in other parts of the economy. Yet only 14% of tourism investment is located regionally, so there’s huge room for improvement.
At the moment, national parks are heavily relied on to provide outdoor experiences - they receive almost 40 million domestic visitors every year. In some cases, this reliance on national parks threatens to undermine the core function of those parks, the protection of nature. The reasons are that some activities are too high-impact for sensitive environments, visitor numbers are growing and development to support the visitation threatens to damage natural values. And because nature is the key reason people want to go to parks, this threatens the visitor economy in the long run.
“The expiry of the RFAs provides a glorious opportunity to shift the use of our forests from logging to conservation, recreation, tourism and education.
After the fireDoogs
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We’re not proposing that all state forests become national parks. Where declining threatened species like koalas occur, where state forests retain high conservation value and where there is a pressing need to connect up the landscape, national parks are the best option. As state forests are also public land, adding these high conservation value public forests to the national parks estate is simply a tenure swap. This is a really important step to protect and enhance the reasons that many people come to Australia. This step also helps satisfy Australia’s international reservation commitments and makes sure that nature can adapt to climate change.
But we’re proposing that the remaining forests should become a mix of protected area categories under the National Parks and Wildlife Act and Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs). This would ensure that conservation and sustainability are primary objectives, while providing for greater flexibility in recreation activities to respond to community needs and increasing access to forests. This could include dog walking and horse riding opportunities close to urban areas,
higher impact sports and recreation and ecologically sensitive infrastructure needed to support it. Importantly, this approach would promote Aboriginal ownership, joint- and co-management arrangements, traditional management practices and provide opportunities for Aboriginal people to benefit economically from forest products and businesses centred on forests.
With clever cross-tenure and regional recreational planning, regional parks and IPAs could be used beside other protected area categories to support recreation, eco-tourism and major events throughout regional NSW. NPA envisages a scenario where the State Government pays for the initial public infrastructure (such as roads, signs, trail development, cabins, lodges etc), and small business is encouraged to take the lead in areas of service provision. Protection of the forests is key to stimulating small business, as the certainty that forests will remain attractive places to bring visitors is a prerequisite to investing.
NPA’s plan closely aligns with several national and state strategic plans for achieving tourism and health outcomes.
The Basin campsite to Heaton Gap track, New South Wales
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New Zealand offers a modelLet’s face it, the Kiwis are miles ahead of us at the moment. They take tourism and nature conservation seriously and have recognised the inherent link between the two. New Zealand’s Queenstown region is considered by many to be the adventure playground capital of the world. Yet NSW is a potentially superior attraction: the terrain is less steep for adventure sports and the weather’s better meaning these sports could happen year-round. Plus we’ve got the advantage of more abundant wildlife like koalas, gliders, quolls and cockatoos!
Our forests have landscapes perfect for multi-day bushwalks, downhill and long-distance mountain biking, multi-day four-wheel drive routes, hang-gliding launch spots, canyoning adventures, extreme events like rogaining, ultra-marathons and bungee jumping. Or, for the less active, there’s great locations for idyllic eco-lodges and glampsites.
Where can we do all this fun stuff?Recreation tourism needs to be well planned. Because nature-based and adventure tourism completely depend on nature and a high-quality environment, recreation can’t come at the expense of nature. Conservation and recreation must be two sides of the same coin. This is vital, because nature-based visitors spend more money than other visitors and expect a high-quality product. But some forms of recreation aren’t compatible with each other because one undermines another’s enjoyment. This inevitably leads to conflict between user groups, and that’s not a good start when developing a world-class tourist offering. For example, if you go bushwalking expecting to see nothing but bushland and birds, noise from a road will ruin your experience, even if you can’t see it. Similarly, if you’re a mountain biker seeking an adrenaline-filled downhill run, slowing down constantly for walkers will ruin your experience. NPA is committed to working with stakeholders to undertake this assessment to ensure that people and conservation are both adequately considered.
That’s why tenure and planning are crucial elements of our plan. NPA sees careful planning as the key to both protecting the environment and making users happy by putting the right activities in the right places to avoid negative impacts on Aboriginal cultural heritage and sensitive environments. This allows flexibility of forest uses to be applied depending on the landscape context, proximity to urban areas and roads and public transport links. The right activities in the right places: that’s the key to making this plan work.
Win-win in so many waysBesides protecting nature and making millions for regional communities from an influx of nature-based and adventure tourists, there are several other valuable spin-offs from our plan.
Creating opportunities for Indigenous and non-Indigenous alikeUsing state forests to provide a new stream of employment opportunities and niches for small business would increase the employment base and provide high-quality, rewarding jobs. We believe our plan would also be better for Aboriginal people. Aboriginal ownership and traditional management approaches would occur, and Aboriginal use of forest products is also possible under Plans of Management.
Arakwal National Park near Byron Bay is a great example of a joint-managed protected area. The Plan of Management provides for Aboriginal use of traditional foods and fibres. The success of this approach has led to Arakwal being one of only three protected areas in Australia to be recognised on the IUCN Green List of protected areas - the gold standard for protected area management. Given that many forests will likely need management intervention for restoration after decades of damaging logging, this is a huge opportunity for regional Aboriginal communities. The logging industry cannot achieve this:in NSW logging directly employs approximately 600 people and employment is in long-term decline due to mechanisation and market forces.
“Conservation and recreation must be two sides of the same coin.
“We believe our plan would also be better for Aboriginal people.
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Initial government investment would be needed to upgrade infrastructure, begin the restoration of forests and provide the certainty for the private sector to take advantage of the fresh opportunities. It’s important that small businesses are encouraged, because this would kickstart employment in regional areas and further the visitor economy by increasing the length of stays and diversity of opportunity. One way to help this to happen would be for government to provide low-cost loans to those that want to create new (or expand existing) businesses based on nature based tourism or recreation in forests. This model of private sector delivery on public land is used successfully in New Zealand and Europe.
Human health and wellbeing There is an ever-increasing body of evidence that contact with nature is vital for mental and physical wellbeing. A recent study in Australia showed that the magnitude of the benefit was linked to dose - how often people engaged with nature - and that such benefits could reduce the medical costs of depression alone by $800 million per year. Parks Victoria estimates that avoided healthcare costs in Victoria from physical activity being undertaken in National Parks is up to $200 million per year. The cost of infrastructure, like tracks, to provide access to natural areas is outweighed by the savings in health costs. Our plan will increase the opportunities for people to get out and play, improving both their physical and mental well-being. A NSW Premier’s Priority is reducing childhood obesity. This plan is one pathway to achieving that.
EducationOutdoor education should be a key part of any child’s upbringing: it offers the chance to form bonds, build trust, develop problem solving skills and of course, play. Under this model, we could develop a network of outdoor education and field study centres where kids can be introduced to activities like orienteering, climbing, abseiling and kayaking and learn about the natural world. This would mean future generations of kids would be more likely to develop a love of the outdoors and an environmental education which in turn would lead to better health and conservation outcomes. Nature schools, common overseas, are not recognised by the NSW Government as an education facility. But they may in future offer a complementary approach to educating children, and this plan would provide for that eventuality.
Showcasing our cultural heritageCultural tourism is an element currently absent from much of the coast, with some notable exceptions. Adding Aboriginal knowledge and skills to tourism offerings would deepen the tourist experience and be a major international tourist drawcard while recognising the cultural heritage of the first Australians. This would also provide genuine opportunities for Aboriginal self-determination, in the form of Aboriginal owned and operated businesses based on Aboriginal forest management and tourism.
Logging is not the optimal use of our precious forestsIn 2016, NPA conducted a thorough analysis of the performance of the RFAs against their stated aims to evaluate how successful they had been as a mechanism for public forest management. Our key findings are set out next.
Looking through the trees east of Mt Warrawolong, New South Wales
“... such benefits could reduce the medical costs of depression alone by $800 million per year.
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The RFAs have failed to protect threatened species. The number of threatened forest species has risen over the 20 years of the RFAs, and iconic species like koalas, quolls, gliders and owls are now threatened.
Logging under RFAs is violating the principles of Ecologically Sustainable Forest Management, supposedly the key guiding principle for logging practices. Logging disrupts the carbon and water cycles and drives Key Threatening Process including the loss of tree hollows and forest dieback.
The RFAs have not delivered an Adequate, Comprehensive, and Representative reserve network of Forest Ecosystems. This is a key promise of the RFAs.
The RFAs have not secured the native timber industry. Jobs have steadily declined, governments have had to step in to buy out timber contracts and ratepayers shoulder substantial hidden costs.
As a result of the above, the RFAs have failed to resolve the “Forest Wars” because the public does not believe forests and wildlife are adequately protected.
Our analysis clearly showed that the RFAs have not optimised the use of forests for the entire community. Rather, timber extraction has been the overriding priority at the expense of all other forest values: nature, recreation, tourism, water supplies and carbon storage.
It’s clear that nature, the biggest attraction for overseas tourists, is being badly harmed by logging: koalas are becoming more and more scarce, and the greater glider is the latest species to be added to the national threatened species list due to clearfell logging and loss of the tree hollows that it calls home. The government agency Tourism Australia tells us that nature is the single biggest drawcard for international visitors, yet we continue to support industries that directly harm our prize asset.
Forests For All is a plan to protect nature and allow NSW to take advantage of its natural advantages to become a world leader in
adventure and eco-tourism. Our plan would deliver real economic and social benefits to regional communities in NSW, as well as protecting our natural environment and helping in the fight against climate change.
ConclusionPublic land is a scarce commodity and the public deserves it to be used in the best way possible. That means any use that compromises the natural values for future generations is not appropriate - because it’s not consistent with the principles of Ecologically Sustainable Development which explicitly recognise the need to ensure that what we do today doesn’t ruin the future for generations that follow us.
That’s why Forests for All plan is a good idea: this way, current generations can have fun in forests and can gain economically. But because of the inclusion of careful planning and management the ecological values of forests can be protected indefinitely. That means future generations will have the same economic opportunities from forests, continue to enjoy forest wildlife and keep enjoying the clean water and clean air that our forests provide. You can’t say fairer than that.
Oisín is the Senior Ecologist for the National Parks Association of NSW, a not-for-profit environmental NGO with 20,000 members and supporters in remote, rural and urban Australia.
Oisín’s background is a mix of academic, on-ground and, most recently, advocacy. He has long held an interest in forest ecology and a love for forest ecosytems. In his current role with NPA he strives to apply scientific knowledge to the policy arena and to ensure that NPA’s advocacy has a strong evidence-base.
Today Oisín retains his passion for forests and is also keenly interested in re-wilding and spiny crayfish. He lives near Jervis Bay on the NSW South Coast, spends lots of time in the beautiful national parks of the area and is involved in local conservation efforts.
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