Logging destroys water sources
The North East Forest Alliance has expressed outrage that the logging destruction of NSW's most precious water-producing forests is continuing at 60 hectares per day.
"With NSW in the grip of a drought, only the relatively small areas of old-growth forests are still producing water flow for streams and rivers. Despite this, the destruction of these forests continues", said Trevor Pike, a coordinator with NEFA.
NEFA, residents and others have been protesting against logging in the Buccrabendini Valley, which is an arm of the Nambucca River in northern NSW.
The valley is an example of a river degraded by current and past logging practices, Pike said. "For most of its length it has no surface water flow at all. The forest of the Little Wonder Creek is the only forest producing surface water flow in the whole of Buccrabendini Valley. Despite this, State Forests refuse to stop logging in this Little Wonder catchment."
This area typifies what is happening to all north coast rivers.
"On the NSW north coast, the rape of our forests primarily benefits the Boral corporation, which has, through very dubious wood supply agreements with State Forests, been given 82% of the quota sawlogs taken from the public forest estate", said Pike.
"Rather than continuing to rape the environmental resources of NSW and milk the public purse, Boral should be investing those billions in establishing environmentally sustainable timber plantations and hemp-based paper industries to ensure that Australia becomes self-sufficient in production of forest and paper products."
Pike said that NEFA wants BORAL out of the public forest estate. This could allow local sawmillers to become the foundation of restructured and sustainable forest products industries which don't compromise water, wildlife and recreational values of the public forest.