WWF fires a warning shot over Australia's land-clearing record

Maron, Martine;Laurance, Bill

Abstract

[Extract] When we think about global deforestation, certain hotspots spring to mind. The Amazon. The Congo. Borneo and Sumatra. And… eastern Australia? Yes, eastern Australia is one of 11 regions highlighted in a new chapter of the WWF Living Forests report, "Saving forests at risk", which identifies the world's greatest deforestation fronts – where forests are most at risk – between now and 2030. The report uses projections of recent rates of forest loss to estimate how much we are on track to lose over the next 15 years. The estimates for eastern Australia range from 3 million to 6 million hectares. In particular, it points the finger of blame at recent and foreshadowed changes to environmental legislation. These changes have already removed protections for well over a million hectares of Queensland's native vegetation. The WWF scenario is, of course, just a projection. This future need not come to pass. We can decide whether or not it happens. And it turns out that Australia has already formulated an alternative vision of the future. This vision contrasts starkly with the gloomy projections in WWF's report.

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The Conversation

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29 April 2015

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The Conversation Media Group

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