On the brink: climate change and forest immaturity key considerations in reviewing the Black Summer fires

RFPG reflections on MER and HLR (July 2022)

MER report here:
https://www.agriculture.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/vic-rfa-mer-bushfires-report-2022.pdf

Harvest level in Victorian RFAs report 
https://djpr.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/2051431/Harvest-Level-in-Victorian-RFA-regions_Final-Report.pdf

RFPG Submission to MER (August 2021)

RFPG's submission to the Major Events Review highlights the rising threat of climate change, the immaturity of Victoria's native forests, the threat of more megafires, and water loss as key considerations.

Specifically RFPG has recommended: 

  1. Cease logging ash forests by 2024
  2. Wind down mixed species logging from 2022
  3. Maximise forests’ ability to act as a carbon sink by ending fire salvage logging
  4. VicForests to review its Harvesting and Regeneration Systems Strategy to incorporate climate adaptation resilience of the kind suggested by Associate Professor David Doley
  5. Adopt the headline recommendations made by the Victorian National Parks Association in its After the Fires Report:

1. Protect each of the key refuges identified in this report and any other remaining unburnt forests from current and future logging to ensure the survival and persistence of flora and fauna species that rely on these forests to survive.
2. Commit to not logging any identified habitat remaining in Victoria for each threatened species significantly affected by the 2019–20 bushfires, particular those identified in this report.
3. Prioritise funding and restoration of areas impacted by the bushfires to restore habitat and provide better resources for weed and pest control programs in forest areas to improve recovery from bushfire events.
4. Declare and map the key refuges identified in this report as high priority assets in need of protection from all types of future fires, including planned burns.

The Major Events Review was established in accordance with Victoria's regional forest agreements to review the impact of the Black Summer fires on: 

  • the operation of the five RFAs;
  • ecologically sustainable forest management (defined in the National Forest Policy Statement);
  • the Comprehensive, Adequate and Representative (CAR) reserve system (see CAR criteria);
  • the effective management and protection of matters of national environmental significance (MNES), defined in Part 3 of the EPBC Act; 
  • harvest level, and
  • the long-term stability of Victorian forests and forest industries.

Posted 28 August 2021