Conservationists are asking the NSW Government to abolish logging and manage the south-east forests for climate mitigation and as biodiversity strongholds.
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Members of the South East Region Conservation Alliance, the National Parks Association of NSW, and the National Trust Far South Coast met at Bermagui, on Saturday, February 4.
National Trust spokesman Paul Payten said the Regional Forest Agreements (RFAs) for south-eastern NSW, which allowed logging, were due to roll-over in the next few years.
“The RFAs are the crux of it,” Mr Payten said.
“They roll over soon (in 2019 and 2021), and we want to stop that.”
He said recreational activities would be unaffected under their proposal to make about 400,000 hectares of State Forest between Eden and Nowra into protected areas.
He said it was logging that must stop.
“Native forests are a part of our heritage which need to be protected in perpetuity, and not sold off to overseas’ buyers at a loss,” Mr Payten said.
The National Parks Association of NSW spokesman Grahame Douglas applauded the campaign to safeguard the public land.
“Climate change requires adaptation and mitigation; this means forest protection,” Mr Douglas said.
“Why are we subsidising a sector which is causing so much damage to the natural environment?”
