Lower South West environmental groups welcome native logging ban but say fight to protect forests is not over

Environmental groups in the Lower South West have welcomed the start of the State’s native logging ban but believe more must be done protect the region’s forests. The State Government has consistently cited environmental concerns as the driving force behind the ban, which came into effect on New Year’s Day after being announced in September 2021. South West Natural Resource Management chief executive Sally Wilkinson said ending the practice was an important step, but building resilient and robust forests would be a long journey. “Native forest extent in our region has reduced significantly due to factors including forestry, agriculture, mining and urban development, and what remains is at increasing risk from disease and introduced species along with climate change factors such as reduced rainfall, increased temperatures and more frequent, intense bushfires,” she said. “This is occurring within an internationally renowned biodiversity hotspot – an area with an extremely high number of species that occur nowhere else within Australia, or on this Earth.” Bridgetown-Greenbushes Friends of the Forest president Richard Wittenoom said he was concerned logging would adopt a new moniker in the form of ecological thinning. “We’ve been fighting this fight since the 1970’s,” he said. Forestry minister Jackie Jarvis welcomed the ban coming into effect last Monday by saying it would “safeguard our iconic forests for years to come”.