Protecting Australia's Giants
There is something utterly sublime and almost otherworldly about standing amongst a grove of moss laden giants, soaring towards the sky. These Eucalyptus Regnans know nothing of Australia’s tall poppy syndrome. They reach for the skies with all their splendour and might, standing tall and strong, offering shelter and nourishment to all who seek it.
Standing in their presence feels simultaneously humbling and awe-inspiring. These old growth Ash trees are considered the world’s tallest flowering plant and form a canopy up to 100 metres high, living up to 500 years if left undisturbed.
But these trees are far more than just beautiful, they serve as critical habitats for wildlife, landscape stabilizers and climate change mitigators as enormous carbon banks. The forests of Tasmania are some of the most carbon dense and ecologically significant in the world, drawing masses of carbon from the atmosphere through the process of photosynthesis --making their very existence one of the best tools we have to fight climate change.
So much of Australia’s iconic and endangered wildlife also call these forests home — the swift parrot, the Tasmanian devil, the platypus, quolls, possums and so many more.
These particular forests are descendants of their Gondwana ancestors, some of the last living ecological remnants from before the Australian continent separated from Gondwana, the ancient supercontinent that incorporated South America, Africa, Arabia, Madagascar, India, Australia and Antarctica (some 600 million years ago!!).
Visiting these trees in the Styx valley in Tasmania this week was a deeply moving experience.
Eucalyptus Regnans, Styx Conservation Area, Tasmania
But my joy was tempered by grief as I confronted the unfortunate reality that many of the forests across Tasmania and mainland Australia continue to be logged. During the two hour drive from Hobart to the Styx Valley I must have passed 50 logging coupes, devastated landscapes reduced to piles of wood. In one area, about five minutes from the Styx conservation area, an entire swath of forest had been clear felled save one lone tree standing in the distance. There was something distinctly heart wrenching about the image.
In the north, Australia’s largest temperate rainforest and the second largest temperate rainforest in the world, Tasmania’s iconic Tarkine is currently being logged by Forestry Tasmania. The Bob Brown Foundation and supporters have captured images of trees hundreds of years old being carted off on the back of logging trucks.
The reality is that this industry is unviable economically and environmentally. At a time when Australia is facing intensifying natural disasters due to anthropogenic climate change and an escalating biodiversity crisis, these wild places which remain must be boldly and wholly protected.
In New South Wales alone, 246.9 million in tax-payer dollars has gone towards the Forestry Corporation NSW (Forestry Corp) over the last five years (statistic from 2023), and made a loss of 28.2 million over the same period. These were key findings from the Frontier Economics Report on public native forest logging.
“The NSW Government needs to come to terms with the fact that native forest logging is a dying industry and make a plan for a transition. How much more taxpayer money has to be wasted and endangered animals killed before this reality sinks in? Forests are the lungs of the earth. They are essential to clean air, a sustainable climate and healthy ecosystems where plants and animals can thrive. We’ve already destroyed far too much of the NSW bush. The remaining homes for our precious wildlife should be protected, not pulped.”
— Jacqui Mumford, Nature Conservation Council Executive Officer
While Australia advertises its wilderness and iconic wildlife to its global audience, cashing in on these assets for tourism, the truth on the ground here is that Australia’s nature laws are failing its wildlife and wild places. Australia has been deemed a global deforestation hotspot and maintains its shocking reputation as the nation with the highest mammal extinction rate. Many of the species who remain are now fighting against deforestation, habitat fragmentation, and climate change for survival, the list of endangered species here is long and sobering– the greater glider, the koala, the swift parrot, the black cockatoo, the northern quoll, the regent honeyeater, and so many more.
And yet, despite it all, good people around the country are fighting to forge a new story for Australia’s forests. To name a few, The Bob Brown Foundation, Wilderness Society, Bush heritage and others are standing on the frontlines of nature’s destruction and demanding change.
I am heartened by my visit to the Styx Valley, which is now protected thanks to the courageous work of many conservationists over many years. At a time when the world’s problems can feel downright overwhelming, these giants stand to remind us that we too can stand tall, facing both storms and broken paradigms, with balanced forces of steadfastness, courage and grace.
If you would like to support grass roots groups working to protect Australia’s precious forests and wildlife:
