Forest peace treaty under negotiations
Publicly-owned native forests will be safe from loggers as long as conservationists agree to building a plantation-based Tamar Valley pulp mill.
A harmonious relationship between loggers and conservationists could be formed if a draft Tasmanian forests peace plan is accepted.
Timber Communities Australia, the National Association of Forest Industries, the CFMEU (Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union), Environment Tasmania, The Wilderness Society, and the Australian Conservation Foundation are discussing the draft agreement.
The draft carries all interest groups' request for the State and Federal Governments to completely fund the implementation of the agreed package. The document also seeks interim financial assistance for contractors; help for some to exit the industry; and a guaranteed, sustainable quantity and quality of wood for those remaining.
On the table is the conservationists' call for a moratorium on logging high-conservation-value forests within 30 days of the agreement being signed. A full moratorium will be implemented within a three month period.
The group is also proposing a ban on the entry of new companies to the industry while negotiations are underway. Consideration is also being given to using waste left over from plantation forest harvesting as biomass fuels.
Politicians have not been involved in the negotiations. The Tasmanian Greens, however, said the proposals appear quite reasonable, but the party will never accept the proposed Tamar Valley pulp mill.