Tasmania's forests - Still Wild, Still Threatened

Chain Reaction #103, September 2008.
<www.foe.org.au/resources/chain-reaction>

While the proposed Gunns pulp mill keeps Tasmania's forests in the media headlines, the ongoing campaign by grassroots groups in the south and west of the state gets much less profile. Yet activists have kept the campaign alive for years on end, in remote and difficult circumstances.

Earlier this year I had the pleasure of visiting the long running forest blockade in the Upper Florentine Valley, one of the many areas in Tasmania threatened by logging. The Upper Florentine Valley is about 100 kms west of Hobart and is surrounded by the mountains of the Tasmanian World Heritage Area. The valley consists of giant trees, rainforest, and a range of wildlife and the area is of cultural heritage significance to both Aboriginal and European cultures. A grassroots community based organisation called 'Still Wild Still Threatened' has been representing the cause for forest protection in the valley.

On the drive out to the protesters' camp the polarised nature of Tasmanian society became immediately evident. On one hand there were the people sleeping suspended 60 metres up a tree – often in the pouring rain - in order to protect it from logging. On the other hand some members of the neighbouring town Maydena were sporting large car stickers with statements as 'Greens cost jobs' or 'Green Scum'.

Arriving at the camp, the first thing that grabbed my attention was the range of techniques used by the group to protect the forest. The blockade was situated on a proposed logging road, and a key goal of the group was to explore all non-violent means to slow down the logging progress. The group had dug huge holes on both sides of the road to protect the camp from any vehicles approaching, allowing access only by foot. Rope and pole structures also obstructed the road and were attached to tree sits high in the canopy. There was around ten tree sits scattered around the area, where members of the group would sleep, more often than not.

Perhaps the most impressive feature of the camp was the house built in the middle of the road, built out of recycled materials from nearby towns and the immediate area. Considering the limited resources and tools, the group had shown remarkable innovation and problem solving skills to create such a sound structure. As well as providing further barriers to entering trucks, the house further provides a powerful symbolic gesture to the cause by saying that the activists are indeed there to stay.

Members of the group had also began to revegetate the area that had been cleared for road access with ferns and other small plants, perhaps in an attempt to symbolize the return of the forest, or at the very least create the need for the logging company to clear the road all over again. Either way this form of 'guerrilla gardening' makes for an enjoyable side project for members of the blockade. The group acknowledge that forest protection does not occur through blockades alone and have used a range of measures to further the campaign. This includes community awareness raising, research and data collection, lobbying key decision makers and organising music and arts festivals.

It is difficult to contemplate this pristine place becoming another scarred and burnt portion of land; home to yet another monoculture plantation, void of native wildlife.