State government calls UN recommendation ‘disappointing’ but says it would be irresponsible to ignore it

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Plans to allow logging inside Tasmanian world heritage forests have been abandoned after a United Nations report recommended against it.

The UN also expressed concern about plans for expanded tourism in the area and called for a master plan that would detail what sorts of tourism would and wouldn’t be allowed.

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The recommendations were immediately accepted by the state and federal governments, although the Tasmanian state forestry minister said it was “very disappointing” that logging would not occur.

Coalition governments at the state and federal levels have been trying to expand logging in and around the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, which covers about a fifth of the state.

In 2014 the state government ripped up a deal brokered in 2011, which banned logging in 400,000 hectares of forest and strengthened laws that would prosecute people protesting against logging.

That year, the Abbott-government also attempted to delist 74,000 hectares of the world heritage area, a decision that was very swiftly rejected by the UN.

Then in 2015, it was revealed the state government planned to allow logging of “specialty timbers” inside the Tasmanian wilderness world heritage area, as well as removing the word “wilderness” from its title, and allowing more tourism in the property.

But over the weekend, Unesco published a report which recommended against the logging, recommended the term “wilderness” be retained, and expressed concern over the type of tourism that could be allowed.

The report said “it does not consider a world heritage property recognised for its outstanding cultural and natural values the place to experiment with commercial logging of any kind.”

“On balance and in line with the above committee decision, the mission recommends that the property be off limits to any commercial logging, mineral exploration and extraction,” it read.

“The decision of the United Nations to prohibit limited special species harvesting in the Tasmanian wilderness world heritage area is very disappointing,” said Peter Gutwein, the Tasmanian minister for forestry. “However, it would be grossly irresponsible for any government to defy such a ruling, and we will abide by it.”

“The truth is, once the area had been made World Heritage by Labor and the Greens, it was always going to be extremely difficult to secure timber from within it.”

The federal environment minister, Greg Hunt, said: “It was important that the mission experts had the opportunity to hear all sides of the debate, and having done so, their clear advice to the world heritage committee is that there should no timber harvesting in the world heritage area including for specialty timbers.”

In relation to expanding tourism inside the area, Guardian Australia previously reported the government had sought to allow cruise ships to berth on Lake Gordon, Macquarie Harbour and Port Davey and permit landing sites for planes and helicopters in areas including Cradle Mountain and the Walls of Jerusalem national park.

In response, the UN concluded the moves “have created room for interpretation and even suspicions”. It accepted that “tourism and recreation are longstanding, important and widely accepted uses” and called for a “master plan” that would outline exactly what would be allowed.

The report also called for Australia to support the joint management of the area with the Tasmanian Aboriginal community.

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“This report outlines a range of very clear steps government needs to take to demonstrate Australia is properly protecting the outstanding values of our wilderness world heritage area,” Wilderness Society Tasmanian campaign manager Vica Bayley said.

“We welcome the report and seek very clear commitments from both the state and federal governments about the exact steps they propose to take to meet these recommendations and maintain strong protections for world heritage values, including wilderness.

“We note the clear recommendation that issues pertaining tourism development and values’ protection are to be ‘refined’ based on ‘consultation and negotiation of competing interests’, including environmental concerns.”