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River red gums line the banks of the Murray-Darling river, the food-bowl of our nation. Many of the trees have stood for over 100 years and are crucial to the health of the ailing river system.
There have been a lot of reports in the media this week about the impact on jobs of saving the river red gums. The Daily Telegraph reported that up to 1200 jobs may be lost, The Australian put the figure at "up to 150". In fact the best research indicates that there are 136 jobs in red gum logging on public lands across all of NSW. 1Timber jobs are 0.2 per cent of employment in the region. And the NSW Government has already announced $80 million in adjustment funding for these areas.
Last year Victoria put a stop to logging in over 91,000 hectares of river gum wetlands; the result was jobs positive. As Bob Carr points out, NSW has a long history of successfuly transitioning local economies from logging, including Kyogle, Chaelundi, Pine Creek and the Brigalow Belt. For more information, click here
for Mr. Carr's opinion article "Logging river red gums is environmental vandalism, not job creation".
The estimated total value of River Red Gums in the Riverina as a source of logging is a finite $7.3 million. 1
Contrastingly, the best research indicates that preservation of River Red Gums will add $25 million to the tourism industry in the Riverina in 20 years. This difference becomes particularly significant when you consider that the profit from tourism is a result of their preservation, enabling ongoing financial benefits for future generations. 1
The River Red Gum forests are crucial to the health of the Murray river system, but are also home to a number of threatened species.
Independent biodviersity studies of the region conducted in 2009 found the region was home to a number of threatened species. These included a Sugar Glider population in the Millewa Forest, a Powerful Owl and a Barking Owl population in the Upper Murray forests, and a number of other species.2
The Millewa Forest is considered one of the most environmentally significant areas of the River Red Gum forest region.
The Natural Resources Commission was tasked with assessing the region by the NSW government. They recommended protecting 109,000 hectares of Red Gum forests, including the Millewa area, as well as increasing water to the area, in December 2009. 3
Despite this, on 2nd March 2010, NSW Minister for Environment, Frank Sartor announced the NSW government plan to protect 87,000 hectares of Red Gum forests in NSW, through a combination of national parks, regional parks, and Indigenous managed zones. The remaining 18%, half of the valuable Millewa forest, will be subject to logging for 5 years.
---references---
1 Economists at Large Report for NPA NSW
2 National Parks NSW
3 Natural Resources Commission Report on River Red Gums
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