The letter states; “As a buyer of Tasmania forests products we continue to respectfully request that you not make any decisions that could adversely affect Tasmanian suppliers during the current negotiations that are now closer to achieving a sustainable future for the forest industries in Tasmania.” Read the rest of this entry
Author Archives: lilia
Miranda’s Daily Blog: Day 286
Something has been bubbling away for some time now. Under the surface. For two years it has bubbled. At some point it was bound to erupt, to come to the surface… the thing we feared…..
We have all felt it, those who love these forests, the fear of what these forest negotiations might bring… that it might not be forest protection but instead the endorsement of forest destruction. And now it has reared it’s ugly head, in what we can only hope is not a sign of worse things to come. On Tuesday an article appeared in the Australian. They had uncovered secret letters that were sent from two major Environment NGOs that are part of the forest negotiations. These organisations had been urging Ta Ann’s customers not to make any decisions on their contracts with Ta Ann.
Media Release: Still Wild Still Threatened vows to continue campaigning against Ta Ann’s forest destruction
Still Wild Still Threatened are today raising concerns for the future of Tasmania’s forests, after the uncovering of secret letters sent from some environment groups to Ta Ann’s customers. The letters called on the customers to not make any decisions regarding their contracts with Ta Ann.
“The letters that were sent to Ta Ann’s customers undermine the campaign for forest protection, because they are calling on those customers to sit on the fence while the destruction of our ecosystems continues unabated” said Miranda Gibson, spokesperson for Still Wild Still Threatened.
“The forest negotiations have to-date failed to deliver any conservation outcomes that were promised and as a result high conservation value forests are being lost daily in Tasmania. Ta Ann are continuing to receive wood sourced from this destruction” said Ms Gibson. Read the rest of this entry
Miranda’s Daily Blog: Day 284
Two days ago the wintry clouds that cover the sky above the Observer Tree cracked open to reveal the brilliant sunlight of spring. I threw my arbing rope over a branch above, clipped the rope to my harness and opened the trapdoor below my feet. The leaves of the tree were shimmering like they were made of phosphorescence. I took the rope in my hands and slid down about two meters untill my feet touched a large branch just below the platform. Despite the warm weather, the sun hadn’t managed to completely dry out the ropes and water dripped down my arm and trickled inside my sleeve. Once on the branch, I crept along it until I was in the golden spot … the patch of branch that was radiating in full sunlight. Ahhh… time for basking in the sun. That feeling of warmth being absorbed through my skin… how I had forgotten how good it could be! And then I noticed, that I wasn’t the only one with that idea. There on the sunny branch beside me was Lizzie, the Tasmanian Skink that had spent last summer exploring my tree house. She had crawled out from a small hollow in the tree’s branch and was soaking in the spring-time sun. It was the first time I had seen her for many months. I smiled as the two of us lay stretched out across the branch. It felt like Summer was on its way!
Today I opened my eyes and above me the tarp was bulging under the weight of snow. That’s right.. snow! I looked out across the forest and watched the snow flakes gently making their way down through the trees. I guess summer isn’t so close after all. Read the rest of this entry
Miranda’s Daily Blog: Day 278
On Sunday I had a visit from a group of journalists from South Korea. They are in Tasmania covering a story on the forests. After meeting up with Bob Brown in the morning, they came out to The Observer Tree. Braving the 60 meter height, they came up the tree to talk to me about why I am here and about this forest. This is such a great opportunity to spread the message about these forests across the world. Hopefully they will take this story back to South Korea and many more people can find out about what I am doing.
And for the last few days I have been having a great time with my sister. This is her first chance to visit me in the Observer Tree and it has been so great to see her again after all this time. She has been up in the tree since Sunday. Although we talk on the phone often, it is of course never the same as getting to spend time together. Having her in the tree has been so uplifting, as we have had many good laughs together and a lot of catching up to do. As you can imagine, time away from my family is one of the challenges of life in the tree sit. So it is so special to be able to have this visit from my sister, Rhiannon.
When we were kids our Dad built us a tree house in the backyard. We spent many hours playing there together and climbing in all the other trees around the house too. Who would have know that all these years later we’d be laughing again in another tree house. This time about 58 meters higher than our childhood version! Read the rest of this entry
Miranda’s Daily Blog: Day 275
It’s first thing in the morning when I get the call. “Camp has been attacked” the voice on the end of the line is telling me. “What do you mean… attacked?”” I asked. “Someone’s gone there and trashed it, burnt it down.”
She is talking about Camp Florentine, Tasmania’s longest running forest blockade. The camp is run by the group I’m part of: Still Wild Still Threatened. And it is a place that is very close to my heart, having spent many years spending so much of my time out there in the past.
Camp Floz, as it is known, is in the Upper Florentine Valley, the next valley to the west of where I am located in the Observer Tree (in the Tyenna). The Upper Florentine Valley is a large tract of ancient wilderness, that is surrounding on three sides by the World Heritage Area. Despite the protection for the surrounding mountain ranges, this valley remained unprotected because it contains such significant tracts of tall trees that the logging industry were hungry to get their hands on. Almost six years ago now members of the local community became aware of Forestry’s plans to fell 15 logging coupes in the valley within three years and in response the camp was established to stop this from happening. Over those years, the constant presence of the camp has meant that the majority of those logging coupes have never been touched by a chainsaw and the forest remains standing. Hopefully it will continue to remain standing until it can take it’s rightful place as part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.
As well as literally stopping the logging, the camp has a range of other important functions in the campaign. Being on a main tourist road, it acts an information center with people stopping in every day to find out about what is going on in the forest and having the opportunity to go on short guided walks. It has become a significant icon of the forest movement in Tasmania and is known to people all around the world who have stopped in on their travels.
When I saw the photos I realised it was even worse than I thought. The entire camp had been torched. The main house, kitchen area and information hut were nothing but ashes. And the camp car had been stolen. This was not the first time that such acts of intimidation had been committed towards the protesters and community involved in the camp.
Miranda’s Daily Blog: Day 269
The wind rips through the valley. The trees are frantic, swirling this way and then that. Their branches waving wildly. I can hear the wind coming in gusts through the forest. A roar getting louder and louder and then bang… it hits my tree and off we go! My tree bends to the wind, my platform going with it. Although I’ve become used to the sway of my tree, these extreme winds still have me feeling like grabbing onto something and holding tight! The tarp buffeting and blowing against the force of the wind. The rain is pelting down. I hear the loud crack and crash of a tree falling somewhere in the forest. I know that my tree is strong. And so am I. And we will get through this. In moments like this you have to remember the way that the tree deals with it – just let it be, just allow yourself to go with the flow. And so I sit back and watch the beauty and strength of the forest.
Of course at times like this I just have to remember why I’m here and I know that I can get through it. I just think about all the animals that live in this forest and I am reminded of the importance of staying in this tree and being a voice for them. Yesterday was National Threatened Species Day. A timely reminder of the importance of looking after our threatened species. These forests are home to many animals that are on the Tasmanian threatened species list, including Tasmanian devils, spot tail quolls, masked owl, wedge tail eagles and goshawks.
A group of primary school children in Cygnet, in southern Tasmania, got together for national threatened species day. It’s so inspiring to hear from young voices in the community about their ideas on how we can all help to look after wildlife and threatened species. Check out the media release below, from Cygnet Public School’s teacher aide Shaun Douglas:
NATIONAL THREATENED SPECIES DAY AT CYGNET PUBLIC SCHOOL
Yesterday at Cygnet Public Primary School a group of students gave up their lunchtime for National Threatened Species Day to talk about threatened and injured wildlife in Tasmania. While they were painting a banner with their messages for other students who don’t live near the bush, Shaun Douglas, a grade 6 Teacher’s Aide interviewed the group and this is what they had to say:
Why is it important to you to know more about threatened wildlife?
(Jaia, grade 2) “If you see an animal that’s injured you can look after it and help it get better.”
What are some ways that wildlife in Tasmania are injured or threatened?
(Imogen, grade 4) “When they try to cross a road sometimes they get hit and they don’t always die straight away and they might have a baby.”
(Maxi, grade 2) “If people burn hollow logs.”
(Somara, grade 3) “People might cut down too many trees near where the animals live and then they don’t have their homes anymore.”
What can YOU do to be more considerate of threatened species’ and their habitats?
(Amber, grade 3) “We can learn how to look after the injured wildlife. They need to be calm if they’re hurt so they don’t get scared and die.”
The group have decided to keep meeting after class when school gets back in Term 3. If you are down South and interested to get involved here are some links and organizations that may be of interest to you. Or you can call Shaun at Cygnet Primary School in two weeks on 62951241.
Banner made by Cygnet School students
The Australian Forestry Standard greenwash
A new spoof website has appeared online, exposing the truth behind the greenwash of the Australian Forestry Standard. It also features this clever little film:
Australian Forestry Standard is used to certify wood coming out from the destruction of native forests in Australia, including Tasmania. By having such a certification customers are given the illusion that the wood is from sustainable sources. Yet, as the new website explains, the AFS is “completely inadequate for Australian wood products as they do not prevent globally and nationally significant forests from being destroyed and entering the supply chain.” Certification programs should be independent processes that can provide a guarantee to customers that the products are produced in environmentally and socially responsible ways. Far from this, AFS was started by, and continues to be controlled by, those with logging interests. It is endorsed by PEFC (Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification), which has a terrible reputation and has been condemned world wide by environmental NGOs.
Here in Tasmania, wood that comes from the destruction of high conservation value forests is ending up at Ta Ann Tasmania’s mils. As we know this includes forests that have been scientifically verified as world heritage and national heritage significance. These irreplaceable forests provide core habitat for endangered species. Yet, shockingly it has been certified by the Australian Forestry Standard!
It’s so important for customers to know the truth about where products are sourced. Check out the new website HERE and please help spread the word by sharing it through your networks and friends.
Miranda’s Daily Blog: Day 258
I awoke in the middle of the night to something soft and cold brushing against my face. I squinted into the darkness, the slight tint of moonlight barely enough to see by. small light flakes of snow were softly drifting onto my face and settling on my sleeping bag. In my sleepy haze it took awhile to work out what was going on. As I looked around I saw that the wind was blowing the gap in the tarp open and with the wind came the snow. Unlike all those crazily rainy nights when water somehow always seemed to escape inside, this time I didn’t mind. In fact the feeling of flakes of snow on my nose made me smile. And so I just snuggled down into my sleeping bag and drifted back to sleep.
In the morning I opened my eyes and looked out across the platform. A perfectly smooth, crisp white layer of snow-covered everything. There is something remarkable about this type of snow. The way it settles so perfectly clean and fresh. I didn’t even want to walk out there and disturb it with footprints! I could see small loops of rope poking out of the snow. It reminded me of a sea-serpent. And in the center of the platform, the sharp black lines of the metal from my little step machine stuck out from white snow in stark contrast.
I spent a long time peering over the edge of the platform looking down towards the ground. I love watching the snow fall this way. Watching it settle on the branches. Watching the tops of the understorey trees get heavy and start to droop. Watching the flakes of snow swirl this way and that with the wind. And when the gusts come, they way the snow is pelted hard against the tree. I love watching it gather on the trunks of the big trees around me. Piling up in amoung the rough strips of bark, making a polka-dot pattern down the tree. Read the rest of this entry
Miranda’s Daily Blog: Day 253
What an incredible few days of international exposure for the forest campaign. For those who haven’t watched Tuesday night’s SBS Dateline program, check it out here:
The Last Frontier, which can be viewed above or in two parts. The first part focuses on the links between the construction of dams in Sarawak and Hydro Tasmania. View part one HERE. The second half shows the clear connections between the logging of high conservation value forest in Tasmania and the logging industry in Sarawak. View part two HERE.
The thing that I found most powerful about this video is the incredible interviews that journalist David O’Shea conducted with the Indigenous people in Sarawak, outlining their ongoing resistance to the logging and dam construction. These industries in Sarawak are destroying the very land that Indigenous people rely on for survival. The displacement of their communities, with absolute disregard to their livelihoods, community and culture is an atrocity committed for the sake of the money-making of a few at the top of Sarawak’s corruption. Watching this video I was overwhelmed and inspired by the spirit of survival and resistance of the people in Sarawak speaking out about the dams and the logging. I hope that through this media exposure more people around the world will support their struggle for their rights and their land.
This great piece of investigative journalist has clearly exposed the links between Tasmania and Sarawak. One link is with the government business enterprise Hydro Tasmania. This organisation was once at the centre of the controversy over the flooding of Lake Pedder and then the controversial Franklin Dam – which was defeated by one of Tasmania’s most significant environmental protest movements. Now the company are embedded a relationship with the powers that be in Sarawak, giving advice on dam projects that will flood the homelands of Indigenous people in Sarawak.
Ta Ann is also exposed in this news piece, which shows clearly company’s role in the destruction of forests in Sarawak and their practises here in Tasmania are.
Film still from the Dateline story.
Jenny Weber, campaigner from the Huon Valley Environment Center recently featured here on observertree.org with a video blog message. Jenny has worked tirelessly to expose the role of Ta Ann in the clearfelling of high conservation value forests in Tasmania and the ongoing misrepresentation of these products on the international market as “eco” products. Jenny’s comments and those of Former Senator Bob Brown are a strong reminder of the implications that Ta Ann’s practises have for Tasmania and the world . Read the rest of this entry
Media Release: Forestry industry duplicity undermines goodwill
Environment groups are outraged by the revelation reported in The Australian today of double dealing by the Forest Industries Association of Tasmania (FIAT), who are pursuing an alternative arrangement with the Liberal Party to the current forest agreement negotiations. This arrangement would not protect any new forest reserves but lock in logging whilst quashing markets activity and protest actions.
“This bad faith by the forest industry is undermining good will and shows that they are not serious about protecting high conservation value forests in Tasmania – they only want to silence those who are campaigning for our magnificent forests whilst giving loggers a guarantee they can go for broke,” said Jenny Weber of the Huon Valley Environment Centre.
“FIAT and the Liberals cobbling together an alternative deal is threatening the durability of forest outcomes. Our reaction to this duplicity and evident intention to renege on forest protection is that we no longer feel compelled to sit on the sidelines when the forces against forests are as busy as ever and taking people of goodwill for a ride,” said Peg Putt of Markets for Change.
“On one hand we have a call for sawmillers to voluntarily exit the forests and on the other their leading representative, Glenn Britton, is organising to entrench them and rebuff forest protection. It is becoming clear that these individuals are not genuinely committed to a world class reserves outcome, just manoeuvring for advantage,” said Ula Majewski of The Last Stand.
“My reason for continuing my stand in the Observer Tree has unfortunately been reinforced by today’s revelations. Tasmania’s high conservation value forests need urgent protection, and it is concerning that some elements of the industry may be looking to further entrench forest destruction,” said Miranda Gibson of Still Wild Still Threatened, from the Observer Tree.
T h e O b s e r v e r T r e e 