A lot has happened today!

Ali talks to the media after being release from prison today

Fellow forest activist Ali Alishah was today released from Risdon Prison where he served, in total, a three month sentence for taking part in peaceful community action against the destruction of Tasmania’s forests. It’s great to have Ali back on the outside again. And I’m sure he has appreciated all the support he has received from people. “I remain committed to the protection of the Tasmanian marine, forest and community environments. I am proud of my actions in the past and I look forward to the legislated protection of Tasmania’s natural heritage” Ali said in a press statement today. He also congratulated me on my ongoing efforts…. Thanks Ali! I would like to congratulate Ali for his ongoing efforts, in fact. And for his continued committment to campaign for the protection of our precious forest, despite the harsh penalties that he has faced.I do remember the day he went in to prison I wrote on my blog that I hoped this forest would be protected and I’d be able to get down and meet Ali at the gates on the day he got released. Well, unfortunately, the forest is still under threat. There is still no sign of a moratorium on the area of forest that has now be verified by independent experts to be of significant conservation value, with many area to be of world heritage value (including the forest that I’m in). Sadly, logging continues in these forests.

The other big thing that happened today, which I’m sure you have all heard about by now, is that Bob Brown has resigned. I would like to say a big thank you to Bob for all his hard work and dedication over so many, many years… standing up for the forests and for the people. It must be a hard job being in politics, I’m sure, and trying to make changes for the betterment of people and planet. He has done so with remarkable committment and determination, and also with humility. I think his absence will be felt right across Australia.

Thanks to Bob for all the support he has given to me and the Observer Tree. I was glad to hear that in his resignation media release he said that now he has more time on his hands he will be looking forward to coming out to visit me and my tree. I will very much be looking forward to his visit too!

Two other exciting things happened in my day today. Firstly I got up very early to skype with people in North America. A group of people who had heard about what I am doing got together to hold an information display at the Cornell University Library. The information display and stall ran all day and generated lots of interest. I Skyped into the stall to answer questions and talk to people about the campaign. It was great to talk to people on the other side of the world about what is going on here. And if anyone else reading this feels inspired  to organise something like this in your area, let me know (email observertree2011@gmail.com)

The second exciting thing is that the Guardian featured a story about me on the Environment page. Check it out HERE. It even features my recent video blog of the snow.

And what’s more…. I had a nice warm sunny day today up here. Which began with a beautiful sunrise and ended with an equally beautiful sunset. Another spectacular day in The Observer Tree!

Miranda

The Mercury reported on April 2nd that the high level of smoke in the air was a potential risk for asthma sufferers. The article specifically mentioned the forest industry burn off that took place near me (the footage of which I uploaded on April 1st). They are also running a poll about whether forestry burn-offs are necessary or not. The majority of people, so far, have voted no.

There have been some comments on my blog about the burn off not being done by Forestry Tasmania. So I thought it would be good to clarify this a bit more. The burn off that is the subject of that footage was conducted by a company called Norske Skog. This company owns quite a bit of land in the Tyenna Valley, on which they grow and harvest plantations. There are quite a lot of plantations in my view of the valley, in fact. For this reason, I wrote on the video that the burn was done by the “forest industry”.  (I didn’t name Norske Skog, as it is not a company we campaign against, so I’m sorry if that lead to any confusion). Some people have dismissed the burn, saying it’s only a plantation-based burn. And I think this brings up some interesting issues.

There are problems with forest industry burn offs. So far in my blog I spoke a little bit about the reasons why burning the type of forests where I am currently living (wet forest) is problematic. I spoke about the fact that it is an anthropogenic transformation of these mixed forest ecosystems into eucalypt dominated regeneration. This is one reason that burning is problematic. Of course, such issues are irrelevant when considering the industry burn off that took place on Sunday; because the land had already been stripped of its ecosystem long before this took place, back when it was first converted to plantation. However, there are still some serious concerns about these burns that need to be addressed. The health impact is a very important issue and was the subject of the Mercury’s article yesterday. The smoke was so thick that, according to the Mercury, the Environmental Protection Authority declared a “red alert” in the Derwent region and surrounds, due to the sudden increase in dangerous smoke particles.  The level of damaging particles in the air was at 68 in New Norfolk on that day. This seems quite high considering the article declared anything over 25 to be of concern. Asthma sufferers in particular are at risk and were urged to take caution. Norske Skog said they would investigate whether the burn-off they conducted had anything to do with the situation.

Recent studies undertaken by Prof Bowman (University of Tasmania) and Dr Fay Johnston (Menzies Research Institute Tasmania) assessed the health impacts of smoke from forest burns and wood smoke. The Mercury reported (on Feb 21st 2012) Prof. Bowman to say “”If the industry says there are no alternatives, I say they are not trying hard enough.” He went on to explain that wood smoke needed special consideration as there were specific concerns around the harm it causes to human health.

This issue brings me back to a point that I made to the media on Monday, stating that there are many issues that need to be addressed to find a sustainable solution for the forest conflict. Although formal reserves for high conservation value forests is a critical component, it is not the only issue that needs addressing. It is no good to simply reserve an area of forest, without changing the forestry practices in areas that will continue to be subject to logging. And this includes plantations. Although the environment movement has strongly advocated for a transition out of native forest logging into the plantation that already exist, this does not mean that current plantation practices are perfect and should go unquestioned (including the issue of burn-offs).  Since the beginning of the negotiation talks it has been clear to those involved that there are many issues that will need to be resolved, these include the question of alternatives to high intensity burns and also issues around plantation management.

Apart from the health effects of the burns, there is also the issue of carbon. These high intensity burns release a large amount of carbon into the atmosphere. At a time when climate change is an ever increasing problem, this is surely an issue that needs further attention. Forestry Tasmania estimated that in their burn-offs 197.6 tonnes carbon was released per hectare (Slijepcevic 2001 <http://www.forestrytas.com.au/assets/0000/0208/281_290.pdf>). This is for Eucalyptus obliqua forest. Statistics may vary when it comes to different types of logging operations, so these figures may vary for  plantation burns. I wasn’t able to find any specific statistics on these.

I can’t claim to be any kind of expert on the issue of burns. But I do know that seeing that burn-off so close to me and dealing with the after-math of smoke throughout the night, definitely made me think that there does need to be questions raised about this practice, whether it be on private or public land, plantation or native forests, there are still health risks and carbon issues. I think that more work needs to be done to find alternatives, as Professor Bowman suggested. If Tasmania is going to have a ‘clean, green’ image it has to go beyond the number of hectares reserved and also include best practice for all elements of the industry.

I’m back online! Yay! I’m so sorry to all my loyal blog-followers for the great big gap in my on-line life! Things all went a little bit haywire a week ago when I had what could be called a “snow storm.” My poor computer suffered terribly from moisture damage and refused to turn on. It was such a shame because I had written you all a lovely blog about the snow and was even making you a little video to show how spectacular the forest was looking in the snow. And then… it was all over for my poor computer who really would have preferred to spend its life in a nice warm, dry office somewhere in town, I’m sure. It’s been taken back to town for repairs and hopefully, fingers crossed, it will recover. Now I have a new computer. And a special water-proof, shock-proof, pelican case to keep out all that nasty moisture that seems to be floating around constantly in the air up here these days!  I am hoping that the computer people will at least be able to save my documents and one of these days I will get to upload for you my blog and video about the snow. It was in fact the best day that I have had up here so far! What a day! And for my 100th day, no less! Out of the blue, a cold snap and so much snow. All kinds of snow… soft floating flakes that drifted down gently through the air, silently settling on the tips of branches. And then at other times, it was like a blizzard up here, the tree shaking about as the snow was thrown about in a turmoil by the wind, hammering pellets of snow hard against my exposed face and hands. And then at other times, the snow turned hard, morphing into hail. Or as it could be called “snail” (a snow/ hail hybrid) which jumped about like tiny bouncing balls and ricocheted off my platform. (I think some of these little fellows were partly responsible for the final destruction of the computer, after making small holes in the top of my tarp!).

Snow is one of my favourite things! It isn’t like common old rain. It is something special. Whenever it’s snowing I just can’t stop looking, watching, witnessing the miracle. It has the feeling of something magical. And the forest seemed like a magical place that day as the snow fell over the valley. Just one day. To celebrate my 100 day achievement. And then, the next day it was back to normal, like nothing had ever happened. Except, it didnt’ feel normal any more. The forest had a special glow about it the next morning. For some reason the sunlight seemed extra golden, and the leaves seemed extra green. The colours seemed somehow sharper, more radiant. The brilliant blue sky contrasting against the white tops of the snow-capped mountains that shimmered in the sunlight. The birds were out in full force, celebrating the sun with their cacophony of songs. Yep, the post-snow day was full of magic too.

Every time I start to feel like I had come to love and appreciate this forest as much as I possibly could… something happens. And I find that there is an even greater depth of appreciation that I had never even imagined. Things keep happening that lead me to see the forest in a new light, a new way, to love it even more and more and more. Snow day  was one of those moments. Ever since that day I have seen the forest differently. Like I know a beautiful secret, that it has shared with me. I have seen its magic. And I will never forget it.

Now the weather has settled into a perfect equilibrium, not too hot nor too cold. Three days of pure sunshine! With nights of star-filled skies. It may not last long, I know that. The cold of the upcoming winter will start to move in again, any day now, I’m sure. But for now, I’m enjoying the pleasantness of this unexpected sunny weather. Though, of course, I am secretly looking forward to more snow!

Oh, there is so much to catch up on! I feel like it has been so long since I’ve been able to tell you anything! The biggest thing that has happened in regards to the forests has been the release of the reports by Jonathan West and his team of experts, which document the conservation values of the forests. There are about 2000 pages worth of reports, with lot of juicy information that I’m sure you can’t wait to hear about. So check out my blog over this coming week, because now that I’m back online I can’t wait to be updating you on all the interesting facts that I’ve been reading about!

My other very exciting news is that this morning I got to Skype into a group of school students in Victoria, aged 8-9 years of old. I talked to them about these forests, the Tasmanian devils that live here, what life is like up the tree, and gave a little tour of my tree-top home. It was a lovely moment of inspiration when I finished my little talk and saw all those hands shoot up into the air, keen as beans to ask lots of questions. They wanted to know how I get all my things up here, how I have a bath and go to the loo, what animals I’ve seen, how long I am going to stay up here, can I just ask the government to stop cutting down the trees? And what my plan is if the government doesn’t listen.

On one last note, unfortunately the unexpected extra expense of a new computer and the new super extra water-proof case has drained our limited funds quiet a bit. If anyone out there could spare a donation to help out it would be so much appreciated. You can pop money straight into our bank account any time you like! The details are below. Thank you so much!

Thanks for your patience and sticking it out through this long gap in my “daily” blog!

Miranda

Bank details for Observer Tree:
Bendigo Bank
Acc Name: Still Wild Still Threatened
Acc Number: 144673571
BSB: 633000

I want to tell you a story about a poor farmer in Sarawak called Frusis Lebi, who has  deformed hands and feet and is entitled to RM300 rent per month from the Sarawak government. Frusis put up a flag of political opposition at his house. How did the Sarawak government respond to this? The assistant agriculture Minister Mong Dagang saw to it personally, by instructing the ministry in writing to have Frusis’ government assistance cut off. The Minister defended his actions, reported in The Sun as saying “As a man of principle I’m not going to back out. We cannot continue to give the welfare assistance and subsidies because he is a strong opposition supporter. The welfare aid should be given to more deserving handicapped persons.”

This isn’t my usual blog topic, given it doesn’t have a great deal to do with forests. Though, in Sarawak, everything seems to have some connection to the forest industry…. it’s no big surprise that the minister in question has, according to the Sarawak Report, been caught seeking illegal kickbacks (worth $23 million US) over the sale of oil palm plantations. And has other ties to the logging industry in Sarawak. However, this is not the reason I am sharing this story on my blog. I felt deeply moved by this story when I read it, because it is one personal example of the way in which the corrupt politics in Sarawak impacts on peoples lives.

Reading about Frusis Lebi made me think seriously about the level of corruption that is at play in the homelands of Ta Ann Holdings. And we can’t pretend that Ta Ann Tasmania operates in a vacuum, they are influenced by and benefit from the corruption that occurs in Malaysia. The story above is an example that shows the way in which Sarawak is run like a virtual dictatorship. Chief Minister Taib has held office since 1981.  He uses his position and power to create enormous wealth for himself, his family and his associates. Ta Ann Holdings is closely associated with Taib through personal and business relationships. Taib controls the distribution of Sarawak’s logging concessions. Unsurprisingly a vast amount of the concessions end up in his own hands or the hands of his political allies. The money generated from logging is distributed within Taib’s family and his circle of political associates. He is currently under investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission in relation to Sarawak’s timber industry.  In fact, deforestation has been identified as a major driver of corruption in the state.

So where does Ta Ann fit into all of this? Well, for starters the company’s Executive Chairman is Taib’s cousin, Sepawi. Who also happens to be the Treasurer General of the leading political party, who have contributed to the ethnocide of Indigenous people. Sepawi was also at one time the director of the Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC), who virtually control the timber industry in the state, including granting timber concessions. Unsurprisingly the STIDC has lucrative business dealings with Ta Ann. Taib uses the connections with timber companies like Ta Ann to increase his own wealth and that of his family.

Sepawi is not only implicated in destruction through Ta Ann’s direct dealings, he is also closely connected to the operations of other companies including Samling and Rimbunan Hijau.  Samling have been accused of illegal logging. And their workers have been accused of violence and rape of Indigneous women who live in the area. The company’s response to such allegations was to threatened to cut off the villages transport until the accusations were withdrawn. Sepawi owns 70% of a company called Cayaha Uaya, which is part of the Rimbunan Hijau company, who have been condemned by NGO’s around the world for their practises of illegal and corrupt acquisition of logging license, violations of labour laws and use of violence and intimidation against local landowners and protestors.

This is just some of the levels of interconnection between Taib and the timber industry including Ta Ann, and the corruption that is involved. When Ta Ann set up business in Tasmania where did the money come from? Was it generated through corruption and theft of Indigenous land? And why when the company seems to have so much wealth in Sarawak are they propped up in Tasmania by tax payer funded subsidies and only asked to pay rock bottom prices for timber from our native forests? The Australian Government should be investigating the financial assets of Ta Ann.

If you haven’t already signed the cyber action about Ta Ann, please take a few minutet to do so. The campaign about Ta Ann has moved to a new website. It is now located at www.taann.net Please let others know about the change, so that everyone can keep up to date.

Reading about the interconnections between people in government positions and those running the logging companies in Sarawak reminds me of an announcement that was made here in Tasmania the other day, actually.  Anyone heard of Evan Rolley? He has now been appointed executive director of Ta Ann Tasmania. Interestingly he used to be the director of Forestry Tasmania. And in fact wasn’t he the one who coordinated the contract between Forestry Tasmania and Ta Ann in the first place? He is also the director of Forest and Wood Products Australia and was at one time also the  Secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet. The Greens have criticized the move claiming there is likely a conflict of interest. There does seem to be a strange fuzziness around the borders between the government and the forest industry sometimes in Tasmania, doesn’t there?
Miranda