<
https://theconversation.com/why-queensland-is-still-ground-zero-for-australian-deforestation-196644>
"Five years ago, bulldozers with chains cleared forests and woodlands almost
triple the size of the Australian Capital Territory in a single year.
Brazil? Indonesia? No – much closer: Queensland. In 2018-19, truly staggering
land clearing, mostly by farmers and cattle graziers, saw around 680,000
hectares of habitat destroyed – more than the preceding 18 years. Even though
the state Labor government tightened land clearing rules in 2015, the new rules
were riddled with loopholes. If Queensland was a country, it would have been
the ninth highest forest destroying nation globally in 2019 – just above China.
Clearing is slowing – but nowhere near fast enough. At the end of 2022,
Queensland quietly released its latest figures, showing clearing rates in
2019-20 had fallen to under two Australian Capital Territories that year
(around 418,000 hectares). The government celebrated it as a win, as did some
farming groups. But it’s nothing to be celebrated.
Yes, it’s better than the worst year in the last two decades. But as our
climate and extinction crises worsen and as the Great Barrier Reef teeters on
the brink, clearing as usual is no longer good enough."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
