Tasmania's Southern Forests, Activists Defend World Heritage Values : Melbourne Indymedia

Feb 20th 2007

Weld Valley Ancient Forest Machinery, locked down

"Peaceful forest defenders in Tasmania's Weld Valley have locked down machinery in a wilderness forest where logging is devaluing World Heritage qualities. A community member has locked on to a bulldozer in ongoing efforts to highlight the need for urgent protection of the Lower Weld Valley," Huon Valley Environment Centre Jenny Weber.

"In light of increased pressure by Forestry Tasmania to silence critics of their rapid devastation of ancient forest, non violent defence deep in the forest is continuing. Forestry Tasmania has attempted to drag community members through the civil and criminal court system, when current logging practices have been declared illegal,"

"We call on the Federal Government to prosecute Forestry Tasmania and insititute fines of $5million for logging in endangered species habitat, like the Weld Valley," Jenny Weber said.

Comment
Jenny Weber
0427 366 929

Huon Valley Environment Centre
FOREST DEFENDERS DEFY FORESTRY EVICTION NOTICE IN THE UPPER FLORENTINE VALLEY_*

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Despite the public exclusion zone that has been declared today by Forestry Tasmania at the site of the protest camp in the Upper Florentine Valley, “/Strong resistance will continue from the tree sit village which has been blocking proposed roading for the past 4 months,/” states Kylie MacFarlane, Still Wild, Still Threatened campaigner. Furthermore/, “there are magnificent rainforest and high conservation valued forests being threatened, opening up the valley to industrial scale logging”./

Fourth generation local Prue Barrett says /“I am deeply disappointed that people have to be defending the Upper Florentine Valley, especially when it was promised to be protected by the Howard government at the last federal election/”. Prue also states that /“the Upper Florentine Valley has significant indigenous and first European settler heritage and cultural values. This region was also the last stand of the Tasmanian tiger and is home to many threatened and endangered species./ /In the light of the recent climate change recognition, surely its time the Howard/ Lennon governments need to become accountable and implement real changes to conserve the irreplaceable carbon sinks as these are on of Tasmania’s greatest tools in combating global warming/”, Ms Barrett says.

Conservation campaigners expect intervention and will stand strong in the face of this destruction to the World Heritage value ecosystems of the Upper Florentine Valley.

*FOR FURTHER COMMENTS AND MEDIA FOOTAGE PLEASE CONTACT

*KYLIE MACFARLANE*

*PRUE BARRETT*