National News - January 2008
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Forests National 03/01/08 "End woodchipping to stop climate change," say conservationists Media Release Chipstop Links
Forests National 03/01/08 Maiden voyage breaks record Eden Magnet East Gippsland and Goolengook Tasmania; Victoria; New South Wales Comment ; Related
"End woodchipping to stop climate change," say conservationists
3 January 2008, Media Release Chipstop
Conservationists are asking the new federal Government to stop native forest woodchipping as a way to avert climate change.
In a submission to the Garnaut Review, the Chipstop group has argued that forests are worth more as carbon sinks than they are as woodchips.
Spokesperson, Ms Harriett Swift says that now that Australia has ratified the Kyoto Protocol, there is potential for native forests to be protected as carbon offsets, as permitted under Article 3.4.
"Australia subsidises the protection of native forests in South East Asia while continuing to destroy its own forests."
"In international forums such as the recent Bali conference, Australia will have far greater credibility if it protects its own native forests," she says.
In SE NSW, the vast majority of trees logged end up as woodchips. In the Eden region, for example, approximately 95% of timber felled is woodchipped.
"As paper products, these have a life of two to three years."
"Even manufactured wood products are mostly low value, short lived items such as pallets, which usually end up as landfill or are chipped as mulch within a very few years," she says.
Forest destruction has been estimated to release hundreds of tonnes of CO2 equivalent into the atmosphere for every hectare logged, depending on the forest type.
"In addition, trucks delivering loads to the mill travel 14.5 million kilometres per year, generating a further 2 million tonnes of CO2 per year."
"To make matters worse, in both NSW and Victoria, the native forest woodchipping industry is subsidised."
"NSW revenue from pulpwood royalties is about $3.5 million less than the cost to Forests NSW of running its woodchipping operations."
"Last year, VicForests returned a $17,000 loss to Victoria for the logging of native forests."
"Other costs to the community from woodchipping include the loss of water quality and quantity, degradation of topsoils, damage to roads and other infrastructure. In addition, it is impossible to quantify the loss of wildlife and habitat."
"In these circumstances, we believe it is reckless and absurd to continue native forest woodchipping, when forests are worth so much more as carbon sinks."
"We also reject burning native forest wood to generate power for the same reasons," Ms Swift said.
3 January 2008
02 64923267, 0414908997
Between 2,500 and 3,000 trees from SE NSW and East Gippsland are cut down every working day to supply the Eden chipmill
Garnaut Climate Change Review ; - Submissions - Climate Change: Land use - Agriculture and Forestry; - Issues Paper 1 - Climate Change: Land use - Agriculture and forestry (PDF, 137kb)
30/11/07 Climate worse than we thought, Professor Ross Garnaut. Tim Colebatch, The Age Our highlighting
Maiden voyage breaks record
Eden Magnet
03 January 2008 - 10:09AM
Bulk woodchip carrier, Silver Pegasus safely completed her maiden voyage to Eden on Thursday, December 27 after leaving the Ohshima shipping yard in Japan on December 14, 2007.
Arriving with a crew of 21, the 210-meter vessel, with a gross registered tonnage of 43,621 has the latest in navigation and cargo equipment on board.
The cost of the round trip from Japan to Australia is said to be more than $1.2 million.
Managing director of SEFE, Toshihiro Eguchi and his family, along with representatives from SVITZER and Twofold Bay harbour pilot Jo Clark, were invited to inspect the ship and witness the presentation of a commemorative plaque to master captain, Sin Sang Tae.
Discussing the year's sales, corporate affairs manager of South East Fibre Exports, Vince Phillips said the Silver Pegasus' shipment would break sales records.
"The load of about 46,000 ton will take us to another record sale," Mr Phillips said.
"I think we have done a total of a million and sixty thousand for the 2007 calendar year... beating last year’s sales record by about ten thousand ton," Mr Phillips said.
Mr Phillips said that this year's record export volume was an unexpected result given wet weather during the year but production was boosted in volume by access to bushfire affected timber.
The planned export of plantation pine woodchips in coming years means SEFE expects to maintain these levels.
The Silver Pegasus is purpose built and has six holds each with a 10 tonne capacity.
A 9195-kilowatt engine gives her about 12 and a half thousand-horse power and a top speed of 14.2 knots.
Owned by NYK, an international shipping company, Silver Pegasus will be charted by South East Fibre Export to transport wood chip to the port of Muroran in Japan.
CHIPSTOP -
Between 2,500 and 3,000 trees from SE NSW and East Gippsland are cut down every working day to supply the Eden chipmill - "CHIPSTOP campaign against woodchipping the SE forests", 02-64923134, PO Box 797 Bega NSW 2550 Australia http://www.chipstop.forests.org.au
20/01/08 Pulped — Vic forests end up as copy paper Peter Weekes, The Age - our highlighting Related