It is difficult to write this Chapter. It is difficult to decide where to
begin in such a contentious topic as forestry. It is even harder to find
a way through the complicated maze of ideas and issues that have been raised
by a wide variety of community and government groups.
The path I have selected is in common with the perspective taken in all
the other Chapters of this book. The standpoint is that forestry is a landuse.
The conduct of this landuse changes landcover in the short and long term.
The disquiet felt by many groups within our society is directly related
to these landcover changes and their consequences. The deleterious down
stream effects of forest use are a diminution of wilderness value, biodiversity,
conservation options, recreational or amenity worth as well as long term
economic sustainability.
There is intense debate about the state and future of Australian forests
and the nature and direction of the landuse of forestry. It is among the
top five issues confronting contemporary society and the federal parliament.
It has held that position for the last decade and is unlikely to go away
during the next.
There is good reason to hold the debate about the landuse of forestry and
the condition of the landcover of forests. Of all the renewable resources
of this nation, it is alleged that the forests have been the most irresponsibly
managed. The most enraging aspect of this finding is that the forests are
a common resource: they belong to the people, and they have been mismanaged
by state government agencies specifically entrusted with their welfare.
That is my assessment of the historical and contemporary context of forestry
in Australia. I encourage you to form your own opinion from the reference
material supplied at the end of this Chapter.
With these background thoughts, let's concentrate on the landcover issues
only. As before, satellite images will be used to give the big picture.
What we are about to examine has rarely been used by anyone else. Surprisingly,
given the intense debate about the forests, particularly about those in
almost inaccessible areas of Tasmania and in the southeast of NSW, there
has been little or no use of satellite images. This neglect I find quite
extraordinary, given the power of satellite images to provide objective
information about spatial patterns and temporal dynamics of forest landcover.
A constant lack of objective information about almost everything is a characteristic
of the forest debate.
Three questions are asked in this chapter.
- What is the nature and spatial pattern of landcover change associated
with landuse of forestry?
- How have these patterns changed in the last twenty years, or as far
back as we can look?
- Does the birds' eye view provided by satellites contribute to a better
understanding of the issues?
