ABOUT US
WHO
- Forest Network were volunteers within Friends of the Earth in Melbourne,
Australia. Forest Network was active from 1993 to 2005.
WHAT
– a group working for the preservation and conservation of forests.
We are committed to providing information on forest issues and non-violent
direct action and activism to secure the earths ecological future and
a sustainable and equitable society.
Where &
When - Forest Network are no longer meeting on a regular basis.
Contact FoE if you wish to get involved with Barmah
Millewah Campaign or the Forest
Action Trust.
Forest
Network will endeavour to keep this site going. Updates may not
be consistent but we will continue to work on adding to this site
and improving it's quality.
Friends
of the Earth, 312 Smith St. Collingwood,
Vic.
- PH. 03 9419 8700.
We
believe in the intrinsic value of all species and landscapes present
on the Earth and therefore wish to adopt systems of production that
fulfil basic human needs with minimal impact on the natural environment.
We
are committed to the promotion and protection of native forests
and timber production methods that rehabilitate degraded lands.
We
are trying to protect high conservation value forests and promote
the shift to an ecologically viable wood products industry in Australia.
Our
aim is to preserve all the values of native forests in a way that
ensures the continued healthy functioning of all of the processes
of native forest ecosystems.
More specifically this would entail:
-
The maintenance of catchment integrity;
-
The
protection of all threatened species' habitats and ensuring that
other species do not become threatened;
-
Immediate protection of all remaining ecologically significant native
forests, including rainforest, old growth forest and other under-represented
forest types;
-
The
elimination of any practices and activities which are a threat to
nutrient or soil conservation or undermine the integrity of ecological
processes;
-
Maintaining
the diversity of species and ecological communities and the genetic
diversity of forest plants, animals and insects.

Grass
tree, Mullungdang State Forest - Strzelecki Ranges
We recognise the interdependence between ecological sustainability
and social justice, and so the two are on an equal platform. We will
endeavour to:
-
-
Support viable, diverse and socially responsible local economies
for forested regions;
-
Have real, informed and constructive participation in forest management
decisions by local communities and other interested people;
-
Have bioregional principles incorporated in forest and land management;
-
Preserve
the social, cultural and spiritual values of the forest.
It
has been recognised that water, tourism, recreation, spiritual and
ecological values of forests are being severely degraded by current
logging practices. We are working towards the transformation of the
existing timber industry to one that is ethical, sustainable and intergenerationally
responsible.
This
would involve:
-
A shift to sustainable paper production ;
-
Utilising
existing plantations and establishing additional native mixed-species
plantations on previously cleared or degraded land;
-
Restructuring
in favour of a wood products industry based on sustainable sources,
with the extraction of native forest products only in ways consistent
with the conservation and social objectives mentioned earlier;
-
Recognising
that native forests cannot support export woodchipping and that
"waste" timber alone cannot support this practice.
The
transition to such an industry would necessitate the immediate withdrawal
from ecologically significant forests and allow timber extraction
only in areas modified extensively by recent human intervention, such
as areas that have already been clearfelled. The timber removed should
be processed to its highest possible value, creating products of the
highest quality and longevity. Extensive forest rehabilitation programmes
can provide employment, especially for rural areas. Displaced forest
workers should be fully compensated and offered suitable retraining
in everything from land rehabilitation to ecotourism.
We aim to achieve community empowerment by:
-
Informing the general public about forest issues;
-
Giving individuals a vehicle to act on their concern for the forest;
-
Gaining the support of voters, consumers and shareholders;
-
Building
alliances with Aboriginal communities;
-
Building
strategic alliances with community groups, industries and other
non-governmental organisations;
-
Encouraging the public to remove their support for destructive forest
industries.
The
primary campaign tools available to achieve our desired ends are:
-
Outreach and community education;
-
Nonviolent direct action;
-
Economic
intervention / boycott;
-
Networking;
-
Use of media;
-
Research
and information provision.