The ObserverTree is a platform situated 60m above the ground in an old-growth Eucalyptus Delegatensis tree, in the heart of Tasmania’s southern forests. On the 14th of December 2011 conservationist Miranda Gibson climbed a rope to the top of the tree and vowed to stay untill the forest is protected. Miranda’s upper canopy home is a tree under imminent threat, in a forest due to be logged any day now.
The tree top platform is fully equipped with the technology to communicate to the world. This website features Miranda’s daily blog about life in a tree sit, commentary on the state of the forest negotiations, updates on flora and fauna monitoring and video footage from the tree sit. Watch this space for celebrity and guest blog appearances too!
If logging commences Miranda will also, sadly, document the destruction of the forest around her, streaming these images out to the world. The traumatic process of forest destruction that occurs every day in Tasmania is generally hidden from public view. Now these archaic practises will be fully exposed, allowing the global community to see for themselves what is really going on in our forests
Why?
This area of forest is in an area earmarked as one of Tasmania’s future forest reserves. It was promised protection by the State and Federal governments. Yet, if the logging industry has its way, it is going to be logged this summer! What is really going on in Tasmania’s forests?
A brief history of the Tasmanian Forest Negotiations:
2011 could have been a year of celebration for Tasmania’s wild forest. In October 2010, A statement of principles signed by Environmental NGO’s, industry groups and Unions paved the way for comprehensive forest protection and a restructuring of the logging industry. But, more than a year later, not one tree has been saved, more cash has been delivered to the timber industry and destructive logging continues in some of our island’s most sensitive and iconic forest areas. So what went wrong?
A series of broken promises, industry pressure and Government backpeddling have jeapordised the progress of this historic agreement.
First, in December 2010, the Tasmanian Government failed to implement a promised moratorium on the logging of 572,000 hectares of high conservation value forest. Forestry Tasmania, the State-owned forest management agency, flaunted this failure of leadership by pushing ahead with roading and logging in some of Tasmania’s most contentious forest areas.
In August 2011, the Tasmanian and Federal Governments signed an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) that promised immediate protection for 430,000 hectares of high conservation forest. The IGA stipulated that the Tasmanian Government would ‘ensure that the 430,000 hectares of State Forest identified … is not accessed [for logging]‘ and that the Commonwealth would compensate any contract holder affected by the protection of these areas.
But the agreement also required that hundreds of thousands of cubic metres of sawlogs and veneer peeler logs must continue to be supplied to the industry. Malaysian logging company Ta Ann Holdings has been promised an ongoing supply of over 265,000 cubic metres of timber per year from Tasmania’s forests. Forestry Tasmania argued that they could not supply this timber without continuing to log within the 430,00 hectares. In another backflip, the Tasmanian and Commonwealth Governments have turned a blind eye to the ongoing logging of pristine forests within an area they earmarked for immediate protection.
As 2011 draws to a close, Tasmanians are suffering the loss of hundreds of hectares of native forest that should have been saved from logging. Activists have occupied forests on the flanks of Mt Mueller to document this destruction. Prime Minister Julia Gillard must keep her word before the trail of broken promises undermines this crucial opportunity to protect Tasmania’s forests.
Where?
Mount Mueller is a spectacular mountain located near the Styx Valley, Southwest Tasmania. The Weld, Styx and Florentine rivers all flow from this iconic mountain. While the mountain top is protected in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, the pristine ancient forests at its base remain under threat from industrial scale logging. The Tree Top Watch Spot lies in the heart of these forests.
This area of forest is known to Forestry Tasmania as “TN044B.” We have affectionately named it “Julia’s Forest.” Named after Prime Minister Julia Gillard. She is, after all, responsible for the life of this forest. On the day she signed the Intergovernmental Agreement, making a promise to protect this forests, she became it’s guardian. Julia will be accountable for every tree that falls in this forest.
Julia’s Forest is a prime example of Tasmania’s spectacular and unique forests. The ridges are lined with giant Eucalpyts, the tallest flowering plant on earth. Steep fern gullies are bursting with tree ferns, sasafrass, leatherwood and other Tasmanian rainforest tree species. Unique and threatened wildlife have been found in Julia’s Forest, including Tasmanian Devils, Spotted Tailed Quolls and the unique Tasmanian White Goshawks. The waterways in this forest are also home to a rare and threatened Hyrdrobiid snail.
The terrain is so steep in this forest that the loggers need to use specialised cable logging machinery. This is despite the historical land-slips that have occurred in the area. This type of logging causes irreparable damage to the soil and waterways.
Who?
Miranda Gibson
Miranda Gibson is one of Tasmania’s most committed front-line forest campaigners. She has been a core member of the grassroots environment group Still Wild Still Threatened for over four years, living high in the trees at Camp Floz, a blockade in the Upper Florentine Valley.
Miranda is a qualified high school teacher, specialising in Study of Society and Environment and English. She has put her career on hold to dedicate herself to the campaign to protect Tasmania’s forests. In 2008 Miranda was one of two activists assaulted by logging contractors in a vicious attack that was caught on film and made international headlines.
Undeterred, Miranda has worked with other Still Wild Still Threatened campaigners to monitor wildlife in Tasmania’s threatened forests using remote-sensor cameras. Their work has documented the prescenece of threatened species including Tasmanian Devils and Spotted Tailed quolls inside areas scheduled for logging.
In 2008, Miranda also co-authored a guide to the “Flora and Fauna of the Upper Florentine Valley”, the sales of which have helped raised money for the forest campaign.
Miranda is passionate about giving young people the opportunity to learn about and learn from the wonders of the natural world. She is an inspiring example of an individual willing to take a stand to ensure that future generations can experience and enjoy our precious natural heritage.
Email: observertree2011@gmail.com
