Lets End Deforestation in Queensland
On 30 December 2021, the Queensland Government released the State’s land clearing report, which uses satellite analysis to determine how many hectares of forests have been cleared.
The report was a shock.
680,688 hectares of trees and other woody vegetation had been cleared between 2018-2019, almost double the 392,000 that was cleared the year before!
This report was an important benchmark in our work to protect Queensland's forests, home to 219 endangered animals and a critical part of carbon sequestration. This is the first report since the Queensland Labor Government responded to our campaign by restoring some strength to the Vegetation Management Act that the Newman Government had gutted, which allowed clearing without almost any restraint.
The facts in the report make for worried reading, but our preliminary analysis indicates that;
- About 84% of the woody vegetation that was destroyed was at least 15 years old.
- About 93% of the clearing was for pasture, for cattle and sheep.
- 10,000s of hectares of likely habitat for koalas, quolls and brigalow belt endangered birds was cleared