The Commonwealth-state agreement that will set out forest use in East Gippsland for the next 20 years is an experiment, according to Victorian officials. In a meeting with representatives of Environment Victoria and the Wilderness Society, foresters from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment said the effect of the Regional Forest Agreement on more than 300 threatened species in the region was unknown.
Conservationists, who have been highly critical of the process, were outraged yesterday that the Government was experimenting with the future of threatened species. "This is yet another sign that the conservation needs of native animals and plants in our forests have been completely ignored in the Regional Forest Agreement," said Environment Victoria's forest campaigner, Mr Patrick O'Leary.
At the meeting, the forestry officials said areas were being set aside for threatened species but surveys had not been conducted to establish whether the animals and birds actually lived in those areas. The process could be likened to an experiment, the officials said. Millions of dollars have been spent on researching the area in the lead-up to the agreement, which is due to be signed at the end of the month.
The East Gippsland agreement will provide the basis for successive agreements that will cover forest areas across Australia for the next 20 years. Exposure of the process as an experiment has raised concerns for forest-dwelling threatened species across the country. Mr O'Leary said the State and Federal Governments should know better than to juggle the-lives of rare owls, tiger quolls and other endangered species in an experiment.