Part of the work that the Goongerah Environment Centre does is to find and document breaches of the Code of Forest Practices. This is a voluntary Code that is supposed to be adhered to by logging contractors and DSE employees. However, the requirements are less than stringent and mandate continued clearfell logging, high intensity regeneration burns, inadequate rainforest protection and roading through fragile ecosystems and rivers. But having a Code, albeit an unenforceable and inadequate one, is better than having nothing at all. Unfortunately, there is little or no ongoing independent monitoring of breaches of the Code. We have been calling for a permanent independent auditor position to be created within government, for example, within the Environment Protection Authority (EPA), who would receive and collate information on breaches of the Code on a regular and ongoing basis. This has not yet occured. So here are some recent examples of what we believe to be breaches.
Click here for GECO's Media Release on the results of the Environment Protection Authority's report into breaches of the Code of Forest Practices in the East Gippsland Forest Management Area. It includes a link to the EPA website, which provides more detailed information.
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| This is "Five Tier Falls" on the Glen Arte River, running through rainforest and adjacent to a Special Protection Zone. | April, 2004: Roading has commenced in the area, to create a new road to allow logging in the area. | This is a bridge in mid-construction over the Glen Arte River. |
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| Here is an example of how the road is being pushed right through the river during construction. | The river is flowing clear upstream of the bridge construction..... | ......and muddy downstream. These photos were taken BEFORE heavy rain broke a long dry spell. |