The process of revoking the World Heritage status of 74,000 hectares of Tasmania’s native forests has begun.
The Federal government has put in a submission to the World Heritage Committee, asking them to remove the area from the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.
This 74,000 hectares is part of the 172,000 hectares, added to the World Heritage area in June part of the Tasmanian Forest Agreement. This was a hard-won gain after years of painstaking negotiations between forestry industry representatives, unions and environmentalists.
The World Heritage Committee will consider the government’s request at its next session in June.
Here in Australia, the Senate enquiry submissions on this issue close on 7 March – that’s tomorrow!
Tasmanian rainforest pic by Josh Meadows