Towong Shire’s plantations committee, the first committee of its kind established in Victoria, recently passed its 16th anniversary, an especially notable achievement with several of its founding members still actively involved on the committee. Source: Timberbiz
Chairperson, Lyn Coulston, who has been a part of the committee since its inaugural meeting back in 1998, reflected on the circumstances which led to its establishment over 16 years ago.
“While plantation forestry in Victoria has a long history dating back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it has only been in recent decades that concerns were raised about the loss of agricultural lands to service expanding plantation targets,” said Ms Coulston.
“These concerns were raised during a time when the community was becoming increasingly aware of issues and practices that impacted the environment.
“It was thought that the management of some plantations was adversely affecting the local environment and that plantation owners were unresponsive to these concerns and consequently the plantation industry in the Towong Shire came under greater scrutiny.
“Following the privatisation of the Government-owned plantations in the 1990s there was an ongoing perception that these forestry operations continued to cause adverse offsite environmental impacts.”
In 1989 the first legislated Code of Forest Practice identified local government as the agency with the responsibility for its implementation in private plantations.
Then in 1997 Towong Shire commissioners accepted the request from the Upper Murray land care groups for ongoing community engagement and agreed to establish the Towong plantations committee, a first for local government in Victoria, to encourage open and ongoing discussion between community representatives and the plantation industry.
An immediate action of the committee was to lobby the council to appoint a part-time forest officer to monitor the ongoing compliance with the Code of Practice by local plantation owners.
In 1998 David Buntine was appointed and he continues to work with the committee, local community, plantation owners and council.
“Barriers to discussion broke down as the plantation industry responded to the concerns of our local community and the Committee provided the right environment for concerns to be both aired and addressed,” said long serving member Alex Hill.
“Instead of just knowing names, individuals from both sides got to know each other as real people; community members and plantation representatives began to talk directly and reach a mutual understanding about issues.
“The community now had a forum to promote discussion, learn about plantation issues and receive responses to their concerns.”
Membership of the committee is made up of representatives from HVP Plantations, private plantation owners, landcare groups, forest managers and Towong Shire Council.
At its biannual meetings the committee’s agenda now covers a range of topics including blackberry control, fire season preparations, the impact of timber traffic on roads, school plantations, timber road funding, wild dog and deer control, significant vegetation protection and environmental training for operators.
The Towong model has received wide acceptance from plantation owners and local interest groups. There is now a better level of understanding of land management issues and the requirements of the code and local planning scheme for which the committee can claim at least some of the credit.
