The timber giant HQPlantations and the Queensland Government are continuing to resist a modest proposal to trial the rewilding of pine plantation over a tiny fraction of the 330,000 hectares that the company has under state forest licence in Queensland. A plan to convert the 21,000-hectare Imbil State Forest in the Sunshine Coast hinterland to rainforest was initially put to the state government in August 2019 (http://sunshinecoastbirds.blogspot.com/2019/08/imbil-state-forest-plan-to-to-save.html). HQPlantations holds licences over 14,600 hectares of the state forest which have been converted to Hoop Pine (Araucaria cunninghamii) plantation. The area was subtropical lowland rainforest - a habitat listed by the federal government as critically endangered in 2011 - in its natural state.
Once widespread in south-east Queensland and north-east NSW, the habitat has been reduced to small fragments by land-clearing. Rewilding Imbil State Forest would restore an extensive area of subtropical lowland rainforest; experts in various natural history fields agree that if left alone, mature hoop pine plantation will regenerate successfully as rainforest. As a starting point, a trial is proposed to allow 200ha of plantation – 0.06% of the company’s state forest holdings in Queensland - to regenerate. The area would connect an existing reserve in Imbil State Forest (above and below) around Little Yabba Creek with the largest remaining stand of lowland rainforest in Conondale National Park. It is home to numerous rare wildlife species such as the Giant Barred-Frog and Masked Owl.
Australia’s largest natural history organisation, BirdLife Australia, has taken up the cudgel to champion the proposal, with chief executive officer Paul Sullivan urging the company and state government in correspondence last month to reconsider their earlier refusal to agree to the trial. Imbil State Forest is administered by two government departments – the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) and Department of Environment and Science (DES). BLA has written to the respective ministers, Mark Furner (DAF) and Meaghan Scanlon (DES), as well as their departments and the HQPlantations stewardship manager, David West.
In an encouraging development, Scanlon’s office described the trial proposal to BLA as a “creative initiative” and said it aligned with work that DES is undertaking elsewhere in the state to secure threatened species and ecosystems. However, the minister added that a trial would require a significant licence acquisition which would need the approval of both DAF and HQPlantations; BLA was encouraged by DES to engage directly with both.
Consequently, BLA told DAF and the company that BLA research with plantation managers and owners elsewhere in Australia clearly demonstrates that bird diversity and abundance is improved by maintaining and connecting remnant habitat within forestry plantations. BLA pointed out that the forthcoming United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and Conference of the Parties in Kunming, China, will highlight the critical importance of mainstreaming biodiversity into business practices. The organisation stressed that reversing biodiversity declines and species loss can only be achieved by working cooperatively with industry, including the forestry sector. BLA said: “Re-wilding some of the hoop pine plantations in the Imbil State Forest would be a huge win for biodiversity, industry sustainability and ecotourism. The proposed trial, supported by research, would provide an innovative pilot to inform future regeneration projects led by community groups, industry and landowners.”
In a co-ordinated response, DAF and HQPlantations dismissed the proposal. DAF said the company would be entitled to seek compensation from the state for compensation for any reduction in the plantations and noted that Aracauria is generally grown for 45 years or longer before harvesting, making it a particularly long-term investment for the company. The department said Araucaria plantations support 600 jobs in processing and harvesting and were worth $115 million a year to the Queensland economy. David West, on behalf of HQ Plantations, told BLA that the company’s position aligns with that of DAF, and the company would continue to focus on sustainably managing carbon sequestering Araucaria plantations to support Queensland’s regionally based timber processing and economies.
The area proposed for the trial was cut several years ago so the trees there are a long way from being of commercial value. Moreover, Imbil State Forest has enormous potential as a recreational and tourism destination for the nearby Sunshine Coast - Australia’s 10th largest city with one of the nation’s fastest growth rates – and more generally for Brisbane and south-east Queensland. The Charlie Moreland camping area in the state forest, for instance, is hugely popular and frequently suffers from severe overcrowding. The economic benefits of a large reserve in the state forest would likely exceed that being derived from plantation harvesting. Looking ahead, BLA’s Paul Sullivan adds: “The forestry industry will lose its social licence to operate if it doesn’t mainstream biodiversity into its business practices.”
Meanwhile, the Queensland University of Technology is using the Imbil State Forest rewilding proposal as a model for students in its School of Architecture and Built Environment to study. Over the past two years, students have been assigned the task of developing plans to value and advance the regeneration plan. Projects include assessments of the economic value of rewilding the state forest to the nearby towns of Kenilworth and Imbil. QUT academics have undertaken GIS mapping to assess the extent of plantation and milling at various stages.
I recently had a pleasurable couple of days in Imbil State Forest undertaking further fauna surveys in mature Hoop Pine plantation and adjoining subtropical rainforest and eucalypt forest fragments. Some of the creatures seen are illustrated in this post, from the first image (Koala) followed by Marbled Frogmouth, Pale-yellow Robin, Paradise Riflebird, Red-necked Pademelon, Orange-eyed Tree-Frog and Eastern Stony Creek Frog. Watercourses such as Yabba Creek were in full flow due to recent rains.
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