Fewer trees have been cut down in Queensland, but some conservationists are calling for the laws to be tightened further to protect endangered species such as koalas.
Key points:
- Recent statistics show a massive reduction in land clearing in Queensland
- Environmental groups want to see legislation tightened further
- Agforce says clearing is often done for environmental management
The latest state government report into land clearing shows about 349,000 hectares were cleared in the 2020-21 reporting period, down 49 per cent from the first statewide Landcover and Trees Study (SLATS) in 2018-19.
In 2018 the Queensland government strengthened legislation to crack down on what it called “unsustainable” clearing, which included removing provisions that allowed new areas to be cleared for high-value agriculture.
“A great outcome for biodiversity and carbon emission reductions in Queensland,” state Resources Minister Scott Stewart said.
The minister said there was still work to be done to eliminate unlawful clearing.
“We’ll continue to work with landholders to educate and assist them in understanding their obligations,” Mr Stewart said.
“The majority of landholders are complying with our vegetation management laws.”
Time for change?
Queensland is the second-largest state in Australia with an area of approximately 173 million hectares.
The state government categorises land based on what trees and shrubs are on it, where it is, and what it is used for to determine what level of clearing is allowed.
Of the total area cleared, 82 per cent was in category X — land that has previously been cleared, the only unregulated category.
Hannah Schuch from the Wilderness Society said category X should also be covered by the legislation.
“It’s a massive omission,” Ms Schuch said.
“We’re missing a massive amount of land that’s designated in category X but we know that it is key habitat for koalas.”
Industry group Agforce said clearing did not mean stripping the land of all its trees and was often done for environmental management.
“It’s not broadscale clearing,” CEO Michael Guerin said.
He said in bio-regions like the mulga lands of south-west Queensland, which stretches from Charleville to White Cliffs in NSW, clearing can improve the diversity of species.
“If you don’t manage the mulga lands what you get is a thickening that ultimately ends up squeezing out biodiversity,” he said.
Mr Guerin said the legislation needed to recognise that different land management practices were needed for the 13 different bio-regions across the state.
“We can be very proud of it to continue to produce the food we take for granted in supermarkets while protecting the environment,” he said.
Impact on the reef
According to the data, 47 per cent of the cleared land was in Great Barrier Reef catchment areas.
“Clearing can lead to sediment run-off and risk the Great Barrier Reef still contributing to climate change,” Ms Schuch said.
But Mr Guerin said more data was needed about run-off ending up on the reef to get the full picture of the problem.
“We need to be measuring sediment run-off at the top and the bottom of properties,” he said.
He said the reef regulations in place also required farmers to undertake practices to minimise their impact on the reef.
The latest SLATS report also showed 67 per cent of regrowth was on land that had been pasture.
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