The Forest Practices Authority of Tasmania (FPA) is the independent statutory body which regulates the management of Tasmanian forests, and is experienced in implementing multi-scale landscape approaches to protecting threatened species in forestry operations.
The FPA prepared a preliminary report (PDF 739KB) and final report (PDF 1.4MB) on the proposed multi-scale landscape provisions for protecting threatened species. They found the proposed framework
- should meet the objectives of the IFOA remake
- will contribute to the overarching goals and objectives as identified in the literature as important for conserving forest biodiversity in production forest areas
- is consistent with the multi-scale landscape approach in other jurisdictions
Some areas required further consideration, including
- setting overarching principles to take account of the trade-off between conservation and economic outcomes
- developing clear and measurable outcomes
- developing comprehensive guidelines and a training program for those involved in implementing and monitoring the Coastal IFOA
- developing a monitoring program and process for continuous improvement
The review also highlights the need to consider
- further measures for dispersing harvesting (in particular the maximum harvesting threshold)
- the size and composition of habitat clumps
- ways to minimise edge effects impacting on excluded areas
- protecting sensitive species that were not adequately covered by general conditions
The NSW Government has used the advice and recommendations provided by the FPA to improve the multi-scale landscape threatened species licence framework.
