RACAC: NSW RFA: Background to the Eden CRA


		Background to the Eden CRA The NSW Government has taken major steps towards resolving the forest debate in New South Wales. On coming to office in 1995 it immediately initiated, with the support and involvement of key forest stakeholders, an interim forest assessment (IFA) based on an analysis of biological, cultural, economic and social data relating to the forests of New South Wales. This resulted in the NSW Government’s interim forest decision of September 1996 which had the support of industry, union and conservation representatives. The interim forest decision included a South East Forests National Park package, to be introduced in two stages. In stage 1, it added 46 000 hectares to the 50 000 hectare additions previously agreed between the Hawke and Greiner Governments, bringing the area of national park, nature reserve and flora reserve to 216 500 hectares. Stage 1 also deferred 36 000 hectares of State forest from timber harvesting pending completion of Stage 2, the RFA. With the completion of its interim forest assessment, the Government entered a joint process with the Commonwealth to undertake comprehensive regional assessments of major forest regions in New South Wales, commencing with Eden. These assessments are aimed at achieving a comprehensive, adequate and representative (CAR) system of forest reserves in line with the 1992 National Forest Policy Statement. With the commencement of the New South Wales CRAs, the NSW Government broadened the involvement of stakeholders to include the Aboriginal community, grazing, beekeeping and mining interests as well as regional community interests through the establishment of regional forest forums. The current CRA process is designed to build on the existing national park system to ensure it meets the National Forest Policy Statement requirement of being comprehensive, adequate and representative. The interim forest decision resulted in a total of about half the public land of the Eden Region being within public reserve and ensured that conservation targets (biodiversity, old growth and wilderness values) were met to a significant extent. For example, for wilderness, 96% of the area identified under the National Wilderness Inventory criteria is already protected within the dedicated reserve system. The Eden Region: profile The Eden region covers about 800 000 hectares, from near Bermagui and Nimmitabel in the north to Delegate and Cape Howe in the south. About two thirds of the area is forested, with most forest on public lands — either as State forest (25 per cent of the total area) or national park (32 per cent). National parks and State forest total 52 000 hectares. In 1996 the Eden region had a population of around 30 200, which is expected to grow to about 34 600 by 2006. The largest industry employer in that year was the retail trade (15 per cent of total employed) followed by the agriculture, forestry and fishing industries (14 per cent). Other major employers were accommodation, cafes and restaurants, and the manufacturing industry. It is estimated that the native forest industry generates expenditure worth about $23 million each year, with wages and salaries contributing over $10 million within the region. Tourism is also significant to the region’s economy. More than half a million visitors to coastal and inland national parks and State forests are estimated to spend between $10 and $15 million in the region each year. A random telephone survey for the social assessment found that the issues which most concerned the residents within the region were unemployment (47 per cent), followed by the health system (43 per cent) and the environment (35 per cent). Most people used the forests more than once a week, mainly for recreation. In this section: Eden Background The Eden CRAs and Scenarios Development Report: Towards an Eden Regional Forest Agreement Eden NSW Forest Agreement Display Sites Industry Package Details Eden NSW Forest Agreement Eden NSW Forest Agreement Map Eden Integrated Forestry Operations Approval (plus ammendments)
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		© NSW Government & important legal notices Site queries to Webmaster Resource and Conservation Assessment Council (RACAC) June 1995 - Dec 2003 RACAC presided over the NSW Forest Agreements program from June 1995 to December 2003. For continuity this site remains under the name RACAC. However, project management and monitoring of the NSW Forest Agreements are now provided by the Resource and Conservation Unit of the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change.