It has been revealed negotiations to finalise the boundaries of new native forest reserves under Tasmania’s peace deal have not started yet, despite a June 2012 deadline.
Forestry and environmental groups met on 1 May 2012 for the second time since they received a comprehensive review of the forest industry.
The West Report outlines the conservation value of 572,000 hectares of forest proposed for protection from logging.
The parties say they have been negotiating measures to ensure any agreement lasts.
Jim Adams from Timber Communities Australia said that there has been no discussion yet about which forests to reserve.
“There will be no talk about those things until FIAT (Forest Industries Association of Tasmania) are back in the room,” he said. FIAT walked away from talks in protest against overseas campaigns by green groups targeting its customers.
The association says it will consider rejoining the peace talks if it is satisfied with measures in the agreement to make it durable. However, the association says that so far there have been no breakthroughs that give them that confidence.
