Great Forest National Park
.jpg)
The Great Forest National Park is a proposed national park in Victoria, Australia. Protagonists argue that the park would protect the forests of the Central Highlands and the endangered Leadbeater's possum.[1] They also claim that the park would protect the habitat of the locally threatened native Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans) - the tallest flowering trees on the planet, and a large part of Melbourne's water catchment.[2]
Location
The park would extend between Kinglake National Park (west) and Baw Baw National Park (east), Lake Eildon National Park (north) and Bunyip State Park (south).[3] It would encompass 355,000 ha of land, including the Yarra Ranges National Park and existing state forests such as the Cathedral Range State Park and Toolangi State Forest.[4]
Public debate
An opinion poll conducted in 2014 showed that 89% of Victorians support a national park in the proposed area.[5][6] The proposal is also supported by 30 environmental and scientific groups, including the Royal Society of Victoria, Australian Conservation Foundation and The Wilderness Society.[5] Prominent environmentalists supporting the park include David Attenborough, Jane Goodall,[4] Tim Flannery and Bob Brown.[7]
Opponents of the park include the Victorian Association of Forest Industries,[7] that opposes any extension to the state's national park system.[8]
The proposal was a key topic in the 2014 Victorian state election. While the incumbent Liberal-National Coalition ruled out support for any new national park, the proposal was supported by The Greens.[4] The Labor Party was divided on the issue and did not actively support the plan during the election campaign.[9] In 2015 environment minister Lisa Neville expressed support for the national park.[10]
In 2016 the Shire of Yarra Ranges released a report suggesting that the creation of the Great Forest National Park will have little or no positive impact on the Yarra Ranges region and could see more than 260 jobs lost.
See also
References
- ↑ Young, Amelia: "Great Forest National Park support could decide Victorian election", ABC, 27 November 2014
- ↑ Lindemayer, David: "Why Victoria needs a Giant Forest National Park ", in The Conversation, 30 September 2013
- ↑ My Forests Inc: "Park Plan", retrieved 27 December 2014
- 1 2 3 Milman, Oliver: "David Attenborough and Jane Goodall join the fight to create a new national park in Victoria", in The Guardian, 11 November 2014
- 1 2 "Sir David Attenborough backs move to protect Leadbeater's habitat", in ECOS Magazine, 17 November 2014
- ↑ Essential Research: "Selected Results - Great Forest National Park", 14 October 2014
- 1 2 Henderson, Jenni: "Support for the proposal of a new Victorian national park grows", ABC, 23 September 2014
- ↑ VAFI:About, retrieved 24 June 2015
- ↑ Gordon, Josh: "State Labor dumps Great Forests park plan ahead of Victorian election", in The Age, 14 November 2014
- ↑ Tomazin, Farrah: "Minister flags new national park within this term to save the possum" in The Age, 3 May 2015
External links
- Great Forest National Park - Park Plan
- The Science Behind the GFNP - presentation by David Lindenmayer
Coordinates: 37°30′S 145°30′E / 37.500°S 145.500°E