Victoria’s forests are in trouble. Invasive pests, weeds, neglect, past exploitation, and the changing climate are taking a huge toll and increasingly intense fires are impacting all types of forests: those in protected areas, native production forests, private native forests and plantations. Large areas in national parks and state forests are facing complete changes in species composition.

This should be a wake-up call to all those who depend on, and care about, forests. Instead, we see only bickering, fighting and division. Millions of dollars have been spent on lawyers and experts in court cases, and now perhaps billions on compensation to industries, contractors and workers. This money could have been spent in the forests, addressing future challenges.

No organization or agency is taking a holistic view of Victoria’s forests. Policies have mostly focused on stopping an industry rather than exploring new approaches. Resources and management capacity have been withdrawn, wildfires are more difficult to suppress, and a lack of information on the overall health of our forests, or the status of forest dependent species, impedes decision making.

Rather than simply shutting down an industry, we need to keep options open. By putting aside our differences and looking at the big picture, can use our collective wisdom to design a new silviculture for Victorian native forests. This can be used as a basis to invest in more diverse, resilient, forests and landscapes with greater long-term capacity to provide cultural, environmental and economic benefits. By working together, we can build trust through inclusive processes involving the experience and wisdom of Traditional Owners, forest managers, forest scientists, environmental NGOs, industry and other community members. These can be used to develop better ways – the right ways – to care for forests and meet community needs for timber, conservation, recreation and many other benefits. By working together we can ensure all Victoria’s forests, and the communities that depend on them, are productive, healthy, and resilient.

About the speaker:

Professor Rod Keenan is the former Chair of Forest and Ecosystem Sciences at the University of Melbourne. He has research interests in sustainable forest management, forests and climate change, ecosystem services and forest and climate policy. He has worked across Australia, in Canada, Papua New Guinea and South East Asia. He was a member of the UN-FAO Advisory Group for the Global Forest Resource Assessment from 2003 to 2015.

Produced by the Royal Society of Victoria for "The Future of Victoria's Native Forests: A Public Symposium" with the support of the Alluvium Foundation. The symposium was delivered in partnership with the Alluvium Foundation, Friends of the Earth Melbourne and the Victorian National Parks Association.