Clearing of Native Vegetation and Forestry
1. Native Vegetation
The Native Vegetation Act 2003 is the principal piece of legislation controlling the management of native vegetation in rural areas of New South Wales. The Act applies essentially to rural land that is privately owned or leased. Urban land, State forests, national parks and conservation areas are excluded from the operation of the Act. The Native Vegetation Act 2003 makes it clear that to clear native vegetation ('broad-scale clearing') not covered by an exemption or exclusion under that Act, a proponent must obtain development consent from the Minister for Environment, or alternatively must obtain approval for a property vegetation plan (PVP) that provides for the clearing. A PVP is a registered plan on title that sets out what areas of native vegetation can be cleared, which areas will be managed and the various conditions attached.
Under section 12 of the Native Vegetation Act 2003, the Minister is required to make publicly available on the internet:
(a) the Global Positioning System ( GPS ) coordinates of the location of land that is the subject of a development consent or PVP that provides for broadscale clearing
(b) a statement of the area (expressed in hectares) of land that is authorised to be cleared by the development consent or PVP concerned, and
(c) a statement of the area (expressed in hectares) of land that is land to which offsets apply under the PVP concerned and the GPS coordinates of the location of that land.
This register, entitled Public Register of Approved Clearing PVPs and Development Applications is available at the following link:
http://www.nativevegetation.nsw.gov.au/pams/PublicRegisterSearch.jsp
However, copies of PVPs and the conditions attached to them are not provided online. These can only be obtained through a Freedom of Information request.
2. Forestry
Commonwealth
A regional forest agreement is an agreement declared under the Regional Forests Agreement Act 2002 between the Federal Government and each state which sets out which forests should be reserved for conservation purposes and which are available for logging. These plans run for 20 years. There are currently 10 RFAs in four States: Western Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales.
These agreements exempt forestry activities from requiring approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
These agreements are available from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry website. This is found here: http://www.daff.gov.au/rfa/regions
NSW
Forestry on crown-timber land in NSW is regulated by the Forestry Act 1916 and the Forestry and National Park Estate Act 1998. The law that applies in a particular area depends on whether a NSW forestry agreement is in place. These are separate from Regional Forest Agreements.
Where no agreement exists, the Forestry Act 1916 applies. Where land is covered by a forestry agreement, the Forestry and National Park Estate Act 1998 applies in addition to the Forestry Act 1916. It is important to note that the Native Vegetation Act 2003 does not apply to state forests or crown-timber lands.
Where a forestry agreement exists
In areas where a forest agreement has been created, an Integrated Forestry Operations Approval (IFOA) is issued. This applies to all loggers in the area so they do not have to apply for individual licences. The IFOA set out the terms and conditions under which logging may occur in a State forest that is covered by a forest agreement. Currently, there are four Forest Agreements in NSW: Eden, Upper North East, Lower North East and Southern Region. Copies of these agreements and the corresponding IFOA can be found at the Resource and Conservation Assessment Council website:
Where no agreement exists
Logging in areas not covered by a forest agreement is regulated through individual licensing. There are three main types of licences required. Timber licences authorise the holder to take timber, often with conditions attached. Products licences authorise the holder to take forest products (non-timber) that are of economic value. Clearing licences permit the holder to destroy trees of no economic value, and to clear vegetation for agriculture.
These licences are not required to be made publicly available under the legislation and there is no online or hard copy service provided by the Department of Primary Industries. This means that the only way to obtain information on these licences is to put in a Freedom of Information request. See the EDO Factsheet on Access to Information for further detail on FOI requests:
http://www.edo.org.au/edonsw/site/factsh/fs10_3.php
Private native forestry
Like many other activities on private land, private native forestry operations are subject to the requirement for development consent under the EPA Act. The Native Vegetation Act 2003 makes it clear that to clear native vegetation ('broad-scale clearing') not covered by an exemption or exclusion under that Act, a proponent must obtain either Part 4 development consent under the EPA Act, to which the Minister for Environment is the consent authority, or alternatively must obtain approval for a property vegetation plan (PVP) that provides for the clearing.
A PVP is a registered plan on title that sets out what areas can be cleared, which areas will be managed and the various conditions attached. PVPs for the purpose of private native forestry are deemed to improve or maintain environmental outcomes if they adopt the PNF Code of Practice and if the PVP provides for clearing to be carried out in accordance with the codes. Currently there are four codes that apply to NSW; Northern NSW, Southern NSW, River Red Gum Forests and Cypress and Western Hardwood Forests. Forestry is regulated by the relevant code through Forest Operations Plans.
Recent amendments will make it mandatory for a PVP to be approved before any forestry operations commence on private land. Thus, there will no longer be the option of applying for development consent under Part 4 of the EPA Act. Previously, proponents had the choice of applying for development consent instead of a PVP. The consequence of this is that the PNF code will now apply to the vast majority of PNF operations in NSW.
The NSW Government keeps a public register of approved Private Native Forestry PVPs. This register provides information on the property locations and the PVP area in hectares. The register can be accessed here:
http://www.nativevegetation.nsw.gov.au/registry/pnf_pvp.shtml
Plantation Forestry
Plantations in NSW are managed under the Plantations and Reafforestation Act 1999. The Act applies to timber and non-timber plantations on State land and private land. A plantation is defined as "land on which the trees forming the canopy are predominantly ones that have been planted".
An application to establish a plantation must be made to the Minister for Primary Industries. This application must include a Plantation Plan. All plantations are subject to the Plantations and Reafforestation Code. The owner of a plantation must ensure that their operations are carried out in accordance with this code. The Code provides standards for the protection of biodiversity, water and heritage during the establishment, management and harvesting of plantations.
The Department of Primary Industries maintains a register of plantations. This register contains information on the area of plantations to be established, the areas to be cleared and the location of plantations. This register is accessible here:
http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/223311/Public-register-plantations.pdf