about jarrah

For hundreds of thousands of years the only jarrah forest in the world has been evolving in the south-west corner of Western Australia.

This unique forest ecosystem, called ‘jarrah’ after the major tree species Eucalyptus marginata, has thrived in adversity: growing on infertile, often salt-laden soils, adapting to annual drought, and coping with occasional wildfire. At the time of European occupation there were about 3.9 million hectares of jarrah forest and woodland, extending from north of Perth to the south coast.

Beneath the canopy of giant trees, which often includes other tree species such as marri (Corymbia calophylla) and wandoo (E. wandoo), a wondrous profusion of wildflowers, birds and mammals has flourished in ecosystems of great diversity, complexity and interdependence. There are about 1200 species of vascular plants found in the jarrah forest, 29 mammal species, 45 reptile species, 17 frog species, 4 fish species and 150 bird species.

Looked after for more than 40,000 years by the Nyoongar Aboriginal people of the south-west, this forest achieved a grandeur which can rarely be seen today. In the 170 years since European colonisation, about half of the original jarrah forest has been destroyed, mostly for agriculture. Much of what remains has been heavily exploited and continues to be degraded. It is hard now to find areas of jarrah forest which resemble the forests we took upon colonisation: forests full of giant, straight-trunked trees 800-1000 years old.

Faced with the prospect of continued logging and mining (mainly for bauxite), too-frequent burning, soil nutrient loss and salinisation, the spread of dieback and other introduced pests and diseases, climate change, more roads, powerlines, and dams, and the numerous other forms of human use and intervention, we must ask: can our remaining jarrah forests survive as rich, dynamic and diverse ecosystems?

Not only have the myriad values once offered by the jarrah forest been seriously diminished; the entire jarrah forest ecosystem is at risk. And yet forest management authorities, industry bodies and politicians still encourage further destruction, and still treat each impact and ‘development’ in isolation.

What Needs To Happen?

When existing reserves and the current WA government’s planned additions to the conservation reserve system are taken together, about 45% of all remaining jarrah forest will be protected in nature conservation reserves. This is inadequate if the jarrah forest and its plants and animals are to survive into the future, especially because of the likely impacts of climate change.

For the first time ever in the brief but destructive history of non-Aboriginal occupation, the conservation needs of the jarrah forest must be placed first, not last.

As with all of Australia’s remaining native forests, the highest priority must now be given to strategies for the rapid removal of all forms of resource extraction from those forests onto alternative resources. Our forests have been treated as cheap and expendable for too long.

Accordingly, the WA Forest Alliance believes the following steps must be taken to ensure the long-term survival of the jarrah forest:

• Immediate identification of all remaining ‘high conservation value’ (HCV) jarrah forest. HCV forest includes: remaining old growth (or ‘virgin’) and negligibly disturbed forest; forest with significant wilderness values; dieback-free forest; forest areas of particular scenic, scientific, biological or cultural value; forest important as refuges for rare and endangered species, and for habitat and water protection.

• Detailed re-assessment of the sustainable management of the remaining jarrah forest areas with a commitment to finding alternatives to the ongoing exploitation of these forests. Where alternatives are not yet available, carefully developed ecologically-based management plans must be implemented.