Question On Notice No. 2864 asked in the Legislative Council on 12 March 2020 by Hon Diane Evers
Question Directed to the: Minister for Environment
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
Tabled Paper No: 3853-
View tabled paper
Question
I refer to the Regional Forest Agreement, and I ask:
(a) will the Minister please table a map showing the current Comprehensive Adequate and Representative areas (CARs) in the Southwest;
(b) if no to (a), why not;
(c) have any changes to CARs been made in the past 10 years; and
(d) if yes to (c), please provide details, including the reasons for any changes.?
Answered on 12 May 2020
(a) See tabled paper no #.
This map depicts the extent of the comprehensive, adequate and representative (CAR) reserve system as at 30 June 2018, as updated through the process to extend the Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) for the south-west of WA. This map is available online at page 47 of the document titled “2019 Western Australian RFA variation PDF” available from the Commonwealth Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment website at agriculture.gov.au/forestry/policies/rfa/regions/wa.
(b) Not applicable.
(c) Yes.
(d) The CAR reserve system comprises gazetted reserves, formal reserves proposed under the Forest Management Plan 2014-2023, and CAR informal reserves. Changes to components of the CAR reserve system have progressively arisen during the Regional Forest Agreement 1999-2019. Overall, there has been a substantial increase in the extent of the CAR reserve system, with 203,000 hectares added between 1999 and 2009 and a further 38,000 hectares added up to mid-2018. Changes arise from:
- the inclusion of new formal reserves proposed under forest and other area management plans, such as the creation of new national parks arising out of the old-growth forest policy;
- inclusion of new informal reserves, such as river and stream zones;
- land acquisitions;
- ongoing minor refinement of mapped boundaries of formal reserves and State forest; and
- variations to the informal reserves due to refined mapping of ecological features.