THE collection of firewood is destroying Australia’s native forests and
putting bird species at risk, wildlife ecologists told a recent conference in
Victoria. But, with some alteration in government policy, wood use can easily be
made sustainable by using the waste from harvesting pine trees, establishing
eucalypt plantations, and building more efficient wood heaters.
The Victorian National Parks Association (VNPA) became concerned about the
effects on wildlife of using box ironbark for heating. So it convened the
conference in Bendigo on the future of firewood. The VNPA estimates that about
six million tonnes of ironbark is burned each year in…
