Victorian Forest Alliance
“The Victorian Forest Alliance is incredibly grateful to have this opportunity to receive a grant from Groundswell. This critical funding will allow the VFA to build upon the foundations of our work over the past year, engaging meaningfully with Victorians on the importance of protecting and restoring Victoria's natural carbon sinks. It will allow us to continue empowering people passionate about Victoria’s forests and climate action, to engage with decision makers on the importance of emissions reductions, and the opportunity for significant emissions cuts from ending native forest logging.”
The Victorian Forest Alliance is working closely with member communities and First Nations people to end native forest logging immediately in order to preserve forests as natural carbon sinks.
Native forest logging in Victoria produces significant greenhouse gas emissions, generating around 3 million tonnes of carbon (CO2e) each year. The recent announcements by Victoria’s state government to achieve net zero by 2045 and a 75-80% emissions reduction target by 2035 presents an opportunity to leverage the latest findings of the carbon report to drive down emissions. Protecting forests is a low-cost, effective and immediate way to achieve both emissions reduction and to absorb carbon from the atmosphere.
Through the continued work of the alliance to protect and restore the state's greatest carbon sink asset, VFA will:
Host engaging events and community actions highlighting the emissions produced by native forest logging and communicating the science-based arguments for the protection of forest carbon-sinks;
Continue to run a strong social media campaign and work with journalists to produce public media stories connecting emissions reduction to immediate forest protection;
Empower people passionate about Victoria’s forests and climate action to engage with decision makers on the importance of emissions reductions, and the opportunity for significant emissions cuts from ending native forest logging, and;
Improve government policies and bring forward the end date of logging to 2024, protecting critical carbon sinks for climate.
By facilitating interaction, collaboration and shared resourcing between environment groups to support the protection and restoration of native forests in Victoria, VFA are increasing public awareness of how preserving and restoring native forests addresses the consequences of extractive industries and protects instead a state asset, natural carbon sinks.
VFA will ensure that the measures proposed to protect and restore the ecological integrity of native forests are grounded in science and First Nations led knowledge, for climate, biodiversity and First Nations justice. If people are activated in the forest movement to engage in climate campaigning by drawing attention to the emissions produced by native forest logging, identifying the opportunity of immediate emissions reduction by ending native forest logging, then new voices will be brought into the climate movement to advocate for the Victorian state government to fill gaps in the emissions reductions plans, and create pressure to protect forest carbon sinks.