Australia is losing its forests at such a dangerous rate, it is the only “developed” country on the list of global deforestation hotspots.

Deforestation fundamentally reduces biodiversity, damages ecosystems, destroys habitat and increases harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

Native forests are vital for water security — the quantity and quality of water — due to their role in filtration, reducing erosion, producing rainfall and maintaining healthy water flows.

Forests act as carbon sinks, drawing in significant amounts of carbon dioxide and mitigating climate change. Therefore, the fight to protect and expand forests is inseparable from the struggle to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.    

For First Nations people, forests are sites of deep cultural, historical and physical significance, and provide food and medicines. Since European colonisers arrived, First Nations people have resisted the destruction of their land, aiming to safeguard it for future generations.

Globally, forests under First Nations peoples’ stewardship, in countries such as Brazil, are being deforested at much lower rates than those without such protection. Crucially too, First Nations communities have regenerated previously deforested areas.

Governments at all levels have failed to protect native forests, instead enacting policies allowing their destruction. Australia ranks first in the world for mammal extinctions and second for biodiversity loss. 

Last year’s changes to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 closed some loopholes, such as those exempting native forest logging from federal environmental laws and allowing........

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