Visit many areas of state forest in parts of Victoria and you might get a shock – the forest isn’t there.

It used to be there — logged four, five, six or ten years ago — and once stood as tall, straight trees, sometimes more than 50 metres high. Now, no longer. The forest has failed to regenerate after being logged by former Victorian Government agency, VicForests.

The photo below is far from an isolated case. Our extensive analyses of the main wood production region in Victoria — the Central Highlands — show that more than 8000 hectares of logged forest has not been properly regenerated. Alarmingly, the area of failed regeneration has been increasing over the past decade. More and more logged areas no longer support trees where they once did.

Forests that have not regenerated after logging represent a clear form of deforestation. Deforestation is a major global issue driving both escalating climate change and biodiversity loss. This is why Australia signed international agreements to both halt........

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