Affiliation:
1. Environment Institute and Adelaide Law School, The University of Adelaide Ligertwood Building, North Terrace Adelaide SA 5005 Australia
2. The New Institute Hamburg Germany
3. School of Law, Queensland University of Technology Gardens Point Brisbane QLD 4000 Australia
4. School of Law, University of Tasmania Grosvenor Crescent Sandy Bay TAS 7005 Australia
Abstract
The native forestry industry is being reconsidered, or actively phased out, across most parts of Australia. This kind of transition has happened elsewhere in the world but, in Australia, there is no clarity from governments about what those forestry areas will become, from an ecological or legal perspective. In this research, we investigate the ecological, climatic, and governance contexts for this transition away from native forestry, placing our results in the context of the Global Biodiversity Framework's push to restore 30% of the Earth's land, coasts and oceans. We demonstrate important gaps in government planning for the future of former native forestry coupes, arguing that “after forestry” many of these places will need active intervention to recover these ecosystems and address historic land degradation. This case study combines legal analysis with a review of the restoration literature to illustrate the importance of the governance framework within which restoration science is evolving. We demonstrate the complexity of governing restoration at large scales as the climate changes, as well as potential opportunities to reconcile fragmented governance arrangements, to ensure that this transition results in resilient forest ecosystems in currently degraded areas.