Assessing the risk to the conservation status of temperate rainforest from exposure to mining, commercial logging, and climate change: A Tasmanian case study

Only about half of Tasmania's temperate rainforests, including the UNESCO-listed Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, are fully protected from mining and commercial logging. While 90% of these rainforests lie within reserves, 43% remain vulnerable to logging or mining due to their reserve category. A legislative review further downgraded 66,012 hectares, reducing protection. Climate change poses additional threats, particularly through increased fire risk from lightning and arson, which could fragment intact rainforest blocks and undermine their ecological resilience. The study underscores the complexity of assessing reserve effectiveness, given overlapping governance systems and regulatory frameworks that can allow land-use activities even within protected areas.

Mackey, B., Cadman, S., Rogers, N., & Hugh, S. (2017). Assessing the risk to the conservation status of temperate rainforest from exposure to mining, commercial logging, and climate change: A Tasmanian case study. Biological Conservation, 215, 19–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2017.08.032