THE SWIFT PARROT PROTECTION PLAN

With possibly just 750 individuals in the wild the Swift Parrot is on the edge of extinction. Current policies are failing to protect its habitat and a new management framework is desperately needed. This report outlines a new Swift Parrot Protection Plan, a management framework that will protect important breeding habitat on public forests that are currently managed for logging.

Photo Credit - Tim Cooper
Cover Photo (above) Credit - Steve Pearce

The critically endangered Swift Parrot has experienced a dramatic decrease in numbers in recent years, with recent population estimates suggesting that only 750 individuals remain in the wild. The species has a high likelihood of extinction within the next decade.

The primary factor leading to the Swift Parrot's decline is the continued logging of its breeding habitat in Tasmania. There has been a systemic failure by the Tasmanian Government to protect the Swift Parrot’s habitat from logging. Policies introduced to protect the species are weak and often not enforced and the Tasmanian Government has repeatedly ignored expert advice when it comes to the logging of habitat. This has led to the destruction of thousands of hectares of important habitat.

The Tasmanian Government has just introduced a new Swift Parrot policy called the Public Authority Management Agreement (PAMA). The Tasmanian Government has routinely claimed that 9,300 ha of land will be protected from logging under the PAMA.

Photo Credit - Tim Cooper

IS THE PAMA A VIABLE SOLUTION?

No, the reality is that 69% of the PAMA is already excluded from logging as it is currently reserved or not commercially viable to log. This means that in reality only 2,900 ha of Swift Parrot habitat is being protected from logging under this dodgy plan.

This report proposes the implementation of the Swift Parrot Protection Plan, a management policy that will adequately protect important breeding habitat on public forests that are managed for logging. The Plan has been developed with significant input from Swift Parrot scientists, who have provided leading scientific advice to the Tasmanian Government over the last 20 years.

Only 7% of public forests currently available for logging would need to be protected in order to implement the Swift Parrot Protection Plan. This Plan will ensure that there is no loss of current habitat on public land and additional forests will be set aside to provide future habitat.

This Swift Parrot Protection Plan could easily be implemented by reducing or removing the logging quota which is set by the Tasmanian Resources Minister. The board of the state-run logging agency, Sustainable Timber Tasmania, has previously recommended that the quota be dropped by 30% in order to improve its financial viability. This request was ignored by the Tasmanian Government. Implementing this recommendation of a reduced logging quota would accommodate the Swift Parrot Protection Plan and would provide adequate, long-term protection for the species.

Photo Credit - Steve Pearce

Photo Credit - David Adam

Urgent action is needed to protect the Swift Parrot’s habitat. The Swift Parrot Protection Plan, as developed by scientists and experts, will help to save this critically endangered species. It’s not too late to prevent the Swift Parrot from becoming another one of Australia’s extinct species.  

Photo Credit - Tim Cooper