The Forest Wars: The ugly truth about what's happening in our tall forests

(Paperback)

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Since colonisation, Australians have been frantically logging our native forests as if our lives depended on it. Our lives do depend on the forests-but on keeping them, not destroying them.

World-leading forest expert Professor David Lindenmayer exposes the unsettling truth about what is happening in our tall eucalypt forests. Despite what we are told, logging makes bushfires worse for decades after the chainsaws stop, and kills iconic animals and birds each year in droves, driving many species closer to extinction. The trees that are logged mostly end up as paper and cardboard. And it's not profitable: taxpayers are funding it.

Lindenmayer reveals an unholy alliance between state forestry, the timber industry and unions. Loggers routinely breach regulations, and industry intimidates anyone who questions what they are doing. Worse still, even where native forest logging is supposedly ending, efforts are being made to continue it under a different name.

Forests purify our drinking water. Forests are our best hope to reduce carbon emissions. Forests preserve biodiversity. It's time we realised the value of leaving our native forests standing.

'In the face of all the lies and industry spin, an evidence-based account that's clear, humane, and trustworthy.' - Tim Winton

'The Forest Wars details the devastating impact of decades of failed policy, but also paints a compelling vision for what the future of our forests can be.' - David Pocock

'A call to action for better forest management and a push to protect the benefits that native forests provide to humans and wildlife alike.' - Jon Dee


'The Forest Wars is a sickening eye-opener. A must-read for anyone interested in forest protection, its documentation of deceit, perfidy and destruction by those involved in the logging industry should spark a royal commission.' - Tim Flannery

'With calm authority born of a lifetime's research and experience in the field, Lindenmayer fillets Australia's often-confusing forest debate, busting myth after myth...' - Paddy Manning

Author Bio

Professor David Lindenmayer AO is a world-leading expert on forest conservation. Winner of the Macfarlane Burnet Medal, he is ranked among Australia's top 50 scientists. Based at The Australian National University, he has led some of the largest scale environmental research programs in Australia for over four decades. He is the author of 49 books on forests, including The Great Forest.