MATURE TREES BETTER THAN BEING CHOPPED

WHILE the sale of forest plantations in the Otways may provide some benefit by way of jobs, please spare us from any suggestion that there is an environmental benefit (Otway trees in $134m sale, GA, 13/5).

The claim is made that the new partnership will make a major contribution to MEAG moving towards zero emissions by 2050.

Aside from the fact that the best science now says we need to reach that target much sooner, growing trees and cutting them down only makes things worse.

Trees store carbon while they grow, but it’s nearly all released when they are cut and turned into wood chips.

The processing and transport results in significant emissions and, from an environmental perspective, much more would be gained if forests were left to mature. Please spare us the green washing.

Peter Cook, Point Lonsdale