Planned cellulose factory puts Tasmanian Devil at risk of extinction
Since 30.09.09 1212 people have participated in this protest action.
Threatened with extinction: Tasmanian Devil
The Gunns timber products corporation plans to build a huge paper mill in Bell Bay, in the north of Australia‘s southern island state Tasmania. The factory building and machinery are to be supplied by the Austrian firm Andritz. What Andritz appears not to know is that Gunns is not unknown to Tasmania. The company has already razed large swathes of the island‘s old growth forests. Only 20% of the original forests are left. The involvement of Andritz adds to their endangerment. A sticker on a truck reveals a lot about the attitude of the timber industry: “Earth first, we‘ll log the other planets later”.
The giant plant would devour four million tonnes of timber a year. It would be the third-largest of its kind worldwide. Environmentalists estimate that 200,000 hectares of forest would be razed for this in the coming two decades. The pristine wilderness with eucalypts up to a thousand years old and 100 metres high is to be replaced by industrial eucalyptus plantations. Activists warn that, as in the past, napalm would be used to destroy forest. The razing of the species-rich rain forests of the island could finally seal the fate of the Tasmanian Devil, already endangered by a mysterious disease that is increasingly decimating the population. The Tasmanians fear for their emblem which after the extermination of the Tasmanian Tiger (thylacine) is the largest carnivorous marsupial.
The dispute about the Gunns plant is right at the top of the current Australian environment agenda, with several court actions against it in progress. Australia‘s “Wilderness Society” warns that the operation of the cellulose factory would greatly damage tourism and fisheries. The organisation says the forest razing and the operation of the factory would emit about 10 million tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere every year; every day some 64,000 cubic metres of effluent water would be discharged into the Tamar River and the sea.
Based in Graz, Andritz sees no reason to stop its involvement. Austrian newspapers quote the company dismissing the statements of environment activists as “laughable and questionable”. The firm cites the long examination of the project. It responded evasively to specific accusations such as clearing with napalm: This couldn‘t be assessed from a distance. The fact that Andritz aren‘t particularly interested in environmental issues is also shown by their activities in Turkey, where it is the only company still involved in the plans for the controversial Ilisu dam in the southeast.
Because razing forests is a loss-making business, firms involved secure themselves with subsidies and export insurances provided by the government. Environment activists say for the Gunns project Andritz has been guaranteed 500 million euros by the Austrian Control Bank, a specialised institution owned by Austrian commercial banks which helps Austrian industry to compete in the global marketplace.
The bank touts its subscription to the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) and the United Nations Global Compact for businesses committed to aligning their operations and strategies with human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. “Together with all our employees, working group members and partners we reach to implement our visions of sustainability in collaboration with our stakeholders in a credible and comprehensive manner,” the bank writes on its website.
