Logging on steep slopes in Victoria, Australia: the need for strengthened regulation

Legislation and codes of practice exist to manage forests for wood production, but effectiveness depends on compliance with regulations. We report on terrain analyses by the Office of the Conservation Regulator (OCR) to assess compliance with logging prescriptions in Victoria. The OCR concluded that logging was banned in water catchments on terrain greater than 30° in slope under prescriptions in force up to 2021. We compared assessments by the OCR of logging on slopes across the Upper Goulburn water supply protection area between 2007 and 2021, to our own analyses. Using Digital Elevation Models, we estimated that 57 to 99 per cent of logging coupes contained slopes greater than 30°. The OCR found that 93 per cent of coupes it assessed in the Upper Goulburn water supply protection area were likely to contain slopes greater than 30°, with 11 coupes featuring greater than 10 per cent of their net area exceeding 30° in slope. Our comparative analysis showed a significant correlation between our assessment and the assessment by the OCR. However, the OCR claimed that logging on slopes greater than 30° could not be substantiated despite its own assessment showing the contrary. The Victorian Auditor-General's Office concluded the OCR was not equipped to assess breaches of prescriptions and enforce regulations. Reforms are needed to improve Victorian forest management.