A better future for our beloved Gippsland forests
Funding context
By introducing and resourcing the first Forests Dialogue program in Australia, Rendere is playing a lead role in bringing diverse groups of forest stakeholders together to learn from each other, build trust and implement collaborative and adaptive land management practices to protect Gippsland’s beloved forests.
Background and situational context
Since European settlement, Gippsland’s forests have been battered by widespread damage and destruction. Forests have been bulldozed, feral animals and weeds run rampant and now climate change is threatening the survival of our forests and the people, wildlife and industries that rely on them.
To meet these challenges, land managers from the private and public sectors must be mobilised and supported to utilise better land management practices. But, as in many places around the world, there is a long history of conflict and disagreement around the governance and management of our forests. These conflicts can seem insoluble, but there are ways forward. One way is Yale University’s Forest Dialogue – a proven landscape management initiative that has led to 20 major sustainable landscape management initiatives launched worldwide.
Local application
Rendere led the establishment of the Gippsland Forest Dialogue, which is being heralded as the single most important forestry initiative in Australia.
Several dialogues were held over 2022/23 with forestry management experts, academics, conservation experts and regional stakeholders. Several pilot projects are in the pipeline to test community forestry models in the Gippsland context and advocacy groups have been established to better speak for Gippsland’s forests.