GIPPSLAND FOREST DIALOGUE
A more sustainable future for our forests? Let’s talk about it.
Orbost Forest Dialogue (24-25 March)
YOUR FORESTS. YOUR FUTURE
The Gippsland Forest Dialogue brings people from diverse backgrounds and sectors together to talk about how our beloved forests can be managed in a more sustainable way for current and future generations.
Based on a tried and tested international model, the Dialogue is purposefully designed to build trust and give participants the confidence to have brave and open conversations that will ultimately start to articulate how we can protect the future of our forests for our children.
In this model, everyone gets to have a say, with the only prerequisite being a commitment to change.
The Dialogue is committed to multi-stakeholder engagement and enabling Traditional Owners, the local community, conservation and forestry experts and others to explore difficult forest and land use issues and find collaborative solutions and positive change.
https://youtu.be/gPFKRngIAT0
Gippsland Forest Dialogue is a non-governmental, incorporated body made up primarily of Gippslanders from across the region who have a range of business, community, education and environmental skills and who are concerned about the future of Gippsland’s forests.
Initial advisory group members.
THE FORESTS DIALOGUE INTERNATIONAL
Established in 2000, The Forests Dialogue has since conducted over 80 dialogues in 36 countries with more than 3,000 stakeholders. The outcomes have been profound, with more than 20 major initiatives launched as a result and enduring relationships built across the world.
The Gippsland Forest Dialogue is proud to be the first Australian region to join the movement.
INAUGURAL MEETING
The first Gippsland Forest Dialogue was held in Rawson, Gippsland, between 10-13 November 2022, with 20 forestry management experts, academics, conservation experts and other regional stakeholders in attendance. To give Dialogue participants a baseline understanding of the elements that influence and shape the forests, a scoping paper was prepared showing six intertwined elements that need to be addressed: climate change, fire, cultural landscapes, water, industry and biodiversity.
During the Dialogue, participants were encouraged to look across the landscape at all forest tenures from state forests to national parks, plantations to farm trees and private land conservation. Insights from the Dialogue are currently being analysed in preparation for the next Gippsland Forest Dialogue, scheduled for March/April 2023.
