The Mid North Coast Greens have noted the extent and concentration of plantation forests in the Bellingen Shire's two main river valleys of the Bellinger and Kalang rivers, and adopted the following four-point resolution on forestry and plantation practices in the Shire:
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1. There is an urgent need for a thorough review of the role of forestry operations in local catchments, an assessment of its cumulative impacts, and harvest plans that respond to this assessment.
2. The Mid North Coast Greens strongly support the claims made by traditional owners for protection of song lines and Aboriginal heritage sites and places in local forests and oppose any logging operations that adversely impact on Aboriginal heritage.
3. The Mid North Coast Greens calls upon the state government to require Forestry Corporation to adopt a good neighbour policy that is respectful of the impacts of its logging operations on adjoining landowners and includes adequate setbacks from forestry operations to minimize the impact of logging on neighbours.
4. The MNC Greens commits to working with traditional owners, local communities, landowners, environmental groups and Forestry Corporation to assess the corporation's plantation operations for FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) certification, including close consideration of the cumulative environmental, social and heritage impacts of logging, with a moratorium on harvesting until FSC certification is achieved.
