05 / Solutions

Management strategies

All hope for our forests isn’t lost. Several management strategies can drastically reduce deforestation in Australia.

1. Creating more national parks

Creating more protected areas, such as the proposed Great Koala National Park, would preserve hundreds of thousands of hectares of forest, preventing further clearing, maintaining carbon sinks, and stopping the spread of harmful industries like beef farming.

Assessment:

Highly effective at preventing forest loss within protected boundaries, but limited because national parks only cover a small portion of forested land.

Map of the proposed Great Koala National Park on the New South Wales mid north coast, showing the reserves and state forests it would combine. — **Figure 06** Map of proposed Great Koala National Park

2. Silvopasture systems

Silvopasture; a sustainable farming system where livestock graze under trees instead of in cleared areas, reduces deforestation while improving soil health, maintaining carbon sinks, and increasing farm productivity.

Assessment:

Very effective at reducing clearing, but native animals would still be displaced, and ecosystems would still be partially disrupted.

Labelled diagram of a silvopasture system, showing livestock grazing beneath rows of trees and the benefits this brings to soil and shade. — **Figure 07** Diagram of silvopasture system

3. Brazil’s GPS cattle tracking system (international strategy)

Brazil is trialling a GPS tracking system that monitors cattle locations to ensure they are not grazing on illegally cleared land. This makes illegal clearing far more difficult.

Assessment:

Effective at stopping illegal deforestation, but costly to implement and does not prevent legal clearing.

Cattle grazing on cleared pasture in Brazil. — **Figure 08** Cattle grazing in Brazil