Cry of the Forests

WA’s unique south-west forests have stood for millennia and are a key part of one of the world’s top biodiversity hotspots, yet we are cutting them down at a rate of 10 football fields every single day. More than 80 per cent of the trees felled will be turned into woodchips, charcoal or firewood and burnt or decay within two years of being cut down. A successful battle to save WA’s old-growth forests in the 1990s led to a public perception that our forests had been protected but increasing pressures and continued logging and clearing are taking their toll.
Endangered animals like numbats, mainland quokkas and black cockatoos rely on the forests, but their habitats are shrinking. This film seeks to help audiences understand the intrinsic worth of these forests and their value for climate change mitigation, carbon storage, water, eco-tourism, cultural significance and industries like bee keeping. It asks whether woodchips, firewood and charcoal are appropriate uses for our forests.

The film seeks to start a statewide and national conversation about the real value of our native forests as carbon stores and for carbon sequestration. It puts the case for halting further logging of native forests; and for a speedy transition into agroforestry. It argues for greater protection of the northern jarrah forest from further clearing for bauxite mining and for greater action on dieback. This film aims to engage the public to act to help protect what is left of our majestic forests.

Short term: Audience is moved to act
Attitudes shift
Greater understanding and education about the value of forests in WA
Increased interest in the topic
Increased sign-ups for the campaign, petition signatures, postcard sign-ons
Engagement in the Forests for Climate campaign & donations
Public screenings of the film & conversations about the issue
Audience acts on the film’s 4 calls to action
Medium term: Forest protection becomes an issue in the March state election
The current moratorium on logging mature karri forests is extended beyond December 2020
All political parties articulate & discuss their forest policies
Increased interest by public in visiting & experiencing the forests
Long term: An end to all native forest logging
Logging industry transitions to agroforestry
Shift in values to greater awareness of the value of forests as carbon stores & sequestration
Action on dieback
An end to bauxite mining in native forests
Real action on climate change.

Cry of the Forests is a collaboration with partner’s WA Forest Alliance, an umbrella group for more than 20 groups working on forest protection in WA including the Conservation Council of WA, the largest environmental group in the state.
WAFA convenors acted as consultants in the production and development of the film.
Additional partners are also being approached for support in producing and distributing the film including the wider climate movement in WA, nationally and internationally and forest protection groups world-wide.
WAFA has helped develop and roll out the film’s social impact campaign to ensure it meets the community’s need for forest protection and a transition out of native forest logging.

It is hoped that viewers will fall in love with their forests all over again and feel a connection that will move them to act to protect what is left of these magnificent ecosystems. They will want to visit their forests and experience the wonder that is nature. This in turn will inspire them to act.
Viewers will be asked to take four actions after seeing the film. These will be outlined at public talks following larger screenings and via email. At larger screenings viewers will be given recycled paper leaflets explaining the campaign with four clear calls to action. These include engaging with the campaign via direct contact and/or through social media; writing to Ministers and MPs; signing up to join the campaign; and donating.
Viewers will help grow the conversation around the film and build the Forests for Climate campaign. The conversation will be relevant not only to WA but to native forest protection Australia wide and around the world.