Beyond Logging: The Need for Victoria’s State Forests to Contribute to Australia’s 30 × 30 Protection Target

In recognition of the declining state of biodiversity, the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, signed in late 2022, committed countries to the protection of 30% of the Earth’s terrestrial and inland water areas and coastal and marine areas by 2030. Australia has committed to this target at a national level. The majority of public protected areas (e.g., national parks) in Australia are designated and managed by state and territory governments. The state of Victoria in southeastern Australia has a long history of regional assessments of public land to balance conservation (such as the declaration of protected areas), production of natural resources (e.g., timber harvesting, mineral extraction), and recreation, amongst other uses. The decision to phase out native forest timber harvesting on public land in Victoria presents the greatest opportunity in the state’s history to meet its statewide commitments, national commitments, and international targets, by establishing a comprehensive, adequate, and representative protected area system. We critique Victoria’s reliance on non-binding protections, such as Special Protection Zones in state forests over recent decades, and outline the principles and rationale for the expansion of the protected area system in state forests, recognizing that protected areas are part of a broader suite of future land uses for these public forests.