The Greens (WA) are calling for the WA Labor government to amend prescribed burning programs to exclude tingle forests, after a prescribed burn earlier this year felled almost 100 of the rare trees found nowhere else on earth.
The Greens (WA) Forest spokesperson Jess Beckerling MLC said the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions prescribed burning program was having a catastrophic impact on the fragile tingle forest ecosystems of the Southwest.
"Hundreds of tingle trees were burned in the Giants Forest near Walpole last year and now - after months of asking by conservation groups, the media and the Greens - it has finally been confirmed that 95 irreplaceable red tingle trees were felled during that burn.
"This is absolutely devastating; it is time for DBCA to acknowledge that prescribed burning in mature tingle forest is doing far more harm than good and to commit to a major overhaul of burning practices to protect biodiversity and improve fire mitigation outcomes."
"The Noongar people who protected these forests for tens of thousands of years never burnt tingle forests like this because they are not adapted to be resilient to fire.
"On top of that, over the last 25 years the red tingle forests have lost about 200mm of average rainfall as a result of our warming and drying climate, putting even further pressure on this fragile ecosystem.
"We must exclude fire from tingle forests."
