Tasmania's Largest Temperate Rainforest Faces Contested Future

The Tarkine, the vast wilderness area in Tasmania's northwest covering more than 447,000 hectares, contains the largest temperate rainforest in the southern hemisphere and supports ecosystems of extraordinary biological value, including habitat for the Tasmanian devil, spotted-tail quoll, and the rare and endemic species that have evolved in Tasmania's long isolation. The area's significance has been recognised through its inclusion in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area in recent extensions, though the full Tarkine was not included in the Heritage Area and the question of what protection it should receive has been debated politically for decades.

The tension between conservation and resource extraction in the Tarkine reflects the broader challenge of managing a resource-rich wilderness in a state whose economy has historically depended on the extraction of natural resources. Mining operations within and adjacent to the Tarkine, including the Savage River iron ore mine and copper mining in the Pieman River catchment, have operated alongside proposals for expanded mining that conservation groups have consistently opposed on the grounds that the ecosystem values at risk are irreplaceable.

Tourism in the Tarkine has been identified as an alternative economic use compatible with wilderness values, with the Arthur-Pieman Conservation Area providing the managed access that allows visitor experience without the ecosystem damage that unmanaged access and extractive industries create. The Arthur River and the coastal wilderness of the Sandy Cape provide self-directed wilderness experiences that attract visitors seeking genuine remoteness.

The Aboriginal cultural significance of the Tarkine adds a dimension to the conservation debate that goes beyond ecological values. Aboriginal Tasmanians have used the Tarkine for tens of thousands of years, and the density of shell middens, rock art, and other cultural sites within the area provides evidence of continuous occupation that makes the Tarkine one of Australia's most significant Aboriginal cultural landscapes.