Rehabilitation Failure

Rehabilitation does not restore the Jarrah  forest after bauxite mining. Independent  studies now confirm this. It’s time to  end mining expansions and protect the  remaining forest for life.

The Northern Jarrah Forests are some of Earth’s  most beautiful yet vulnerable forests. They are home  to many unique plants and animals and tens of  thousands of years of Noongar heritage. Since 1963  the forests have been mined for bauxite, with Alcoa  and South32 already clearing over 32,000ha.

In the  next 15 years, massive proposed expansions will  threaten critical water supplies and air quality, impact  world-class trails and destroy over 10,000ha of forests  – vital carbon stores and habitat for threatened  wildlife.

Failed Rehabilitation

Independent scientists have given Alcoa only 2-stars  for its bauxite mine site rehabilitation in the Northern  Jarrah Forest (NJF).

This is well below the 5-star rating the company  and government agree is needed to restore a self sustaining forest ecosystem.

None of Alcoa’s rehabilitation has been signed off  by the WA Government as successfully completed  in 60 years of mining.

Compared to unmined forests, 20-year-old  rehabilitation has:

  • fewer plant species (less species richness)
  • a different species profile (altered species composition)
  • fewer functional traits for ecosystem processes  (less functional diversity)
  • more invasive species (more weeds)
  • Jarrah trees forking closer to the ground  (scrubbier appearance)
  • fewer Marri trees (important for fauna habitat and  ecological resilience).

South32’s rehabilitation efforts are no better.

The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) states  the success of South32’s rehabilitation is ‘yet to  be determined … as evidence of rehabilitation  performance have not been provided’.

Sold a lie

For decades, West Australians have been sold the lie  that rehabilitation is working.  

Limited metrics have been used for past  assessments, for example, species richness has  been measured, but not species composition or  functional diversity. Early results have been assumed  to be sustained over time, yet from 18 months to 25  years, Alcoa’s only measure of biodiversity more  than halved.

It cannot be done

Mining removes the very bauxitic substrate on which  the Jarrah forest ecosystem has evolved. Take this away and a Jarrah forest cannot be returned.

The scientific community is clear: it is not a lack of knowledge but a  lack of ecological fabric to create a Jarrah forest that is the issue.

Professor Kingsley Dixon

Take Action

Write to the Premier, the Ministers for Environment, Mines and Water and your local MPs to ensure the Cook Government knows that Western Australians want an end to the irreversible damage from mining forests for bauxite.

Tell the Premier and the Ministers for Environment, Water and Mines that their constituents want:

  • The EPA to provide strategic advice to the Minister for Environment on the pressures on the NJF and longterm management of the bioregion.
  • Alcoa’s mine expansions currently in front of the EPA rejected as rehabilitation of the NJF will never be successful and cannot be accepted as a mitigation measure.
  • The exemption that allows Alcoa to keep clearing whilst the EPA assesses their Mining Management Program should also be revoked.
  • A network of new protected areas to be created covering the remaining NJF.

Sources

Read our fact sheet on Alcoa’s rehabilitation failure

Burton, J., 2023. ‘Forest disappearing on its watch’: WA botanist blows whistle on mining rehab ‘slip.’ WAToday.

Campbell, T., Dixon, K.W., Bradshaw, S.D., Gann, G.D., Hartley, W., Lambers, H., Wardell-Johnson, G., 2024. Standards-based evaluation inform ecological restoration outcomes for a major mining activity in a global biodiversity hotspot. Restoration Ecology.

Jasper, D., Lalor, B., Banning, N., 2023. Alcoa Jarrah Forest Rehabilitation – Peer Review, Prepared for GHD (Alcoa Mining  Management Program 2023-2027, Appendix 6). Stantec.

Milne, P., 2023. Alcoa in WA: 60 years, 28,000 hectares of forest cleared, zero rehabilitation completed. WAToday.

Standish, R.J., Gove, A.D., Grigg, A.H., Daws, M.I., 2021. Beyond species richness and community composition: Using plant functional diversity to measure restoration success in jarrah forest. Applied Vegetation Science 26.

Walsh, D., 2024. Worsley Mine Expansion – Revised Proposal, South32 Worsley Alumina Pty Ltd (No. Report 1768). Environmental Protection Authority.

Young, E., 2024. World-first test gives Alcoa two stars for Australian environmental performance. WAToday.