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Mountain Road Meets Exacting Environmental Standards

A mountain road crossing the southern face of Mt Baw Baw, being constructed by the Department of Sustainability and Environment, has met the requirements of an international environmental standard and received certification.

By Department of Primary Industries - 3rd July 2003 - Back to News

A mountain road crossing the southern face of Mt Baw Baw, being constructed by the Department of Sustainability and Environment, has met the requirements of an international environmental standard and received certification (IS0 14000) by the Joint Australia New Zealand Standards Committee .

This road is being constructed for the cartage of logs from the forest. When completed it will also provide convenient access from Erica/Rawson to the Baw Baw Ski village.

DSE’s project manager, Peter West said that the certification to IS0 14000 means a great deal to the team because the road is being constructed in steep, wet, mountainous and difficult country.

"It passes through mountain ash forest regenerated from the 1939 fires, and the flora, fauna and the water values of these forests are important to protect," he said.

A local Gippsland team of engineers, foresters, work crews and roading contractors worked together to develop the environmental management system. It identifies the potential impacts and risks associated with building a road in this terrain and identifies ways of overcoming them.

"The Joint Australia New Zealand Standards Council have adopted the International Organisation for Standardization Environmental Management System Standard (ISO 14001). This month our environmental management system was audited for compliance to this standard and was successfully accredited," Mr West said.

" Everyone involved in the project is very proud of this achievement and we are committed to using this milestone as a spur to better future improvements."

The certification provides valuable lessons that will help with the development of an environmental management system which will cover all forest operations by June 2005.

"Achieving certification for this road is the first step in a planned journey for the Forests Service which will see every aspect of DSE’s management of Victoria’s native forests independently assessed and certified to this standard," Mr West said.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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