The WA government is facing fresh questions over its plans to boost Perth\u2019s tree cover, with experts saying current funding will not come close to delivering on Labor\u2019s election promises.<\/p>\n
Prior to the state election, WA Labor promised to almost double Perth’s tree canopy from 16 to 30 per cent by 2040.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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A pre-election Facebook post from Roger Cook, spruiking a commitment to plant a million trees.\u00a0 (Facebook: Roger Cook)<\/p>\n
But in May it adopted a new approach to calculating canopy which now includes some rural areas, and this saw Perth\u2019s canopy figure jump to 22 per cent \u2013 meaning the new goal is an 8 per cent increase, rather than a 14 per cent jump.<\/p>\n
Western Australia’s Local Government Association (WALGA) was surprised by the sharp rise in urban canopy, given the city has lost nearly 5,000 trees to the polyphagous shot-hole borer in recent years.<\/p>\n
“It doesn’t matter what figure we announce or come up with, we are living in a city that’s urban canopy is a disgrace,” WALGA president Karen Chapple said.<\/p>\n
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WALGA state president Karen Chapple. (ABC News: Rhiannon Shine)<\/p>\n
Sarah Allchurch, co-founder of the Western Australian Tree Canopy Advocates (WATCA), was even more scathing.<\/p>\n
“When you start counting paddocks as urban canopy, you’re not measuring progress you’re actually hiding the problem,” she said.<\/p>\n
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Maps showing Perth’s urban tree canopy area in 2020 and 2024.\u00a0 (Supplied: WA government\u00a0)<\/p>\n
But Minister for Planning and Lands John Carey said the previous methodology was flawed because it wasn’t capturing rural areas that might be subject to future development.<\/p>\n
He said 30 per cent remained the state government’s “big, bold and ambitious” target.<\/p>\n
How these tiny forests could be the solution to our dwindling tree canopy problem<\/a><\/p>\n These pocket forests are grown using the Miyawaki method, created by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki in the 1970s, and their rapid maturation could be the solution to Perth’s shadeless suburbs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Labor also promised $16.9 million on programs and incentives that it said would help deliver one million new trees planted in metropolitan Perth by 2035.<\/p>\n This included a new household ‘tree-bate’ scheme which pays up to 10,000 people a year to plant a tree at home \u2014 so far 3,500 have taken it up.<\/p>\n The ABC understands the government has since been advised that the money may only result in around 130,000 new trees.<\/p>\n ‘Rolling program’<\/p>\n Minister Carey said there would be further policy announcements to come.<\/p>\n “I suspect you will see this is a rolling program,” he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Loading…<\/p>\n Of all the Australian capital cities, Perth has the lowest tree canopy \u2014 shade that can lower temperatures by several degrees Celsius on days of extreme heat.<\/p>\n It can also improve people’s health and property prices, reduce energy costs and support biodiversity.<\/p>\n Trees can boost health, increase property prices and reduce energy costs. (ABC News: Rhiannon Shine)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n