urban forest

State Parliament’s Environment Resources and Development Committee has been looking into the state of Adelaide’s tree canopy in the context of the concerns about the effect of residential subdivisions, urban infill and higher density living on the declining tree canopy in metropolitan Adelaide.

A Conservation Council report estimates that 75,000 trees a year are being lost from Greater Adelaide. A 2018 study estimated that 23% of metro Adelaide is covered by trees, with 52% being on private land, 26% on State government land and 11% on local government land.

A recent Conservation Council study estimated that Adelaide is losing about 75,000 trees a year. We submit that this is due to a range of factors including population growth, housing densification policy, life-style changes, a failure of the planning system to reserve space around built structures for vegetation and trees, weak legislative protection for existing trees, commercial development and powerline clearance. Government must encourage Council policies and tree species selection.