Conservation Council of Western Australia


The Conservation Council of Western Australia is the umbrella body for conservation groups and organisations in Western Australia. It has been the co-ordinator, publisher and guiding body for issues of woodchipping in the South West of Western Australia, the logging of old growth forests, as well as providing input into government processes involved with all aspects of environmental protection and conservation.
Its origins were closely related to the Perth-based - Environment Centre of W.A., and the development and success of the environmental movement also saw subsequent development of the regional environment centres in Denmark, Albany, Margaret River and Busselton.
In 1981 the council was involved in a class action regarding the mining in the jarrah forests in the United States against bauxite miners Reynolds and Alcoa, the complaint was lodged with U.S. Federal District Court in Pittsburgh, Pennsyilvania.
Notable member groups of the council have included the Campaign to Save Native Forests, South West Forests Defence Foundation, West Australian Forest Alliance, and Great Walk Networking. Smaller, more transient single-purpose protest groups have found the council a positive custodian and advocate over the thirty years of its activities. Some groups are no longer current but their impact on the process of conservation and preservation in Western Australia have been significant in raising public awareness of issues.

Affiliated groups

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The council created the Bessie Rischbieth Conservation Award to acknowledge the contribution of a volunteer in the community conservation sector in 1994.

Class action details

Jarrah class action legal complaint : the Conservation Council of Western Australia Inc. - v. - Aluminium Company of America and Reynolds Metals Co.,, Feb. 1981. : Conservation Council of W.A, 1981.