Tasmanian bushfires 'worst crisis in decades' for world heritage forests

Conservationists express fears for ancient, slow-growing species of native pine in high-altitude areas where fire is not a natural part of the ecology

Fires burning across Tasmania are producing the worst crisis the world heritage forests there have faced in decades, says a long-term conservationist from the area.

Geoff Law, formerly a conservationist at the Wilderness Society, told Guardian Australia: "In my opinion - and I've been working on these issues since 1981 - it's the gravest crisis the world heritage area has faced in that time."