WWF Australia creates legal fund to fight projects threatening forests after black summer bushfires

Move comes after environment group identified six areas on east coast it says need more protection in wake of fires

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WWF Australia is setting up a legal fund for community groups to challenge development decisions in forests they say are under threat from land clearing in the aftermath of the 2019-20 bushfire disaster.

The funds will pay for legal firm the Environmental Defenders Office to represent communities in areas such as the south coast of New South Wales, where the destruction of habitat that could provide refuge to threatened wildlife has been fiercely contested since the black summer fires.