‘Revive dying woodlands industry,’ says hard-hitting CLA report

The CLA today (3 June) published a ground-breaking report defining its vision for the forests and woods of England and Wales.

Seeing the Wood for the Trees: CLA Forestry and Woodland Vision and Policy calls on the Government to give the kiss of life to forestry management.

 

In the report, the rural economy experts say the Government must:

 

• VALUE the huge contribution woods and forests make to the landscape, biodiversity and water and carbon management,
• UNDERSTAND that tree planting and effective woodland management are legitimate ways of carbon-offsetting, and
• ACCEPT that growing trees is an industry and needs to be financially viable.

 

The report - which was launched today at the CLA's London headquarters - spells out the CLA's vision for forestry and woodlands for 2050, starkly warning: "If woodland management does not become profitable, it will die."

 

CLA President Henry Aubrey-Fletcher said: "Now is the time for forestry and woodland. The potential is enormous and largely unrealised.

 

"In England we currently harvest less than 40 percent of the volume of timber that grows in the woods each year – squandering this valuable and sustainable resource.

 

"And less than one percent of the value of timber is returned to the grower who sells it. That's the lowest in Europe and just one tenth of what foresters get in Finland."

 

He said that for the UK to meet its latest carbon emissions targets it is vital to use all the tools available - including timber from productively managed woodlands for material substitution and renewable energy but, currently, these activities are not priorities.

 

The CLA President said: "In England and Wales between 2003 and 2008, new planting almost halved, falling from 5,100 hectares a year to 2,800 hectares a year.

 

"And between 1998 and 2008, the number of sawmills processing home-grown timber in the UK fell from 341 to 211 – a drop of around 40 percent.

 

"Meanwhile, forestry and woodlands are over-regulated by Government, and out-of-control deer and grey squirrel populations have wreaked havoc."

 

The report's Executive Summary adds: "If woodland is under-managed, it can make no financial return to its owners, conservation work cannot take place, and climate change mitigation will be held back. Government needs to grasp and reverse this spiral of decline."

 

Huw Irranca-Davies, Defra Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, said: "I recognise that for many years the CLA and its members have played a vital role as custodians of a large proportion of England's trees and woodlands... A long term commitment to trees, woodland and forestry is something we both share and I am pleased to see that your vision and our policy as set out in "A Strategy for England's Trees, Woods and Forests' (ETWF)" are not that far apart.

 

"We both recognise that sustainability, including being financially sustainable, is fundamental to achieving a vibrant forestry sector."

 

Jim Paice, Shadow Conservative Defra Minister responsible for forestry said: "The Conservatives fully support attempts to raise the profile of the forestry industry and the role it can play both economically and in the fight against climate change. Seeing the Wood for the Trees is an important contribution to the debate."

 

  

CLA MEDIA CONTACTS:

 

For further information, interviews and a PDF of the final report, contact:

 

Oliver Wilson, Director of Communications, 020 7460 7936 or 07702 928828, ollie.wilson@cla.org.uk,

 

 

Phillippa Coates, Press Officer, 020 7460 7934, phillippa.coates@cla.org.uk

 

Out of hours: 020 7201 9511.

 

 

NOTES TO EDITORS:

 

1.       Executive Summary of the CLA report Seeing the Wood for  the Trees: CLA Forestry and Woodland Vision and Policy

 

In this report the CLA lays out its vision of what the forests and woodlands of England and Wales should be like in just over 40 years' time.

 

It is a vision of trees valued by all, mitigating climate change, producing biomass for fuel, and, where pragmatic, usurping concrete, brick and steel as building materials. It is also a vision of forest managers as carbon traders, and of greater public and private investment going into the planting of trees, and of timber production delivering eco-system services.

 

How could this ideal become a reality? For a start, Government needs to value the contribution forestry and woodland make to the landscape, biodiversity, and

water and carbon management. It should understand the role that trees could play in mitigating climate change. Government must learn that tree planting and

effective woodland management are legitimate ways of carbon-offsetting, and that growing trees is an industry and needs to be financially viable.

 

What is certain is that if woodland management does not become profitable, it will die. There is already a decline in skilled staff in forestry and a lack of job opportunities. And if woodland is under-managed, it can make no financial return to its owners, conservation work cannot take place, and climate change mitigation will be held back. Government needs to grasp and reverse this spiral of decline. Woodland could offer a wonderful range of environmental services if only a market could be developed to make this financially viable for owners. The woodfuel market for heat should also be encouraged by Government by providing incentives for the installation of boilers and support for the wood fuel supply chain.

 

For the CLA's vision to come true, the regulations governing forestry and woodland management must be reviewed by Government. Presently they are geared up to curbing excessive cutting and deforestation. Yet the greatest threat to woodland and its biodiversity is a lack of thinning and management.

 

Finally, Government needs to recognise the important role that country pursuits, such as shooting, play in the financial success of woodland and the overall

conservation of wildlife. It must accept that the size of populations of species such as the grey squirrel and deer should be managed for the good of woodland

and wildlife alike.

 

The CLA will work vigorously in partnership with other woodland bodies to persuade Government to help landowners to deliver this bold vision for the forestry and woodlands of England and Wales.