Critical role for forestry industry as Wales heads for joined-up land management

Monday 13 February 2012

The forestry sector has a critical role to play in a new way of managing the Welsh countryside. Welsh Government is setting up a single body to develop an Ecosystem Approach to management of natural resources, bringing together social, economic and environmental values.

Forestry has the biggest single function within the independent organisation - made up of Forestry Commission Wales, Environment Agency Wales and CCW.

“It is absolutely vital that we have even handedness across these three strands of land management if the new body is to work properly,” Wales Forest Business Partnership chair Andrew Bronwin told a meeting of 100 representatives of the Welsh timber sector.

Delegates meet at Newtown

The meeting, on Thursday 9 February at Newtown, coincided with the launch of the Welsh Government’s official consultation document – ‘Natural Resources Wales’.

“Already our industry is delivering on important European wide agreements on sustainable land management such as One Planet One Wales, producing more Welsh grown timber, adding extra value locally and promoting local employment.

“And we can do even more if we are given the right context to do so, we do need sensible legislation and real stakeholder involvement while timber supply and continuity of public ownership have to be ensured to enable the industry, which pumps £840 million a year into the Welsh economy and supports 18,500 jobs, to prosper and grow,” he said.

At the meeting, organised by the Wales Forest Business Partnership and Confor, the sector heard the new body would put in place simpler systems, links with local communities, positive land use change, and a simpler regulatory system with sustainable development embedded into all policies.

Delegates were also told that a commitment to the Wales Woodland Strategy - which includes timber production - has been won from Welsh Environment Minister John Griffiths.

“We met with the Minister in the New Year to explain how vitally important to Wales our industry is to the country,” said Kath McNulty, Confor national manager for Wales.

“It seems that Welsh Government has been listening to the forestry sector, certainly the focus on environment and habitat appears to be opening out into the economic benefits of managing our countryside effectively as well.

“And we were given an assurance that Mr Griffiths fully supports the Wales Woodland Strategy, which includes a commitment to maintaining timber production and promoting this valuable renewable resource.”

“Welsh Government has decided to proceed with the merger of FCW into a single body and as an industry we need to make sure this new body will be up to the job,” she said.

“Consultations run from February to April and responses will without doubt influence the shape of the new body. It is vital as many forestry businesses as possible submit informed responses,” she added.

Industry leaders say that the forests and woodlands of Wales are already some of the best managed in the world and that well managed forestry has an integral role in the ecosystem approach to Wales’ environment.

Welsh forests help with flood control and improving water quality. Biodiversity across the 15 per cent of the Welsh landscape covered by forests in Wales is far higher than on agricultural land.

Trees play a vital role in locking away carbon, and the use of the timber they produce in building and construction can lock away that carbon for generations. Woodlands also help support jobs in recreation and tourism, education and training.

“But at the heart of our industry is the ability to deliver a truly renewable building material that can help Welsh Government achieve its objectives on housing and a sustainable carbon neutral energy source that is good for the environment and for rural Welsh economies,” said Ms McNulty.

Industry leaders fear that the new body will mean increased bureaucracy and red tape, more regulations, a loss of confidence from outside investors and a reduction in timber supply from the public sector.

Contact:
Andrew Bronwin, WFBP - Tel 0845 347 9372
Kath McNulty – Confor – Tel 01286 871874
Guy Pargeter, Taliesin Communications – Tel 01970 832375

Editor’s note:
Ecosystem Approach
The ecosystem approach is a strategy for the integrated management of land, water and living resources that promotes conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way. Application of the ecosystem approach will help to reach a balance of the three objectives of the Convention. It is based on the application of appropriate scientific methodologies focused on levels of biological organisation which encompass the essential processes, functions and interactions among organisms and their environment. It recognises that humans, with their cultural diversity, are an integral component of ecosystems.

Single Body The Welsh Government embarked on the Single Body programme, reviewing the functions of the Environment Agency Wales (EAW), Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) and Forestry Commission Wales (FCW) as well as some of its own functions after a statement in January 2010 by the then Environment Minister, that Wales’ natural environment demanded more integrated ways of working, including the provision of ecosystem services. A shadow body is expected to be in place by late summer/autumn and formal establishment in April 2013.
Wales Forest Business Partnership. Wales Forest Business Partnership (WFBP) is a voluntary grouping of businesses and other organisations across the forestry sector which has been established to meet this objective. Its members believe that collaborative activities undertaken by the Partnership will strengthen the competitiveness of their businesses and the forestry sector as a whole.
The Confederation of Forest Industries (UK) Ltd (Confor) Confor: promoting forestry and wood is a membership organisation that promotes sustainable forestry and low-carbon businesses. Confor represents and supports members by helping build the market for wood and forest products, creating a supportive policy environment, and helping members to become more competitive and successful.
www.confor.org.uk