Joyce Watson AM: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I want to just
highlight in terms of woodland that 15 per cent of land cover in
Wales is the coverage of woodland, against the 37 per cent that is
the EU average. So, therefore, to catch up we would have to have an
extra 22 per cent land coverage of woodland. And I just put that
there, because you've given lots of answers. But there is also
another factor in all of this. The UK...Request free trial
AM: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I want to
just highlight in terms of woodland that 15 per cent of
land cover in Wales is the coverage of woodland, against
the 37 per cent that is the EU average. So, therefore, to
catch up we would have to have an extra 22 per cent land
coverage of woodland. And I just put that there, because
you've given lots of answers. But there is also another
factor in all of this. The UK Government's advisory board
have suggested that the grassland that is used for animal
grazing might be reduced by 25 per cent by 2050 to help cut
carbon emissions, and we all know that producing red meat
really does increase the carbon emissions on so many levels
that, really, we have to question what we are doing. And
that is in terms of everybody playing their part, as you
said in your statement. And I did call for a plant-based
choice on school meals just the other week. So, maybe, you
know, we can start looking at balancing these things. I'm
not a vegetarian, I'm not a vegan, and, yes, I do myself
eat red meat, but I eat less of it now and that's the point
I'm trying to make.
The other thing I think that we could really look at: under
the future generations and well-being Act, we have a duty not
to create a consequence on another country. So, when we're
looking—and I mean us as governments and public bodies more
widely—sourcing materials, whether that's for the desks we're
leaning on or the chairs we're sitting on, we should make
sure that they're coming from sustainable forestry, and that
we're not importing and helping to create a problem for
somebody else. That is writ large in that future generations
and well-being Act—that we don't create harm somewhere else.
My final point here is: you may be aware that there's a
campaign going on at the moment to try and save Trecadwgan
farm in Solva for the public. The council own this particular
smallholding and there will be lots of smallholdings owned by
other councils across Wales. Again, I ask you if you will
look at advising local authorities, and being advised
ourselves, that if we're thinking of disposing of any land,
we need to think about handing it back, first of all, to the
community, when actually it's owned by the community in the
first place. Because the council or any public body doesn't
actually own anything; it's the ratepayer who owns it, and
the ratepayer should have the first option of trying to do
something productive with it.
AM (Minister for
Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs):...You mentioned
woodland, and new planting has been shown to give considerable
gains in carbon sequestration, which is why we have now committed
to planting 2,000 hectares a year from 2020 to 2030. We've also
linked our Glastir woodland creation support to the woodland
carbon code. There's a really significant piece of research being
undertaken by Cambridge university at the moment to investigate
technological solutions to challenges related to climate change,
and that focuses on what a positive role woodland can play.
Certainly, whilst I appreciate it can take a long time for trees
to mature—and this is a conversation I've had with farmers, who
sometimes are reluctant to plant more trees because they know
that piece of land will be tied up for many, many years. You
might be aware the National Farmers Union has actually said
they'll be carbon-neutral by 2040, which is incredibly ambitious,
so I think the agricultural sector is very very keen and take
their role very seriously. Obviously, we can look at this as part
of our post-Brexit sustainable land management policy.
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