The Government has been told that it won’t achieve its goals on
tree planting - key to achieving the UK’s net zero, biodiversity
and nature recovery objectives – unless it puts a comprehensive
plan in place to support greater planting.
The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee is also calling
on ministers to seize the opportunity to expand domestic tree
production, the forestry sector workforce and to increase the
amount of domestic timber used in UK building and
construction.
In a new report, Tree Planting, the Committee recommends
more comprehensive annual planting targets, better finance
schemes and more accurate mapping if the government is to achieve
its aim of creating 30,000 hectares of new woodland every year in
the UK by 2025.
Setting annual targets for England’s contribution to the target
would provide certainty to the sector, says the report. Current
performance indicates a rapid increase in planting rates would be
required to reach the UK target but the government has not set a
clear goal for England’s contribution, which will probably
require trebling its planting rate by 2024. This would require a
‘steep climb’, say MPs.
Planting ‘the right tree in the right place’ will be critical to
the Government’s net zero, nature recovery and biodiversity
goals. Today’s report calls on Defra, the Forest Commission and
Natural England to set out a plan for completing the detailed
mapping work required to ensure trees are planted in beneficial
locations. Government must help local authorities to manage
competing priorities for land use by producing more comprehensive
guidance on creating Local Nature Recovery
Strategies.
Planting trees must be economically viable. The report calls on
Defra to publish and invite comments on the modelling which
underpins new incentive regimes, to offer financial certainty to
kickstart planting. The Committee believes Government has missed
an opportunity to change the model for woodland management and
recommends a review of the length of the maintenance payment to
bridge a potential ten year gap between the end of subsidies and
start of income generation from tree planting.
A key barrier to England’s tree planting ambitions will be the
lack of a sufficiently skilled workforce. The Committee calls on
Defra to establish a dedicated taskforce including the Department
for Education, the Forestry Commission and training providers to
deliver a clear plan to recruit at least 300 new recruits into
woodland creation roles. The Committee expects this taskforce to
report back by October 2022.
The Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Committee, ,
said:
“Government really must get its act together. As it stands,
this plan does not even have annual targets for the number of
hectares of new woodland to be planted in England. Meanwhile,
the Committee heard that the UK imported more than 80
per cent of the wood it used in 2020. We should aim to
meet all the UK’s planting needs from domestically grown
trees.
“We welcome the government’s ambition for woodland creation,
but crucial details are still missing - including the types of
trees to plant, the land they will be planted on and the finance
for these projects.
“Expecting landowners to forge ahead without more support is
simply not realistic. Government must demonstrate its
working to demonstrate how tree planting is economically
viable. If we want tree planting to pay for itself,
clear incentives for action are required - both in Government
subsidies for planting, and from timber sales.
“Farmers and growers need certainty to plan ahead. There is a
troubling lack of clarity about Government plans – how, what and
who will deliver England’s tree planting ambitions. The UK’s
commitment net zero, biodiversity and nature recovery are
essential to the health of our plant andfuture
generations, we must make sure they are delivered.”
The report is being published on International Day of Forests,
March 21. This is a day identified by the United Nations General
Assembly to celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of
all types of forests.
