MS, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet
Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs: On 28th November
I attended the first meeting of the newly established UK Tree
Planting Taskforce, chaired by UK Forestry Minister, , with Ministers from all four
UK nations as well as representatives from the Woodland Trust,
the Confederation of Forestry Industries.
The Taskforce, which will be chaired in rotation by Ministers
from each UK nation, will strengthen collaborative working across
the UK to improve tree planting and ensure the long-term survival
of woodland, ensuring their benefits for future
generations. Although trees and forestry are devolved
matters, we all face some shared challenges. This forum provides
an opportunity to work together, share good practice, and solve
common issues in support of our tree planting targets and
tackling the climate emergency.
In Wales, we are purposefully supporting a wide range of tree
planting and woodland creation to achieve multiple benefits, from
trees adding value to farm businesses, to woodland which will
provide valuable new habitat and mitigate the impacts of
flooding, and all of it locking up carbon from the atmosphere.
With around 90% of our land in Wales used for agriculture,
farmers have a vital role in helping us achieve our tree planting
targets and we must work in partnership with the farming
community to achieve this. This is why the Sustainable
Farming Scheme outline, which I published on 25th November
includes support in every layer of the scheme to enable farmers
to create trees and hedges on their land as an integral part of
their farm business. By removing the original proposal for
10% tree cover on every farm and instead having scheme-level
targets for tree planting and hedges we will enable farmers to
choose the actions they take in a way which will support their
individual objectives, whilst also making essential progress
towards addressing the climate and nature emergencies.
Creating green jobs and growth in our rural communities is a key
priority for this Government. A prosperous trees and forestry
sector alongside a thriving agricultural sector is crucial to
this. Trees, and the timber they produce, have a key role to play
in the environmental and economic future of Wales. The benefits
of building with timber are being ever more widely recognised,
creating sustainable homes which contribute to climate change
mitigation by capturing carbon within buildings for their
lifetime. There is real potential for Wales to increase and
add-value to our use of timber, supporting innovation and
developing skills in this renewable land-based sector. We
will be publishing a consultation on a Timber Industrial Strategy
for Wales in the new year, along with a Skills Plan which will
set out clear actions to improve and expand forestry and timber
sector skills in Wales.
The benefits of trees and woodland for communities and
individuals are also fundamental to the health and wellbeing of
everyone in Wales. Our National Forest for Wales is supporting
many different types of woodland, including small community
focussed woodlands as well as large productive forests. We
now have 55 sites in the National Forest, covering some 3600
hectares. This is in addition to 26 blocks from the Welsh
Government Woodland Estate, bringing the total area of land in
the National Forest to over 68,000 hectares. We will
continue to grow the National Forest the length and breadth of
Wales and are looking to test a landscape scale approach as well
as developing a National Forest Trail.
Ancient Woodlands are an irreplaceable natural resource with
significant landscape, biodiversity and cultural value.
They face multiple threats, both direct and indirect and action
is required across a range of different policy areas. I am fully
committed to their protection and will be publishing our approach
to strengthening their protection in the New Year in line with
our Programme for Government commitment.
During the Taskforce meeting I was both inspired by the
achievements of other UK nations and also proud of the progress
we have made here. I believe the importance of this work in
Wales can only be enhanced by working collaboratively with other
nations in the UK as part of this new Tree Planting Taskforce.
This statement is being issued during recess to keep Members
informed. Should Members wish me to make a further statement or
to answer questions on this when the Senedd returns I would be
happy to do so.
