Defra’s long-awaited consultation on
the Government Tree
Strategy for England has been
published.
Commenting on the report, CLA President
Mark Bridgeman said: “We welcome Government’s plans
to plant 30,000 hectares of trees per year in the UK by
2025.
“Delivering this ambition will require a long-term
plan for ramping up the whole woodland economy in England,
including investment in the nursery stocks, skills and
infrastructure needed to increase planting in the years ahead.
This is a great opportunity, which should be seized as part of a
sustainable economic recovery plan. As well as providing timber
and wood products, forestry and woodlands deliver a range of
public benefits depending on location and type, including locking
up carbon, biodiversity, water regulation and health and
well-being.
“In recent decades, the grants and incentives for
woodland creation have simply not been sufficient to overcome the
barriers to new planting. As a result, UK woodland creation has
averaged around 10,000 hectares annually for the past 15 years,
but most of this has been in Scotland. Only 1,400ha was planted
in England in 2019, so it’s imperative we up our
game.”
Mr Bridgeman added:
“For smaller-scale planting and woodland maintenance,
Defra’s Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS) is an
opportunity to get this right - properly designed it can provide
incentives that actually deliver more trees and woodland on
farms.
“Ultimately, Government should work with farmers and
land managers to ensure the right trees are planted in the right
place, whilst ensuring the right support is provided to develop a
woodland economy that will create new markets and rural jobs and
help with the ‘Green recovery’ post Covid-19.”
