Wales’ trees need you!

Wales has a target to create 4000 hectares of new woodland a year. But rural policies which disadvantage trees mean that substantially less than 1000 hectares have been planted in any year since 1989.

Now you can help to change that. The Welsh Government is consulting on proposals for rural support after Brexit, and numbers do matter.

It is vital that you respond to the consultation and ensure Welsh Government hears of widespread support to grow the trees we need.

How do I respond?

• Send an email to BrexitanTir.BrexitandOurLand@gov.wales
• The deadline is 30 October 2018, but don’t wait until the last day!
• Please let us know you have participated by cc’ing eleanor@confor.org.uk.

What should I say?

1. Tell your story: why will better support for productive woodlands be good for your business, for your local area, and for Wales?

2. Ask Welsh Government to implement policies to promote productive woodlands and forestry in Wales. In particular we suggest you ask that they:

• Ensure that support for productive woodlands are included in both the Economic Resilience and Public Goods schemes.
• Support integrated land uses combining both timber production and livestock farming.
• Ensure support for other land uses are ‘sense-checked’ to ensure they do not disadvantage landowners wishing to plant trees.
• Identify woodland priority areas, where risks are low and benefits high, and where the applications process for woodland creation can be accelerated.
• Provide funding for, and remove barriers to, woodland creation during the ‘transition period’, to ensure that the Welsh Government reaches its target of creating over 2000 hectares new woodland a year by 2020.

3. Confor has produced a range of reports and infographics which you might find useful to quote in making your case for better support for forestry in Wales. These include:

• Forestry in Wales: key facts and figures (Cymraeg).
• The private and public benefits of a 20 hectare farm forest in Wales.
• The carbon benefit of forestry and timber.
• Farm forestry: case studies on integrating forestry and livestock

 Who should respond?

Better support for establishing woodland will have multiple benefits for many stakeholders:

• Welsh woodland owners, struggling to access grants for woodland management or expansion;
• Welsh wood-processing sector, which has invested substantially in sawmills and wood processing to create jobs and add value to timber, but faces a severe lack of supply in coming years due to the lack of planting;
• Welsh farmers, prevented from integrating profitable timber production into their business by the lack of grants and difficult applications process;
• the Welsh public, who benefit from woodlands in carbon sequestration, air quality, public access away from livestock, enhanced biodiversity, and Welsh-grown timber products like ‘home-grown homes’.

To read the full consultation document and submit a more detailed response, visit the consultation page on the Welsh Government website.

If you have any questions, please contact Eleanor Harris, eleanor@confor.org.uk 0131 240 1410.