State investment in forests vital for wellbeing
Panel must 'bust myth' and shout about
nature's value
The Independent
Forestry Panel must bust the Treasury myth about the Public Forest
Estate and shout about the value of nature.
As the Forestry Panel launches its interim
report today, The Wildlife Trusts look to the Panel to explain to
the Government the true value of our woodlands and to 'bust the
myth' that the Public Forest Estate is a burden on the state.
"If the Budget recognised the full
range and scale of benefits our natural environment provided there
would be no question of the Treasury pressing for forest sales, or
reducing the investment it made in the Public Forest Estate.
We have to bust this myth once and for all," said Paul
Wilkinson, Head of Living Landscape for The Wildlife Trusts.
The net annual cost to the Treasury of
Forest Enterprise, the arm of Forestry Commission England that
manages the PFE, is under £20m. Yet the expenditure on just
one of the road schemes announced last week in the Autumn Statement
(A453 widening between Nottingham, the M1 and East Midlands
Airport) is £160m. You could have eight times the Public
Forest Estate and all its public benefits for the price of just one
road scheme.
The UK National Ecosystem Assessment
report, issued in June, highlights the hidden value of nature,
worth billions of pounds to the UK economy. It estimates the
value of social and environmental benefits of woodland in the UK
alone as £1.2 billion per annum.
"The costs to Society of not investing
in our woods and forests as part of our natural environment and
well-being far outweigh the comparatively small costs to the
Treasury of doing so. These places provide substantial
physical and mental health benefits, a natural means to counter
flooding and important wildlife habitats, Paul continues.
"Just as we cannot be separated from
nature, so forestry cannot be separated from the future of our
natural environment as a whole. Many of us are deprived of
the sights and sounds of nature in our day-to-day lives and
opportunities to explore wildlife-rich places. Our woodlands
must play their part in an equally rich network of other habitats
such as gardens and parks, meadows, wetlands and moorland.
And some places, dark pine plantations should be opened up to give
way to more diverse and wildlife-rich habitat1.
Paul concludes: "The Wildlife
Trusts, through its submissions, have pressed the Panel to
articulate the numerous and substantial benefits drawn from our
woodlands. Enhancing wildlife is not a luxury for our nation
- it is an essential. Woodlands are just one part of a bigger
picture: England's nature. Taking the right approach to
England's public forest estate could help us to redress the vast
declines in wildlife during the twentieth century."
Contact
information:
Anna Guthrie (Media & PR Manager)
Office: 01636 670075
Mobile: 07887 754659
Email: aguthrie@wildlifetrusts.org
Tanya Perdikou (Media & Campaigns
Officer),
Office: 01636 670057
Mobile 07887 754657
Email: tperdikou@wildlifetrusts.org
For further information on the Independent
Panel on Forestry, please click here
Notes for editors:
1Making
Space for Nature, The Lawton Review report
The Lawton Review report 'Making Space for
Nature' recommended that: 'Public bodies owning land which
includes components of England's current or future ecological
network should do more to realise its potential, in line with their
biodiversity duty. Further, before disposal of any public
land, the impact on the ecological network should be fully
evaluated. Where such land is identified as having high
wildlife value (existing or potential) it should not be disposed of
unless its wildlife value is secured for the future.'
The Independent Panel on
Forestry
The Independent Forestry Panel was
established on 17 March 2011 by the Secretary of State, Caroline
Spelman, to advise government on the future direction of forestry
and woodland policy in England. The Panel is chaired by the
Right Reverend James Jones, Bishop of Liverpool, and members have
wide experience, knowledge and interests in the economic, social
and environmental aspects of forestry and woodlands. The
Panel will make its final report in spring 2012. Stephanie
Hilborne OBE, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts, sits on the
Panel in a personal capacity.
The Wildlife Trusts' involvement
with Woodland Management
The Wildlife Trusts manage more than 16,000
hectares of woodland in England and work in partnership with the
Forestry Commission (FC) throughout the country.
The Wildlife Trusts' approach to
considering forests and woodlands
Decisions about wooded land need to be taken as a part of a
coherent strategy for the country's natural environment. Our
forests are an important element of what needs to become a
resilient ecological network across England. This is true
whether forests are in public, private or voluntary sector
ownership. Land in public ownership offers the Government a
key opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to securing nature's
recovery - as sought in the 2010 Lawton Review.
There is great potential for the Public
Forest Estate to contribute to the large-scale habitat restoration
sought in the Natural Environment White Paper. Currently an
estimated 60,000 hectares of the Public Forest Estate in England
consists of habitats such as ancient woodlands or heathlands that
have been damaged by inappropriate coniferous plantations.
The Wildlife Trusts believe these habitats need to be restored
sensitively to improve their value to wildlife. Wildlife
Trusts throughout England work in close partnership with the
Forestry Commission to restore such habitats as well as to develop
the value of other woodlands for people and wildlife.
The Wildlife Trusts (TWT) wildlifetrusts.org
There are 47 individual Wildlife Trusts
covering the whole of the UK. All are working for an
environment rich in wildlife for everyone. We have more than
800,000 members including 150,000 members of our junior branch Wildlife Watch.
Our vision is to create A Living
Landscape and secure Living
Seas. We manage around 2,300 nature reserves and every
year we advise thousands of landowners and organisations on how to
manage their land for wildlife. We also run marine conservation
projects around the UK, collecting vital data on the state of our
seas and celebrating our amazing marine wildlife. Every year
we work with thousands of schools and our nature reserves and
visitor centres receive millions of visitors. Each Wildlife
Trust is working within its local communities to inspire people
about the future of their area: their own Living Landscapes and
Living Seas.