Briefing Paper for the House of Lords debate on ... - VisitWoods.org.uk

<strong>Briefing</strong> <strong>Paper</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>House</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Lords</strong> <strong>debate</strong> on halting <strong>the</strong> decline inbiodiversity in <strong>the</strong> UK, 28 July 2010As a signatory to <strong>the</strong> Convention on Biological Diversity, <strong>the</strong> UK Government is required to createand en<strong>for</strong>ce national strategies and action plans to conserve, protect and enhance biologicaldiversity. The UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) includes a range <strong>of</strong> targets pertaining to woodland –see <strong>the</strong> appendix <strong>for</strong> a table detailing targets and <strong>the</strong>ir delivery – <strong>of</strong> which <strong>the</strong>re is concern thatdelivery has been inadequate in relation to <strong>the</strong> following points:• Expanding <strong>the</strong> current native woodland resource.• Maintaining <strong>the</strong> extent <strong>of</strong> ancient semi-natural woodland (ASNW), which <strong>the</strong> UK Biodiversity ActionPlan identifies as <strong>the</strong> richest habitat <strong>for</strong> wildlife – supporting more than twice as many species <strong>of</strong>conservation concern than any o<strong>the</strong>r habitat.• Restoring non-native plantations on ancient woodland sites (PAWS) to native woodland.Woodland creationCreating new woods and planting trees is not a luxury but essential if <strong>the</strong> UK is to achieve itsaspiration <strong>of</strong> increasing biological diversity and halting wildlife loss. Native woodland creation alsodelivers on many o<strong>the</strong>r policy agendas such as climate change mitigation and adaptation, aidingproductive agriculture, improving public health – both physical and mental – and shaping placeswhere people want to live, work and spend <strong>the</strong>ir leisure time. At a time <strong>of</strong> enormous pressure on<strong>the</strong> public finances woods and trees are not an optional luxury, but instead <strong>of</strong>fer genuine value <strong>for</strong>money because <strong>the</strong>y can deliver on so many <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Coalition government’s aspirationssimultaneously.In recognition <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> importance <strong>of</strong> native woodland creation <strong>the</strong> BAP committed <strong>the</strong> UK to creating83,555ha <strong>of</strong> new woodland by 2010 and 134,559ha by 2015. So far 51,616ha has been createdmeaning that <strong>the</strong> UK is going to miss its 2010 target and will need to dramatically increase <strong>the</strong>planting rates <strong>of</strong> broadleaved species if it is to achieve <strong>the</strong> aim <strong>of</strong> planting 134, 559ha by 2015.At a country level <strong>the</strong> figures paint a more disturbing picture as <strong>the</strong> distribution <strong>of</strong> new planting isheavily skewed towards Scotland where 42,919ha was achieved against a target <strong>of</strong> 53,955ha.England is per<strong>for</strong>ming <strong>the</strong> worst against its target having created a mere 6,789ha compared to <strong>the</strong>target <strong>of</strong> 26,000ha, whilst Wales and Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Ireland are falling short by half.Moreover, <strong>the</strong>re is concern that <strong>the</strong> targets are not being monitored properly as ForestryCommission’s figures <strong>for</strong> new planting are split between conifer and broadleaved species, but fail tomeasure whe<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong>y are native. As an objective <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> BAP is to increase native woodland cover<strong>the</strong>re needs to be a robust reporting mechanism to ensure that new planting is being recorded asei<strong>the</strong>r native or non-native. Without this dataset <strong>the</strong> accuracy <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> figures could be questioned.1

Appendix: Biodiversity Action Plan targets, <strong>the</strong>ir delivery and newplanting in <strong>the</strong> UKUK BAP target Delivery Woodland Trust deliveryMaintain <strong>the</strong> current extent and At present <strong>the</strong> statutory agencies The Trust established a ‘Woodsdistribution <strong>of</strong> ancient seminaturalincluding <strong>the</strong> Forestry Commission Under Threat’ team in 2001. Fromwoodland (ASNW), whichqualifies as native woodland in <strong>the</strong>UK, (no change in <strong>the</strong> existing area<strong>of</strong> 403,000ha).(FC) have no system in place tomonitor loss.2001-2010, at least 207ha <strong>of</strong>ancient woodland were lost. Atleast 400ha <strong>of</strong> ASNW across 282woods are currently threatened bydevelopment.Restore 26,880ha <strong>of</strong> non-nativeplantations on ancient woodlandsites (PAWS) to native woodland in<strong>the</strong> UK by 2010 and 50,300ha by2015.Expand <strong>the</strong> current nativewoodland resource in <strong>the</strong> UK by83,555ha (2005-2010) and by134,559ha (2005-2015). This targetincludes creation <strong>of</strong> new nativewoodland through naturalregeneration and planting, as wellas conversion <strong>of</strong> non-nativeplantations to native woodlandwhere <strong>the</strong>y are not situated onancient woodland sites.FC is making progress on its ownestate. However <strong>the</strong>re aredifficulties in regard to reportingon progress by <strong>the</strong> private sectoras <strong>the</strong> FC cannot collate grant orfelling license in<strong>for</strong>mation. WhenFC last reported in 2008, 5,442hahad been restored in England,Scotland and Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Ireland andrestoration <strong>of</strong> 4,233ha wasunderway in Wales.The latest figures on <strong>the</strong>Biodiversity Action ReportingSystem (BARS) are <strong>for</strong> 2005-2008and state that 51,616ha had beendelivered. At country level itprovides a more disturbing picture(2005-10 targets in brackets):England: 6,798ha (26,000ha)N Ireland: 286ha (400ha)Scotland: 42,919ha (53,955ha)Wales: 1,613ha (3,200ha)Forestry Commission’s annualForestry Statistics only report newplanting <strong>of</strong> conifer andbroadleaved not native woodland(www.<strong>for</strong>estry.gov.uk/statistics).Annual planting rates are inserious decline (see chart below).The total area <strong>of</strong> new plantingbetween 2005-2010 – includingnon-native plantations – is38,200ha.From 2005-2010, <strong>the</strong> Trust hasbrought 9,631ha <strong>of</strong> PAWS into aprocess <strong>of</strong> restoration, both on ourown estate and as a direct result <strong>of</strong>outreach work.In <strong>the</strong> period 2005-2010 <strong>the</strong> Trustcreated 3,979ha <strong>of</strong> new nativewoodland on our own land and asa direct result <strong>of</strong> outreach work.3

40000New planting in <strong>the</strong> UK350003000025000Hectares200001500010000500002005-062006-072007-082008-092009-10TotalConifer 1100 2100 900 1200 500 5800Broadleaved 7600 8500 6700 4700 4800 32300Total 8700 10700 7500 5900 5400 38200For fur<strong>the</strong>r in<strong>for</strong>mation on <strong>the</strong> Trust’s parliamentary work please contact ei<strong>the</strong>r James Cooper or LeeBruce on: + 44 (01476) 581 111 or leebruce@woodlandtrust.org.uk . You can also visit our websiteat: www.woodlandtrust.org.uk4