RESTORING, OUR FAITH IN THE FUTURE

Tim Rollinson, Director-General of the Forestry Commission, was talking about the United Kingdom when he said this at the Forest Landscape Restoration Workshop in Petropolis, Brazil on April 4, 2005, but the message was equally true for every delegate attending the workshop.

Mr Rollinson was representing the Forestry Commission - a partner in the Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration - at the workshop, and went on to add:

"The UK's natural forests were systematically removed over many thousands of years. So much so that, by the early 20th century, our forests covered no more than five per cent of our land area.

"In the past 80 years, however, we have more than doubled that forest area, and set about restoring those forest resources to meet future demands. A priority in the early years was to create forests to meet our needs for timber, but now our forests are being transformed."

"Today the Forestry Commission manages more than one million hectares of public land in some of the UK's most beautiful places, and the forests are hugely popular.

"The Forestry Commission is the single biggest provider of public access and countryside recreation. Kielder, for example, plays host to around half a million visitors every year. It is also home to an amazing array of flora and fauna, and the Commission balances the needs of people and animals by looking after the forest while still sustainably producing timber.

"We admit we have made mistakes in the past, but we have learned many lessons as we have gradually restored our forest resources. We are now in the position to give something back to the land and the people, and our aim is to manage our forests as an exemplar of sustainable development."

1. The Forestry Commission of Great Britain is one of the founding partners, with WWF and IUCN, of the Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration. The partnership works with governments, international organisations and NGOs to learn from the shared experiences of those involved in restoring forest resources around the world.
2. The partnership will be reporting to the world's forestry ministers at the United Nations Forum of Forests in May 2005.