The Forestry Commission and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development's (DARD) Forest Service are seeking comments on the first Forestry Guidelines written specifically to help forest managers meet the challenges of climate change.
Climate change has been identified as one of the key elements of forest management in the revision of the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS). The UKFS, and its associated suite of Forestry Guidelines, are out to consultation. The suite of Forestry Guidelines includes the new Guidelines on Climate Change as well as guidelines on biodiversity, historic environment, landscape, people and soils. New Forests & Water Guidelines will be produced for consultation later this year. The Guidelines give more detail and explanation about how to meet the requirements of the UKFS.
Tim Rollinson, the Commission's Director-General, welcomed the Guidelines, saying they were a big step forward in helping forest managers meet the challenges of climate change. He explained,
"The climate is changing already, and substantial change is now inevitable. Because of the long timescales involved in forestry, UK forest planners and managers need to start responding to it now.
"Among the challenges that we expect the UK's forests will face are drier summers, wetter winters, and more frequent and severe droughts, floods and windstorms, with regional variations.
"We need to respond to climate change in two key ways. These are:
- by working to maximise forestry's contribution for mitigating climate change through the establishment and sustainable management of forests and the carbon sequestration that this provides, and the use of timber and woodfuel to substitute for non-renewable materials and energy; and
- by adapting forest management to ensure that our forests are resilient to the effects of climate change, and to help society and our environment adapt to the changes.
"Guidance on adapting to climate change is inevitably provisional because of the uncertainty associated with projections. However, there are actions that can be taken now to ensure forestry helps reduce the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions and to enhance the resilience of our woodlands to climate change and reduce risks of damage or loss. It is on these actions that this first edition of the Forests & Climate Change Guidelines is initially focussed, to help forest managers meet the challenges ahead.
"The Guidelines will be updated as our understanding of the science improves."
The Forests & Climate Change Guidelines cover a wide range of topics, including:
- selecting a range of species and origins of trees that are most likely to be suited to the future climate in the area being planted;
- using practices that minimise carbon losses from forest soils;
- developing contingency plans for wind storms, fire, and outbreaks of pests and diseases;
- promoting effective monitoring to help improve adaptation strategies; and
- woodland planting to aid flood alleviation and the cooling of towns and buildings; and
- improving the connections between woodland areas to allow plant and animal species to migrate if their habitat alters as the climate changes.
The draft Forests & Climate Change Guidelines can be downloaded from the Forestry Commission's website at www.forestry.gov.uk/ukfs. Hard copies are not being produced, but paper copies of the web-based document may be requested from Amanda Campbell, telephone 013 314 6368, or Heather Gordon on 0131 314 6329.
Comments on the draft should be sent to Amanda Campbell, Forestry Commission, Silvan House, 231 Corstorphine Road, Edinburgh EH12 7AT; email: amanda.campbell@forestry.gsi.gov.uk, to arrive no later than Friday 30th October 2009.
NOTES TO EDITOR:
1. The Forestry Commission has made action on forests and climate change its priority. It has:
- commissioned an assessment of the current state of knowledge and understanding of the interaction between forests and climate. The assessment panel is due to report in the summer;
- restructured its Forest Research agency into three research "centres", one of which is the Centre for Forestry & Climate Change. (For further information about this and the previous bullet point, see press releases "Forestry Commission to establish centre for forestry and climate change" and "New structure sharpens focus on climate change at Forest Research".);
- commissioned a video presentation on forests and climate change which has been translated into 12 languages and used by forestry organisations in many countries. The DVD can be viewed on www.forestry.gov.uk/climatechange;
- hosted two major conferences of scientists, policy makers and forest planners to explore ways in which the potential role of forests in mitigating climate change can be achieved; and
- working with the News of the World newspaper, launched a UK-wide campaign called "Seeds for Schools" to teach children about trees and their interactions with the climate. For further information visit www.seedsforschools.org.
2. The UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) is a statement of the UK approach to sustainable forest management, and sets out the environmental and other standards that forest management practices must achieve. It aims to ensure that forestry work complies with legal requirements and follows good practice, and sets out standards for eligibility for Forestry Commission grants, felling licences and forest planning approvals.
3. The Forestry Commission is the government department for forestry in Great Britain. For further information visit www.forestry.gov.uk. The government department for forestry in Northern Ireland is the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture & Rural Development of Northern Ireland (DARD). For further information visit www.forestserviceni.gov.uk or telephone 02890 524480.
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