Climate change is now a major focus of forest policy in the UK. The forestry strategies for England, Scotland and Wales, and the Sustainable Development Strategy in Northern Ireland, set out the objectives for forest policy on climate change. These include carbon sequestration via tree planting and forest management, the production of wood fuel as a renewable energy source and the promotion of wood products as a substitute for more carbon intensive materials such cement and steel.
The UK Forestry Standard provides a comprehensive statement of the UK Government's approach to sustainable forest management. The existing standard was published in 2005 and is being revised, and will include for the first time, a Guideline for Forests and Climate Change.
The UK Woodland Assurance Standard (UKWAS) is a voluntary national standard of responsible forest management and is supported by forestry, environmental and social organisations and by the UK Government. It reflects the requirements of the governmental UK Forestry Standard and through this the guidelines adopted by European Forestry Ministers at Helsinki in 1993 and Lisbon in 1998.
