National Assessment of UK Forestry and Climate Change
The first National Assessment of UK Forestry and Climate Change was published on 25 November, 2009 at an event in London. The study, commissioned by the Forestry Commission, was undertaken by an independent panel of experts from a number of fields, led by former Vice President of the Royal Society, Professor Sir David Read. It assesses the evidence of the role of forests and woodlands in mitigating climate change, and analyses how they might be adapted to ensure that they continue to survive in our changing climate. It also provides vital evidence on the potential contribution that UK forestry can make to tackling climate change in the future, both through greenhouse gas abatement and by helping society to adapt to climate change. The study is considered to be the first national assessment of its kind in the world and is already attracting interest from other countries keen to form their own climate change plans and policies.
More about the assessment - News release - Secretary of State, the Rt Hon Hillary Benn's response.
UN Calls for deforestation summit
UN chief Ban Ki-moon has said that he plans to bring together leaders of the world's most forested nations, including Brazil and Indonesia, for a meeting on 22 September to discuss deforestation. The proposed meeting in New York would coincide with the UN summit on climate change reports AFP/Google news.
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.
Code of Good Practice for Forest Carbon Projects
The Forestry Commission has launched a UK-wide consultation inviting comments on a draft Code of Good Practice for Forest Carbon Projects. It has been drafted in response to growing interest in forest-based investment opportunities that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and thereby compensate for unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions such as those from fossil fuel use. However, many people and organisations are cautious about investing in this type of project because there are currently no uniform standards in place to provide assurance that they will actually deliver what they claim. The Code is designed to provide that assurance. The Code was drafted by the Forestry Commission on behalf of the UK forestry sector.
UK introduces a five point plan for climate change
The government has detailed its latest climate change projections and set out the building blocks of a "five point plan" designed both to reduce emissions at home and abroad and to protect and prepare for the changes that are already inevitable.
Investing in natural carbon storage
Boosting investments in the conservation, rehabilitation and management of the Earth's forests, peatlands, soils and other key ecosystems could deliver significant cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and avoid even more being released to the atmosphere, according to a new report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
The Bright prospect of Biochar
Could biochar prove to be a win, win, win opportunity to mitigate climate change and provide other benefits? This article in Nature (21 May) examines the pros and cons.
Climate change pack goes online.
We've put our new climate change information pack online. The pack draws together information from the Forestry Commission, Forest Research and other sources, to explain the role of trees, woods and forests in tackling climate change. The pack was produced for Forestry Commission staff but we think it will prove useful to anyone with an interest in learning more.
European Forest Policy Makers Discuss a Legally Binding Agreement
Members of the Ministerial Conference for the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE) meet in Oslo on 19/20 May to discuss the possibilities for a legally binding agreement.
UK's experience can help the world restore its forests, says top forester
Hard lessons learned in restoring some of the United Kingdom's long-lost forest cover over the past 100 years are being used to restore lost and degraded forests around the world, according to Britain's leading forester.
UK children put down roots to fight climate change
Millions of children from every school in the United Kingdom set about growing more than a million new trees in April 2009.
Their green-fingered efforts were part of an education project, Seeds for Schools, which highlighted forests' role in protecting the world from the effects of climate change.
The nation's 30,000 primary and secondary schools received packets of native tree seeds for cultivating and planting out. They were included in a special edition of the Royal Mail’s Teachers' Post newsletter highlighting the vital part that trees, woods and forests play in regulating the world's climate.
The Seeds For Schools initiative, first announced in February 2009, was spearheaded by the News of The World newspaper and the Forestry Commission, and supported by a number of high-profile partners such as Government Ministers and leading sports and television personalities.
