Making sure that the conditions stay in place without requiring lots of intervention by government resulting in a long-term increase in the rate of woodland creation.
What do we need to change about the conditions at the moment?
Compared to current conditions we need:
- An increase in the extent to which private investment rather than Government grants incentivise woodland creation.
- More woods that are created and managed as parts of financially viable land-based businesses.
- A reduction in the regulatory burden without allowing unacceptable risks of environmental damage.
- To link the private finance up to the land for woodland creation, we need to focus on making it easier for people with land for woodland creation and people with money for woodland creation to get together: “market transparency”.
- Government grants and motivations other than financial will still have a role.
What are we doing about it with this project?
Bringing together the findings from the other five Woodland Carbon Task Force projects in order to decide the final outputs. We are also evaluating the impact of the programme and communicating our work.
For further information about the project, please refer to the Project Initiation Document.
Key project outputs |
Date expected |
Further information |
Evaluation plan |
June 2011 |
We have developed an indicator framework with several indicators relevant to woodland creation. |
Communications activity |
Continuous |
We're planning to get some social media going to facilitate sharing of ideas |
Document setting out what we need to do to enable business, landowners, civil society and communities to achieve a step-change in the rate of woodland creation, an "enabling framework" |
September 2011 |
We have produced a document called "Enabling society to protect, improve and expand England's woodland resource: a framework for our work". This we share with those working with us. |
Help build a closer, more productive, working relationship between the woodland and the farming sectors so that the target audience (landowners) have a clearer understanding of how woodlands can help them deliver key objectives (including woodfuel, clean water, shelter, biodiversity) and boost the profitability of their farm business leading to increased levels of woodland creation. |
March 2014 |
- Working with the Woodland Trust on a set of "Trees for Farms" brochures for England which will include case studies - currently organising and attending meetings with landowners that have been identified using woodland creation grant data from England database. - Have met with the Soil Association, Woodland Trust, and the CLA to discuss potential ways to work together to promote woodland creation to landowners - Individual communications with woodland officers in the SW and NWE over woodland creation; opportunities, barriers, meetings with landowners
|
A "carbon dating tool" to make it easier for investors and landowners to share opportunities.
|
March 2014 |
- Met with UK Carbon Reporting Framework who are interested in putting a proposal forward for including woodlands on the framework http://www.ukcarbonreporting.org/ - Attended webinar by Markit Registry who have submitted a proposal to the FC http://www.markit.com/en/products/registry/markit-environmental-registry.page?/ |
A set of case studies of landowners who have opted for woodland creation because it suits them. |
March 2014 | |
Revision of our Woodland Creation Grants. |
March 2012 |
|
The woodland creation "uplift calculator" that enables interest groups to come together to have an informed debate about how much woodland creation would be desirable in their area. |
March 2014 |
Woodland Potential Calculator |
Help the industry to diversify tree species and genetics | March 2013 |
Create web resource and run seminars www.forestry.gov.uk/climatechangeengland ICF courses 24 25July |
Secure seed resource and pump prime industry | March 2013 |
Meetings of industry 26th april 2012 |
Examples of it working | Further information |
Woodland Trust and Defence Infrastructure Organisation Partnership | Planting trees in partnership |
Contact:
Dominic Driver
Forestry Commission England
620 Bristol Business Park, Bristol, BS16 1EJ
Tel: 0117 906 6003
dominic.driver@forestry.gsi.gov.uk