The diversification of English woodlands into leisure and other activities at the expense of commercial forestry and timber production should be halted, according to ConFor.
The organisation, which represents businesses along the timber supply chain, from growers to primary and secondary processors, made its statement in response to a consultation document from Forestry Commission England (FCE) on the “long-term role of the public forest estate”.
ConFor said that the FCE has developed too wide a remit in creating new roles for forestry and should have a “simpler clearer strategy” . This should include a greater focus on forestry and timber for both commercial reasons and to aid the UK’s move to a lower carbon economy.
“It is through stimulation of a growing, sustainable financially viable forestry and wood using sector that the [forest] estate can provide its greatest public benefit,” said ConFor. “This will yield financial benefits, helping tackle the rising costs of the estate and positively support the transition to a low carbon economy.”
It added that currently “public access and biodiversity issues increasingly dominate forestry policy, stimulating reductions in areas of both public and private woodland in England”.
ConFor also maintains that it is the FCE’s job to “promote the advantages of forestry to the public and highlight the need to use more wood from sustainable sources”.
It sees potential for public forests to supply more wood for fuel, but says this need to be “balanced against the carbon and jobs benefits of existing wood-using businesses”.
