The recommendation is part of a suggested Wood Industry Action Plan outlined in the panel’s final report to government on the future of forestry in England.
“With only 20% of our timber needs met by UK production there is a big opportunity for the forestry sector to deliver more of what the domestic market needs from our own woodlands – and to drive a revival of a woodland culture in England,” the panel said.
The panel, chaired by the Bishop of Liverpool the Right Reverend James Jones, also recommends the government ensures the wood-based industries and technologies are a priority area for support by the Green Investment Bank, which will have £3bn to stimulate the green economy.
Further suggestions include local enterprise partnerships working together to bid for funding support from the Regional Growth Fund and other funding sources to invest in the wood industry supply chain.
And the panel urges the government to establish a single methodology to account for the full greenhouse gas benefits of using timber products and permits its use as part of carbon accounting.
“Clear guidance should encourage the use of wood as a sustainable construction and manufacturing material,” it said. Other recommendations include keeping the public forest estate in public ownership and expanding woodland cover from 10% to 15%.
Confor chief executive Stuart Goodall welcomed the report, which he said contained many of Confor’s key recommendations.
“Recognising and quantifying the economic opportunity of English forestry and wood processing is a big, new approach and reflects the considerable effort that Confor has made,” he said.
The government is expected to respond by January 2013.
