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forestry

Reflections Post COP26

November 23, 2021 by admin


By Gary Newman

Was COP26 a big success or a missed opportunity? Viewed positively, the conference represented a significant ‘shifting of the dial’ with new pledges and targets. On the other hand, it was not the transformative moment that many had hoped for. In reality, we will only be able to judge the significance of COP26 with the passage of time. Today, the increasing consensus about what needs to be done to limit climate change is finally shifting the focus onto delivering the actions in reality.
In Wales, we have increasingly ambitious policies and accompanying funding for two key climate change mitigation solutions – the expansion of tree planting and the creation of low carbon housing from timber.

Making investment promises count

In terms of housing, Welsh Government are investing £250m a year for the next 5 years to deliver their target of 20,000 new low carbon homes. A further £150m is being made available  to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions by retrofitting existing homes. Furthermore, new standards for social housing introduced in October this year are encouraging low embodied carbon, the use of timber and proof of housing performance through measurement of outcomes. Our ongoing WoodBUILD 2021 programme is all about exploring how these new standards can be understood and implemented in a way that supports Welsh forestry and timber construction sectors.
In terms of tree planting, Welsh Government have a highly ambitious target of an additional 43,000 ha by 2030 and 180,000 by 2050. This would increase our forest cover from the current 15% of our land area to 24%. Financial support for new tree planting has increased from £1m in 2019/2020 per year to £5.5 million in 2021/22. Whilst certainly not enough to achieve our targets this is a definite statement of intent.
These promising policies are reinforced by a further 39 recommended actions emanating from the Trees and Timber Task Force led by Deputy Climate Change minister, Lee Waters MS. The development of a timber industrial strategy, which is hoped to be a significant turning point for the Welsh forest industries sector, features among these recommendations.

Turning good intentions into purposeful action?

More money and new policies and targets for tree planting, timber manufacturing and housing will undoubtedly help to create the conditions necessary for progress, but they do not in themselves ensure that change will actually happen and with appropriate haste. We all know reality is way more complex than that. There is no precedent or blueprint for the scale of the change that is needed.
Becoming a forest nation will require the participation and collaboration across all sectors from farming to housing and everything in between. This is what we’re striving to develop within the Woodknowledge Wales membership network, through our Communities of Practice and by enabling further knowledge transfer and shared learning through case studies, events and guidance documents that are freely available on our website. We firmly believe that collaborative approaches are essential to enable and accelerate change and we are very grateful for the active participation of our members.  But creating and maintaining such a coalition for change is not a simple task. The building of trust takes time, is hard won and easily lost. As with COP26 on a global scale, so with the participants in the forest nation agenda on a Welsh scale – to achieve a better outcome for all we have to understand the benefits as well as the nature of the compromise we are asking for.
With this in mind , we are increasingly focused not so much on the what and why but on the who and how within our work programmes. Who needs to be involved and how can good intentions be turned into purposeful action across all the relevant sectors of farming, forestry, wood processing, timber manufacturing and construction?

Overcoming social and economic land-use divides

Increasing the supply of timber means saplings not only have to be grown and planted, but also managed to ensure they survive and thrive. This means farmers, as custodians of 80% of Welsh land, also have to become informed foresters. In many ways the land-use debate of farming v. forestry has become an artificial divide which was maintained and exaggerated by the Common Agriculture Policy – which should perhaps have always been a common land-use policy encompassing both farming and forestry. Growing crops, managing cattle and sheep or managing woodland all require different knowledge, skills and equipment but are well within the capability of the Welsh farming and rural communities.
If we are to dramatically increase our forest cover in line with targets and provide timber for industry, then we certainly need to do this in a way that is embraced by our communities. That means trees grown by Welsh farmers and in a way that supports rural employment in forest management and wood processing. There is much work to be done to inspire farmers to grow trees and to make it economically viable for them to do so. We have recently produced a series of briefing notes on the economics of growing trees for timber that are designed to support farmers and their advisors in their decision making. We will run a webinar for the farming community on this topic in early 2022.
In the housing sector we continue to work with our members on new build and retrofit housing projects to reduce embodied carbon, increase building performance, and to advance the appropriate use of timber components and offsite timber solutions from the Welsh supply chain.
So, regardless of the global politics played out at COP26, our focus remains upon how we can better support our growing and committed membership to get good things done. For us, this means planting more trees, processing more wood into high-value timber products and creating more low carbon homes from timber. That way we can be confident that we are reducing Welsh carbon emissions whilst at the same time building a more vibrant and resilient forest economy for the benefit of current and future generations.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Communities of Practice, forestry, Policy, Social Housing

Climate Change Mitigation Potential of Conifer Plantations

June 28, 2021 by admin


Expanding commercial conifer forestry is the most efficient strategy for achieving climate change mitigation through woodland creation, according to a new study published in Nature Communications.
The ground-breaking research led by Bangor University, applied dynamic life cycle assessment to the UK’s national planting strategy of 30,000 ha yr-1 from 2020-2050. A total of 33 different future scenarios were modelled.
An essential feature of the research, which is one of the first and most rigorous studies of its kind worldwide, is the inclusion of the carbon flows in the whole system: soil, trees, forestry operations and harvested wood product value chain.
The research does not advocate one type of forest only. It merely concludes that where climate change mitigation is the main policy goal this is best delivered through a commercial conifer planting regime.
Our Forest Policy Briefing summarises policy implications deriving from this research.
DOWNLOAD POLICY BRIEFING

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Climate, forestry, Policy

Top five alternative conifer tree species review

June 28, 2021 by admin


Forests and woodlands are as much part of the mix of solutions for the Biodiversity and Climate Emergency as they are themselves under threat from it.
The UK Climate Change Committee have set out strong recommendations for 30,000 hectares of new woodland per annum by 2050 (UKCCC, 2020), of which a significant portion will likely be commercial plantation woodlands. Expansion and sustainable management of this new woodland will act as a mechanism for meeting UN Sustainable Development Goal 15, combatting climate change, improving home-grown timber supply for the construction sector, and providing a wide range of valuable public goods.
Plantations, alongside other forms of woodland creation, have an important role in carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation, providing public amenity and recreational benefits and biodiversity conservation. The coniferous forest resource in Great Britain is increasingly expected to deliver a broad range of ecosystem services to society; this alongside the provision of timber and other forest products, through management for multiple objectives, often within a small geographical area.
Welsh Government commissioned Woodknowledge Wales to conduct a review to identify the top five alternative commercial tree species suitable to meet timber utilisation demands in light of increasing potential pest and disease pressures as a result of climate change.
Our approach to identifying the top five alternative tree species for GB has drawn on and collated the existing knowledge base through literature review and inputs from a broad range of stakeholders. It does not capture experience found on the ground which has not been published, yet. Results should be seen as a starting point for further investigation.
In this sense, we have set out on a journey of collaboration bringing together stakeholders to discuss potential ways forward. If you would like participate in our future stakeholder workshops, please get in touch.
Please note this an amended version of the report published on the 23rd June 2021 which now lists the top five ranked species in Table 3.6 in the correct order (Thuja plicata and Sequoiadendron giganteum were in the wrong order in previous versions).
English:
DOWNLOAD SUMMARY
DOWNLOAD FULL REPORT
Cymraeg:
Dadlwythwch grynodeb
lawrlwytho’r adroddiad llawn

Filed Under: Forestry, News, Resources, Species Mix Tagged With: Afforestation, forestry, Policy Briefing

5 Essential Strategies for an Emerging Forest Nation

February 11, 2021 by admin

Wales is not a forest nation. Wales is a sheep, beef and dairy nation. Wales is a steel nation.
Like many nations, Wales is the economic country it is, not by political design but largely because of historical accident. And there has never been a better time or more reason to change. We have left the European Union and have also declared a Climate Emergency. A more purposeful approach is now required to achieve the net zero carbon goals set by Welsh Government
Therefore, we are proposing five integrated strategies for how Wales can achieve a just transition to become a new high-value forest nation. A transition that would create substantial employment and a transition for which Wales has many natural advantages.
Wales has suitable and available land for afforestation, fantastic climate for growing the kind of trees that industry needs, the land and workforce for new industries and proximity to almost limitless export markets for high-value timber products.
Wales must move towards more sustainable low-carbon industrial and land-use options that are geared to meeting the resource needs of the low-carbon society and that are economically viable.
Wales is starting from a long way back. This paper sets out how our slow start can be turned to our strategic advantage if Welsh Government decides to lead in the adoption of integrated economic policies outlined in this paper that are purposefully aligned across our construction, manufacturing and land-use sectors.
DOWNLOAD BRIEFING


Filed Under: Forestry, Foundational Economy, Home-Grown Homes, Housing, Manufacturing, Policy Briefing, Resources Tagged With: Afforestation, Forest Nation, forestry, Home Grown Homes, housing, Manufacturing, Policy, Policy Briefing, Processing, Structural Timber, Woodland Management

The role of our own conifer forests for building a sustainable society in Wales

January 29, 2021 by admin

Despite wide recognition of their value, plantation forests are critically misunderstood and undervalued in Wales. Plantation forests comprise around 7% of the planet’s forest area whilst sustainably supplying over 50% of industrial roundwood. This report looks at myths and tropes around home-grown timber and considers research results from wood science and socio-economic aspects across planting, forest management, timber grading and processing.
Modern British sustainable forest management techniques were established 150 years ago and are still appropriate for efficiently growing construction grade softwoods. Exemplar stands of high grade Douglas fir in north Wales grow some of the largest conifer trees existing in Europe. Older conifer stands across Wales have great potential to produce high grade joinery softwood. Sitka spruce forests are routinely denigrated, nevertheless over 95% of Welsh spruce sawlogs can be graded to strength class from C16 to C27 because of Sitka spruce’s high strength to weight ratio. Yet, quality is regularly used as a weasel word in order to reinforce negative views about Welsh homegrown softwoods.
The FAO reported in 2013 that current trends in European forest management could result in an over-supply of wood from broadleaved species, as well as a shortfall of coniferous timber. Planted forests are exposed to socio-economic risks due to governance failures. These risks comprise a weak or inadequate forest policy framework including insecure investment conditions.
DOWNLOAD REPORT


Filed Under: Forestry, Home-Grown Homes, Policy Briefing, Resources, Welsh Timber Tagged With: Afforestation, Building Elements, forestry, Home Grown Homes, Policy Briefing, Processing, Structural Timber, wood science, Woodland Management

More and Better Home-Grown Timber—The role for a consolidator

January 27, 2021 by admin

What might a business plan for the supply of home-grown timber to the Welsh housing sector look like, if it is to be closely integrated with the ownership and management of the timber resource in Wales?
Additional capacity in the sector has been identified in three key areas: secondary processing capacity; in undermanaged forestry and woodland; and a vast potential for greater tree planting in Wales, for a range of drivers.
This outline of a proposed business plan builds upon a previous analysis, which identified low integration between the supply and processing of Welsh timber, against the increasing demands of the construction sector.  In order to deliver a reliable supply of timber, consolidation is required at a point in the supply chain.  This could be achieved at two basic levels, either/or by stock of sawn timber collected from a number of small or medium mills, or consolidation of roundwood at a saw log level feeding predominantly one larger mill. The options for investment in both are discussed in this document. The authors seek not to decide at this stage which is better or worse, but to outline the conditions under which each would be viable.
DOWNLOAD REPORT


Filed Under: Forestry, Home-Grown Homes, Policy Briefing, Processing, Resources, Welsh Timber, Woodland Management Tagged With: forestry, Home Grown Homes, Policy Briefing, Processing

More and Better Home-Grown Timber—The financial case for existing landowners to plant woodland

January 25, 2021 by admin

From the TV presenters of Countryfile to the ever-escalating claims of political parties in the last UK elections, it seems everyone wants to plant more trees. Reasons vary from carbon capture, amenity, and biodiversity to production of usable timber, as do levels of ambition.
Amongst the most widely quoted targets, The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) say that UK needs 30K Ha of new woodland a year to 2050 as part of a suite of land use changes to meet the UKs commitment to become Zero Carbon. This afforestation is predicted to account for the largest share of the forecast £39 Bn cost, the majority of that being spent on land acquisition. This presumes that either we expand the public estate or encourage land acquisition by external investors.
Experience from solar and wind farms suggests that this will be expensive, slow, and unpopular with some existing landowners, particularly farmers. Nonetheless there is considerable pressure on farmers from Brexit and existing financial challenges particularly of upland farming are severe in Wales.
Based upon the above, our approach is to solve two problems together. Woodland creation for a range of benefits, providing the means for farm transformation, while avoiding the expense and social disruption of land acquisition.
Promising lower costs of delivered woodland and a wide range of associated benefits, the approach has much to recommend it, subject to its financial viability.
This report reviews opportunities and challenges through the lens of financial viability.
DOWNLOAD GUIDANCE


Filed Under: Afforestation, Forestry, Guidance, Home-Grown Homes, Resources, Welsh Timber Tagged With: Afforestation, carbon, forestry, Guidance, Home Grown Homes, investment, offsetting

Serious About Green?—Building a Welsh wood economy through co-ordination

January 20, 2021 by admin


Why would it be beneficial for Welsh society to build a wood economy? The ‘Serious about Green?’ report takes a closer look and analyses the economic and social parameters.
The report is authored by the team at Foundational Economy Research, led by Karel Williams. It brings together the Woodknowledge Wales forest industries agenda with foundational economic thinking. In a world without silver bullets, we believe the report provides a frank analysis of where we are now, and how a transformative journey to a socially just wood economy can be coordinated.
There’s no doubt this is a challenging agenda. Wales is a sheep, beef and dairy nation and Wales is a steel nation. These activities are deeply ingrained in our cultural identity.  They may have been rational activities for the past century but are not well-aligned to the low carbon needs of 21st Century Welsh society. Forestry is.
Furthermore, Wales has a landscape, soil and climate suited to forestry. Well-conceived forestry can address both the biodiversity crises and the climate emergency, whilst providing an industrial resource with which to build and retrofit the low carbon homes of the future.
The report offers insight and stimulating ideas to policy makers, business leaders and citizens interested in a sustainable future for Wales.
Interested in being part of the journey towards a wood based foundational economy? Get in touch to join the dialogue on how to build a foundational Welsh wood economy.
DOWNLOAD REPORT


Filed Under: Foundational Economy, Foundational Economy, Home-Grown Homes, Policy Briefing, Resources Tagged With: forestry, Foundational Economy, Home Grown Homes, Policy, Policy Briefing

Capturing Carbon: Investing in Woodlands—An Options Analysis for Welsh Housing Associations

January 19, 2021 by admin

New woodland creation is one of the most cost-effective ways of reducing carbon emissions and offsetting our nation’s carbon footprint. The combination of an undersupply of our own timber in Wales and the ambitions of Wales and the Welsh Government to create new woodlands means that an organisation interested in creating new woodlands can play a pivoting role in combating climate change.
Woodlands have proven an attractive alternative asset for long-term investors, as they provide the opportunity to benefit from the value of a naturally growing commodity and the security of ownership of the underlying land. Woodlands have multiple benefits and these can be reaped in a way that makes a financial return for the investors.
A very new and interesting market is the trading of carbon. The sale of carbon credits allows landowners who create new woodlands to increase their financial returns by selling both timber and non-timber products. Government forecasts suggest these values could rise five-fold over a 40-year period which will have a significant impact on the profitability of a woodland creation project.
This document explores three investment options for Housing Associations

  1. Creating woodland by acquiring land.
  2. Creating new woodland through novel collaboration with the public sector e.g. NRW, Local Authorities etc.
  3. Acquiring existing woodland.

DOWNLOAD REPORT


Filed Under: Forestry, Guidance, Home-Grown Homes, Housing, Procurement, Resources, Whole Life Carbon Tagged With: carbon, Case Study, forestry, Guidance, Home Grown Homes, investment, offsetting, Whole Life Carbon

The British Woodlands Survey 2020

October 3, 2020 by admin

The British Woodlands Survey (BWS) gathers evidence about Britain’s woodlands and those who care for them. The BWS aims to provide an evidence base on which future policies and practice can be developed.
The British Woodlands Survey is coordinated by Sylva Foundation and run in partnership with a large number of organisations. Summary results are always published in a report and made freely available. Where possible data collected is also used to support peer-reviewed scientific research.
Visit the Sylva foundation website HERE to download the British Woodland Survey.

Filed Under: Other Resource Tagged With: forestry

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