The Independent Panel on Forestry was established almost a year and a half ago, to advise government on the future direction of forestry and woodland policy in England. Chaired by the Right Reverend James Jones, Bishop of Liverpool, it sought a wide range of expert advice and reported back earlier this week. You can read the final report on the Forestry Panel website (http://www.defra.gov.uk/forestrypanel/).
To broadly summarise the Panel’s findings, trees and wood are good for people, nature and the green economy. More trees should be planted, and access to forests should be improved and incentivised. Land use should create a resilient ecological network, with woodland coverage increasing to 15 % of the UK (up from its current 10 %). Sustainably-harvested wood should be used more widely across our economy, and the public forest estate should remain in public ownership.
There is also scope in the report for international collaboration, which is where SIN would come in. We collaborate with Canada on a wide range of issues relating to forestry, from climate change to sustainable management policy. As always, watch this space for any new initiatives.