Forest Service cuts its woodland creation target
Hopes for a significant increase in Northern Ireland’s scant woodland cover are now questionable, says conservation charity the Woodland Trust. The Trust has expressed concern following Forest Service’s decision to more than halve its woodland creation target.
Forest Service, the agency charged with delivering forest expansion on behalf of the Department of Agriculture, has revealed plans to drastically cut its short-term woodland creation target. The target for the three-year period 2008 to 2011 was to create 1,650 hectares of new woodland; an average of 550 hectares per year. However, a woodland creation target of only 200 hectares has been set for the coming year.
According to the Woodland Trust, this decision contradicts the Northern Ireland Executive’s aspiration to double woodland cover over the next 50 years; an achievement which would require the creation of 1,740 hectares of new woodland per year. It is also at odds with the commitment for woodland creation given by political parties in their recent election manifestos.
Lee Bruce, government affairs officer for the Woodland Trust, says: “On the one hand, we’ve seen and warmly welcomed pledges for woodland creation made by a number of political parties in their election manifestos. And the public vote will, of course, have been influenced by such notable commitment to the environment. Then, in complete contrast, we find that Forest Service - an agency of the Executive – now sets itself a target which lacks any ambition; a target which is in fact lower than recent achievement; and one which, when reached, will have little impact on Northern Ireland’s limited woodland cover.”
The Woodland Trust is calling for the Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Michelle O’Neill to reverse Forest Service’s decision by setting a more ambitious target in the Executive’s forthcoming Programme for Government. The Programme for Government will be open for public consultation this autumn.
Lee Bruce continues: “We’re asking for a credible, but much more ambitious woodland creation target; one which will help the Minister to deliver on her party’s commitment to double forest cover.”
Notes to editors
For media enquiries contact:
Kaye Coates at the Woodland Trust’s Bangor Office on 028 9127 5787; email kayecoates@woodlandtrust.org.uk or
The Woodland Trust Press Office on 01476 581121; email media@woodlandtrust.org.uk
The Woodland Trust:
The Woodland Trust is the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity. It has 300,000 members and supporters.
The Trust has three key aims: i) to enable the creation of more native woods and places rich in trees ii) to protect native woods, trees and their wildlife for the future iii) to inspire everyone to enjoy and value woods and trees
Established in 1972, the Woodland Trust now has over 1,000 sites in its care covering approximately 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres). Access to its sites is free.
Here in Northern Ireland the Woodland Trust cares for 51 woods. These woods contain a mix of recently planted woodland, mature woodland and ancient woodland (that’s land continuously wooded since at least 1600). We have recently produced the first-ever comprehensive record of Northern Ireland’s ancient woodland; find out more at www.backonthemap.org.uk