The Woodland Trust's plan for action
Trees
and forests are crucial to life on our
planet. They stabilise the soil, generate oxygen, store carbon, play
host to a spectacular variety of wildlife, and provide us with raw
materials and shelter. They offer us respite, inspire our imagination,
creativity and culture, and refresh our souls. A world without trees and
forests would be barren, impoverished and intolerable.
The importance of tropical rainforests has been highlighted by
powerful images of their exploitation. But our own temperate forests are
less than a perfect model. The UK’s woodland has a chequered history of
stewardship and neglect. Our naturally occurring forests have been
slowly altered and destroyed to the point where irreplaceable ancient
woods have become fragmented and often degraded.
The Woodland Trust has been conserving woodland for more than 30 years
and is now recognised as the leading voluntary-sector organisation
devoted to the conservation of the UK’s woodland. We own more than 1,000
sites covering around 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres) of woodland and
countryside. We care for places of importance for their wildlife and
cultural heritage, as well as small urban and village woods, and create
new native woodland for the future.
When the Trust was established, the threats to native woodland were
often dramatic: woods cleared for agriculture and development; ancient
woods felled and converted to plantations. Urgent action was needed, so
acquisition became our overriding priority to secure the long-term
future of individual woods.
Today threats to ancient woods have changed. Clearance for agriculture
and conversion to non-native conifer plantations no longer occurs, but
other pressures leading to woodland loss and degradation have grown. The
greatest long-term threat is posed by rapid climate change, which will
disrupt and disturb natural systems. Immediate action is needed to
tackle its causes and to implement strategies so that woodland and
wildlife can adapt. This requires a profound shift in the way we
approach conservation and decisive measures to create landscapes that
can meet the needs of wildlife and people.
The Woodland Trust’s vision is for an accessible and well-wooded
landscape, rich in wildlife and supporting the needs of society in both
urban and rural areas. Woodland should be cared for as a legacy for
future generations.
We believe everyone should be able to experience nature and appreciate
human beings’ integral part within it. We want to bring people closer to
nature through the medium of woods and trees. In particular, we want
children to experience and take action for the environment.
In summary, we want to see:
- No further loss of
ancient woodland
- The biodiversity
of woods restored and improved
- An increase in the
area of new native woodland
- An increase in
people’s understanding and enjoyment of woodland
To find out more about
these aims and long term strategies to achieve
them, please click on the links below. |
Photographs top to bottom: WTPL, NHPA/Robert Thompson,
WTPL/Niall Benvie, Niall Benvie |
Photograph: WTPL/Nick
Cobbing
|
