INDUSTRY COLLABORATION

Can co-opetition stimulate forestry establishment in lowland Britain?

Justin Mumford of Lockhart Garratt introduces the Forest Canopy Foundation and a new collaborative approach to promoting woodland creation

With only 12% of land in the UK covered in woodland (against European averages of 34%), with reports of 50% of UK woodlands undermanaged and neglected, balanced against imports of £8.3 billion worth of wood products, it would be fair to say that our home forestry industry is underperforming!

The English government has shared ambitious targets of planting 30,000 ha by 2025 but considering the totals over the last two planting seasons of approximately 1000ha and 2300ha planted respectively, we would acknowledge that this is a highly ambitious target.

The reasons for failure to plant are well reported and cover uncertainty over Brexit, the loss of land value with planting, loss of farming income and loss of flexibility. In short, all of this adds up to the same conclusion: the grant system is not powerful enough to induce landowners to change land use in such a permanent way.

We know that currently, the team at DEFRA are working hard to deliver the future ELMS which will re-energise broader land use and enhance natural capital benefits. This, coupled with carbon outputs and inevitably increasing carbon values, will offer a promising future to the forestry sector.

There has been much concern and reporting of the limitations of coniferous forest, although well recognised for carbon sequestration, conifers are considered more limited for biodiversity. The very real benefits to the climate of planting coniferous forest need to be pushed to the top of the agenda and commercial forestry must take its rightful place in tackling climate change – TREES are nature’s solution to CARBON CAPTURE.

The Forest Canopy Foundation The private sector has come together during the Covid lockdown to form the Forest Canopy Foundation (FCF). This notfor-profit organisation is passionate about changing the outcomes of woodland creation in Lowland UK starting in England. Including well established firms, Lockhart Garratt, Pryor and Rickett, Nicholsons, Abbey Forestry, Penfold and Pennine, the Foundation will pioneer a new way of working - co-opetition.

Independent private forestry companies working together for a common good, the FCF aims to not only deliver exemplary forestry but harness natural capital benefits and a robust research and development portfolio.

Research into soil carbon sequestration, improved non-plastic guarding, vital squirrel control to get best silvicultural outcomes and species for the future considering climate change, are all areas of R&D that are vital for the success of the future forestry industry.

We are all critically aware of the volatile carbon market; confusion, lack of transparency, risk aversion are all considerations in creating a smoke and mirrors atmosphere to the value of woodland carbon in the UK. The Forest Canopy Foundation are working hard with the Woodland Carbon Code and CS exchange for a pioneering measuring tool to better value carbon as it sequesters in woodlands. We foresee a future where accurate carbon readings will empower a fair carbon market.

The FCF are working hard with partners including the National Trust, the Country Landowners Association, Pollination Group, (a think tank who advise government at policy level), Oxford University and many other organisations. These collaborations will ensure that future funding and specification are fit for purpose to bring about the very real change required for planting at scale, to not only meet Government deadlines, but to most importantly avert the climate crisis.

The Forest Canopy Foundation is the professional response to meet woodland creation targets by 2025.

The project represents innovation and ambitious blue sky thinking and we feel it’s exactly what the forestry industry needs to realise the positive future that we know is essential to the climate.

With values of transparency, reliability, vision, effectiveness and professionalism, our aim is to plant and maintain wellplanned quality Woodlands in England to mitigate climate change and add natural capital to our natural resource, we feel energised to make a difference….why not join us?

GET INVOLVED

We are calling out to all independent forestry companies to become one of our accredited delivery partners. Get in touch! http://forestcanopyfoundation.co.uk/ info@forestcanopyfoundation.co.uk

All delivery partners are independently verified by Grown in Britain and all schemes offered up for carbon and natural capital benefits will be audited against our Grown in Britain / Forest Canopy Foundation metrics.