Memorandum submitted by the Woodland Trust
1. The Woodland Trust welcomes the opportunity
to respond to this consultation. The Trust is the UK's leading
woodland conservation charity. We have four main aims: no further
loss of ancient woodland, restoring and improving woodland biodiversity,
increasing new native woodland and increasing people's understanding
and enjoyment of woodland. We own over 1,000 sites across the
UK, covering around 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres) and we have
300,000 members and supporters.
2. Rather than respond to all the questions
posed here we would like to make the following observations:
THE INTERNATIONAL
CONTEXT
3. Given that over 70% of total terrestrial
carbon is stored in forest soils and biomass and it is estimated
that land use change, chiefly deforestation, accounts for 18%
of global CO2 emissions,[1]
there is an urgent need for action to be taken as a matter of
priority if we are to prevent the global average temperature rising
above two degrees celsius.
4. The agreement at Bali in 2007 that the
post 2012 climate agreement should include reduced emissions from
deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) needs to be made real
and must ensure that forest conservation is made more economically
viable than harvesting or clearance.
5. As the recent Policy Exchange report
The Root of the Matter has argued, large scale pilot projects
are urgently needed to inform policy development and there is
a need for action before 2012 through Governments developing clear
long-term policies to encourage private sector investment in avoided
deforestation.[2]
6. But there are two DDs in REDD—forest
landscape restoration programmes also require investment in forests
which are suffering from slow incremental actions degrading the
ability to function properly. This is not just in terms of carbon
stores but also as providers of other key environmental and social
benefits.
7. Equally, there are many countries which
are not currently under pressure to reduce their forests but who
would benefit from incentives to protect and expand terrestrial
forest carbon stocks
8. Whilst there are clearly regulatory complexities
surrounding the role that might be played by carbon markets we
believe there is strong case for credit to be given under the
Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to certified activities that
increase forest cover and preserve existing forests. Similarly
there is a case for consideration in Phase III of the EU Emissions
Trading Scheme.
THE ILLEGAL
TIMBER TRADE
9. The fact that a recent report by WWF
has shown that the UK is the second largest importer of illegal
timber in EU should be an urgent spur to action. We support calls
for EU legislation to outlaw imports of illegal timber and wood
products into the EU.
10. The present Voluntary Partnership Mechanisms
(VPAs) which the EU is negotiating—to be signed by EU member
states and timber producing countries- are positive steps but
need to be backed up by rigorous monitoring, implementation and
legislation.
THE ROLE
OF THE
UK
11. The issue of the UK and illegal timber
imports highlights the wider issue that if the UK is to provide
the kind of leadership sought by the Stern report, then the Government
must also recognise that responsibility begins at home and that
our own house is far from exemplary.
12. The Woodland Trust has almost 500 cases
of ancient woodland (our own equivalent of the rainforest) under
threat on its books and these threats include roadbuilding, golf
course construction and housebuilding. We have already lost half
of our ancient woods since the 1930s. Espousing a REDD mechanism
post-Kyoto means we must redouble efforts to bring our own losses
down to zero to be taken seriously.
13. The UK is also one of the least wooded
countries in Europe with only 12% woodland cover compared with
the EU average of 35%, with native woodland accounting for only
half that figure. Current rates of afforestation in the UK (approximately
9000ha per annum) contribute 2-3% of the UK's Kyoto Protocol commitment
to reduce or sequester carbon emissions by 12.5% over 1990 levels.
However the rate of planting in England has actually slowed recently
and this needs to be addressed. Climate change and the need for
breathing places in an increasingly overcrowded island mean we
have never needed new native woodland more.
14. We therefore welcome the call in the
Policy Exchange report The Root of the Matter for the Government
to lead the way by dramatically increasing funding for forest
projects domestically. The Woodland Trust is seeking a doubling
of native woodland cover in the UK which would increase our Kyoto
contribution but also deliver a wide range of other benefits to
society—including increasing the ability of wildlife to
adapt to climate change, flood alleviation, and the creation of
more attractive and healthier places within which to live, work
and spend leisure time.
15. In the context of these wider benefits,
and the measureable contribution the UK's trees can make towards
offsetting our carbon emissions, Defra's decision to confine voluntary
accreditation of carbon offset projects to overseas activities
excluding forestry is short-sighted. It denies the desire of those
who wish to offset their residual carbon emissions within the
UK through forestry, and who wish to capitalise on the additional
benefits—including ecosystem services, biodiversity and
human social contexts—that the act of planting native trees
brings.
16. The Government must both lead the debate
on tackling global deforestation and lead by example in its own
backyard. The two go hand in hand.
October 2008
1 HM Treasury (2006) Sir Nicholas Stern: Stern Review. Back
2
Policy Exchange (2008) The Root of the Matter, p 6. Back
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