Environment, Food and Rural Affairs CommitteeFurther written evidence from the Woodland Trust
1. The Woodland Trust is grateful for the opportunity to submit further evidence to the committee, building on that submitted in January. Since that time, there have been a number of significant developments including the publication of the Defra Chalara Management Plan in March, the publication and government response to the Tree Health and Plant Biosecurity Expert Taskforce Report in May, a series of Government plant health summit meetings, and ongoing meetings of the Defra Chalara Core Stakeholder Group, all of which we have either participated in or responded to.
2. In addition, The Woodland Trust, with support from Defra Plant Health Policy Team, convened an Expert Seminar in London, in June, to discuss the wider conservation impacts of Chalara and other tree diseases and to consider issues surrounding the future resilience of our woodland resource. The event brought together 40 scientists, researchers, forest pathologists, woodland managers, representatives of professional bodies, government agencies and nature conservation NGOs to share experience and learning as well as to identify key gaps in knowledge and practice. We will be publishing a short paper based on the outcome of the seminar very soon.
3. The Woodland Trust welcomed the pragmatic approach at the heart of the Chalara Management Plan published in March and the recognition by Defra that disease eradication was not possible and so a measured response was called for. Placing the focus on support for removal and replacement of recently planted ash, coupled with a less interventionist approach on mature trees reflected the views of key stakeholders—ourselves included. However, we felt that the plan still failed to adequately reflect the wider biodiversity and social costs and impacts of the potential loss of ash, particularly the estimated 15 million ash trees in hedgerows and the wider countryside across the UK.
4. We recognised the Tree Health and Plant Biosecurity Expert Taskforce Report in May as an authoritative, detailed and well informed piece of work, and welcomed the Government’s prompt action on some of its recommendations. The Report highlighted the need for a much wider consideration of the issues around tree and plant pests and diseases—well beyond the response on Chalara. However, there is still much work to do and success will depend on the continuing effective engagement of key stakeholders, land managers and businesses active in plant supply, horticulture and the landscape industry. Work has started on the Risk Register, but with the list expected to grow over time to include 700 pests and diseases, this cannot just be a simple prioritisation process. There may be complex interactions between different pests and there will be cumulative effects and impacts on key land uses such as woodland that may require a very different response to agricultural crops. The resources necessary to compile, review and monitor such a Register, and to deliver on the promise to engage key stakeholders, will be significant. It seems too early to tell if the expectation that the central response to plant health would be put on a similar footing to animal health in terms of priority and resourcing has been delivered.
5. In light of the above, Defra’s continuing focus of so much time, effort and resources on Chalara specifically is beginning to look disproportionate when the growing issues of Phytopthora ramorum, Acute Oak Decline, Dothistroma Needle Blight and Oak Processionary Moth are taken into account. A more strategic approach to engaging stakeholders, key players, NGOs and the wider public will be required that spans this series of connected problems and builds on the increased awareness of these issues that the initial media and political focus on ash disease has generated.
6. Reflecting on some of the areas of discussion at the Expert Seminar in June, it would appear to be increasingly important for the Government to consider how best to build more resilience into our natural environment. The best efforts of inspection, regulation and biosecurity will not close down every pathway for pests and diseases coming into the country via trade and travel, and some processes of natural dispersal will be impossible to prevent. With this in mind, we consider that the Government should place a greater emphasis on supporting the development of natural resilience in our forests and woods; by encouraging more diversity in the structure of our woods, more diversity in the species being used, by widening their genetic base, and by promoting woodland creation that extends, buffers and links woodland as part of wider habitat networks—consistent with the Natural Environment White Paper’s Lawton principles. This kind of investment will support our habitats and landscapes to become more resilient. These better connected and more diverse woods will not prevent disease but will be more capable of “bouncing back” from the inevitable impacts of those pests and diseases that will somehow get through or circumvent our best efforts to keep them out.
7. Finally, our own direct response to the impacts of ash disease and the growing concerns over wider pest and disease threats to our native woods has resulted in some progress on the tasks we set ourselves as an organisation. We have taken forward work on all areas of the 3-point plan that we issued in November 2012. Firstly, with support from Defra we continued work with partners on preparatory stages for a major EU LIFE+ funding bid for the ObservaTREE project. This has now been secured bringing almost £1 million to develop an early warning system for pests and disease threats to UK trees that will see the public and voluntary bodies play a greater role in supporting our tree health scientists. Secondly, we held our joint Expert Seminar with Defra to share knowledge, promote communication and support learning on key tree disease issues. Thirdly, we have started a major procurement programme to change how we source and purchase the saplings we use in our own planting projects and our work with partners—ensuring that all planting stock is sourced and grown entirely in the UK, raised only from seed collected in the UK from known sources.
September 2013