I doubt you would be in for much of surprise – the recent spate of campaigning should leave no one in any doubt that people love trees, and woods and forests, the wildlife they contain and the ability to get closer to nature amongst the trees.
And that goes for us here at the RSPB too. The future of England's forest is centre-stage.
The mix of effective grass-roots campaigning and the UN designating 2011 as International Year of Forests should leave the Government in no doubt that the stakes for their soon-to-be-announced plans for the English forests are high.
There has been a lot of speculation in the media over the past few weeks about the possible sale of woodlands currently owned or managed by the Forestry Commission in England.
We expect the government to make an announcement later this month regarding a public consultation about the future of England’s forests. We are waiting to see the content of the consultation but we recognise and welcome the grassroots campaigns to save our forests. The campaigns demonstrate the importance of these iconic landscapes to all of us, as well as the risks to government of getting the consultation wrong.
The devil is always in the detail and, while we can see some sense in the state selling off some purely commercial timber plantations, we would be very worried if forests of high biodiversity value, and, crucially, those capable of restoration, are not protected. A lot of the Forestry Commission’s work is about looking after nature and landscapes, so we are concerned that their land is managed in the best interests of wildlife and local people.
To this end, we will be testing the government’s plans rigorously – but at this stage we are not going to prejudge the consultation. Any management or ownership bodies, whether public, private, charitable (or a partnership of these) needs to demonstrate that the future of both nature conservation and public access are safeguarded.
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