Following the successful Royal Forestry Society and Woodland Trust conference in October, on the theme of resilient woodlands, the organisers have released a short film featuring some of the speakers, including Sylva’s CEO Gabriel Hemery.
Remarking about resilience, and reflecting on the fact that the majority (72%) of woodlands in the UK are owned privately, Gabriel said:
“It’s not really about what we think, as those who work in the environmental sector or for government, it’s actually about those who own and care for our forests.”
Great overview of the probems facing sustainable forests in the UK. That’s a large percentage of private ownership. In New York State about 50% of the forest land is owned in parcels less than 30 acres. The industrial foresters say woodlots that are less than 50 acres can’t be effectively managed. I would say they don’t want to take on the challenge of educating the smaller forest owners.
Comment by Lewis E. Ward — December 11, 2015 @ 2:50 pm
Thanks for your comment Lewis. Interesting to read of your experiences in New York State. One of the more exciting developments for us in the UK is how owners of small woodlands can collaborate via co-operatives, or even less formally, to share contractors, advisers, timber transport etc. Then scale becomes economically efficient.
Comment by Gabriel Hemery — December 11, 2015 @ 3:34 pm
As in NY state, then the small woodland owners might be willing to work together locally; but it does need an organising lead body to start this off. We dont all know the neighbours, So how about some scheme to co-ordinate this; with a lead body that knows the woodland owners ; which suggests the FC might be the one to start it off.
Comment by jb — January 4, 2016 @ 9:49 am