Jeffrey Donaldson

Forestry for the 21st century

15 September 2009

Democratic Unionist Party MP and MLA Jeffrey Donaldson writes for ePolitix.com on the Northern Ireland Forestry Bill, which has its second reading in Stormont.

Northern Ireland must protect its wooded heritage. Woodland represent only 6 per cent of the landscape in the province which compares unfavourably both to the UK average of 12 per cent and a European average of 44 per cent. As new forestry legislation is due to pass through the Northern Ireland Assembly there is a once in a lifetime opportunity – the last forestry legislation in the province was passed in 1953 – for politicians to address previous shortcomings. As an MP and MLA for the Lagan Valley, and former member of the Executive, I am keen for the legislation to create a system capable of delivering forestry policy and practices that recognise economic, environmental and social objectives.

During a briefing with the Woodland Trust I was informed that since the 1960s 273 of Northern Ireland’s ancient woods were lost to clear felling, and a third of those not clear felled were in fact degraded through planting with non-native conifers. I welcome the Forestry Bill as it will bring Northern Ireland into line with the rest of the UK and importantly the legislation includes the re-introduction of felling licences.

However it could prove inadequate to simply re-introduce felling licences without fleshing out which trees and woods must be protected. The Bill could therefore be augmented by introducing a presumption against felling any site on the ancient woodland inventory; such a power will guarantee that these diverse habitats and historic relics are safeguarded for future generations. Neither should government departments be exempted from the new system: equality is needed between the private and public sectors.

In 2006 the Northern Ireland forestry strategy committed to doubling woodland cover in 50 years; requiring an average annual planting rate of 1, 740 hectares. Forest Service is central to the direction, implementation and monitoring of forestry policy in the province and will have a critical role in co-ordinating efforts between the public, private and charitable sectors. For success to be a realistic prospect a new sustainability duty is needed to empower Forest Service to both create woodland – in appropriate locations and with the appropriate species of tree – and publicise the benefits of planting woods to others. A sustainability duty should also commit Forest Service to restoring ancient woodland sites, engaging and educating people on forestry issues, and acting as an advisory body on commercial forestry and the conservation of woods.

Unlike the rest of the UK, Northern Ireland does not have a woodland inventory. The Forestry Bill can address the anomaly by obligating Forest Service as an agency in the Department of Agriculture to produce and maintain a comprehensive inventory of all woodland in the province. This need not be an onerous commitment – the data already exists in other forms and simply needs collating – but without an inventory it is impossible to either measure the success of afforestation schemes or monitor the protection of existing woodland.

Woods and trees are essential to regulate climate, important for the flow and quality of water, for mitigation of air pollution, soil conservation, storing carbon and adapting society to climate change. In the coming months the Northern Ireland Assembly has an invaluable opportunity to shape the forestry legislation to ensure it combines the commercial demands of the private sector with the need to protect those woods important both for nature and local communities. Hopefully the nettle will be grasped.