The Forestry Commission‘s role in reconstructing the UK’s natural forests was highlighted at the Forest Landscape Restoration workshop in Petropolis, Brazil last week.

Tim Rollinson, director-general of the Forestry Commission, which is a member of the global partnership on forest landscape restoration, told delegates: “We no longer just plant trees. We are now in the business of giving something back, and putting in place a resource that will benefit generations to come.”

Mr Rollinson said that the UK’s natural forests were systematically removed over many thousands of years and that by the early 20th century they covered no more than 5% of the land area.

However, he went on, in the past 80 years the forest area has more than doubled and forest resources are being restored to meet future demands.

&#8220We made mistakes in the past, but we have learned many lessons as we have gradually restored our forest resources”

Tim Rollinson, Forestry Commission
director general

“A priority in the early years was to create forests to meet our needs for timber, but now our forests are being transformed,” he said.

He highlighted the work in Kielder Forest – Europe’s biggest man-made forest – as an example of how Britain’s public forests are changing as the Forestry Commission balances the needs of people and animals with sustainably producing timber.

Mr Rollinson said: “We admit we have made mistakes in the past, but we have learned many lessons as we have gradually restored our forest resources. We are now in the position to give something back to the land and the people, and our aim is to manage our forests as an exemplar of sustainable development.”