Forestry has a future role to play in the English rural economy despite challenging conditions for the sector, foresters were told at this year’s Royal Show, Stoneleigh.
Francis Fulford, chairman of the Forestry & Timber Association (FTA) in England, said he was optimistic forestry could be a valuable and profitable part of the economy.
Mr Fulford, who officially launched the FTA in England at the show on July 2, said there were problems and battles ahead but the new organisation would help the industry to “present a stronger front”.
Meanwhile, the FTA’s UK chairman Robert Scott called for public money in order to realise national and regional forest strategies being drawn up.
He said: “These strategies must be followed through with delivery mechanisms, and the policymakers must recognise that, if the market cannot deliver the necessary funding, the objectives will not be achieved without some public money.”
Mr Scott also said the industry could achieve financial success if it received wider recognition of the non-market [public] benefits of forestry, especially in a largely urbanised country like the UK.
As well as lobbying for financial support, the FTA would support certification, although he recognised the need for its cost implications to be addressed.
The FTA is a result of a merger between the Association of Professional Foresters and the Timber Growers Association. It has already been launched in Northern Ireland and Scotland.
