The UK Government has announced £4m in funding to enable innovative projects to enhance tree planting stocks and woodland resilience to help meet the country’s ‘Net Zero By 2050’ ambitions. The funding will support the multi-billion pound sector to create new markets for wood products, driving trade and growing the economy.
The aim of the funding is to boost nature regeneration efforts, promote biodiversity, and support innovative approaches to tree production, tree health, and woodland resilience through increased and improved active management of woodlands, amidst a changing climate.
As tree planting across the UK increases, the Tree Production Innovation Fund will support the development and deployment of new technologies and ways of working which will provide a diverse supply of healthy young trees. This will support Government ambitions to treble tree planting rates by the end of this Parliament and plant 30,000 hectares of trees across the UK per year by 2025.
Richard Stanford, Chief Executive, Forestry Commission, commented, “our trees and forests are under threat from climate change, pests and diseases. Trees have to be resilient for the very long term of their lives, and we need to innovate to ensure the woods we have, and those we must grow, thrive.”
“The projects supported through these funds are essential in supporting efforts to build larger, more diverse and more resilient tree scapes across the country and I strongly encourage all suitable projects to apply.”
The Woods into Management Forestry Innovation Fund aims to bring an additional 20,000 hectares of existing woodland into active management, which can help boost biodiversity and protect against pests and diseases. The fund will also support projects which will develop new technologies and working practices to help home grown timber production meet domestic and international demand.
This will help to bolster timber security and grow the UK’s forestry and primary wood processing sectors, which support 30,000 jobs and contribute over £2 billion to the economy every year.
The Forestry Commission is hosting webinars to help with the Tree Production Innovation Fund application process.
Source: GOV.UK
