18 AUGUST 2019 FORESTRYJOURNAL.CO.UK
NEWS
LATEST UPDATE FROM THE GLOBAL FORESTRY INDUSTRY
SOIL Association Certification Forestry (SACF) is
celebrating success after claiming three new contracts
to audit public forests across Great Britain, increasing its
portfolio by 839,193 ha.
SACF will now audit on behalf of Natural Resources
Wales, Forestry and Land Scotland and Forestry England
for the next five years. The successful bids mean the
certification body is now responsible for auditing and
certifying all public woodland in England, Scotland
and Wales to the UK Woodland Assurance Standard
(UKWAS).
This marks a 205% rise in the areas of UK woodland
certified by SACF, increasing it to 1,247,806 ha. The forest
cover in England alone is equivalent to the total area of
London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds combined.
Globally, Soil Association Certification’s certification
portfolio now encompasses nearly 16 million ha in over
50 countries, certifying over 3,000 clients to PEFC and
FSC forest-management and chain-of-custody standards.
The contracts in numbers: Forestry and Land Use
Scotland (470,000 ha added); Natural Resources Wales
(124,000 ha added); Forestry England (245,193 ha
added).
Kevin Jones, head of forestry at SACF, said: “Each of
these organisations’ care for Britain’s woodlands chimes
with Soil Association Certification’s ambitions for the
natural environment across our forestry, organic and
public procurement work. This is a big opportunity for us
to help them to continue to responsibly manage forests
to the highest standards, so that future generations can
continue to enjoy accessible, wildlife-rich and productive
forests for years to come.”
James Simpson, Forestry England’s director of
operations – forestry and land management, said: “We’re
really looking forward to working with Soil Association
Forestry as our new UKWAS certification auditors. As the
largest land manager in England we are very aware of
the challenges which we face in terms of a very diverse
estate, stakeholder demands which sometimes compete,
and the need to plan decades into the future so that
our woodlands are resilient in the face of environmental
change. Forest certification helps us to meet these
challenges and make our forests fit for the next 100
years.”
Simon Hodgson, chief executive of Forestry and Land
Scotland, said: “Our mission is to look after Scotland’s
national forests and land for the benefit of all, now and for
the future. Sustainability and environmental good practice
are at the heart of all our work and the Soil Association’s
long track record in certification will help us add value to
our audit process.”THE programme for the National Tree Officers Conference 2019 has
been announced.
The conference, organised by the London Tree Officers
Association (LTOA), the Municipal Tree Officers Association
(MTOA) and facilitated by the Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF),
comes at a time when trees in towns and cities are recognised by
policymakers as having a crucial role to play in meeting the UK’s
climate change target of net zero emissions by 2050.
Key international speaker Gian Michele Cirulli, urban tree
manager with the Green Public Service of Turin City Council, Italy,
will outline the role of trees in climate change, giving an insight into
current and future practices.
Delegates will also get an insight into the process of assessing
current canopy cover and integrating planting proposals into new
developments in the future as part of a council’s Local Plan. Phil
Simpkin MICFor will provide an update on his presentation at the
2016 conference on his work at Wycombe District Council.
Phillip Handley, a GIS specialist with Forest Research, will
explain how a lack of data, or data of dubious quality, is preventing
a knowledge-based approach to optimising benefits from trees in
urban areas. He is working on developing a new data standard with
the aim of putting the right trees in the right place.
The conference sessions cover planning, management, legislation,
collaboration, diversity, standards and pests and diseases.
Individual talks include the regulatory role of a tree officer, best
practice for planning issues, tree legislation in Scotland and the
reporting of invasive pests and diseases.
The ICF’s development director, Louise Simpson, said: “The
National Tree Officers Conference platform allows tree officers to
showcase their work, and thereby learn from each other, ultimately
improving the success of tree planting and maintenance, helping
mitigate climate change and getting people connected to nature
with all the associated health benefits that it brings.”
Described as the only major event in the UK dedicated to tree
officers, the conference takes place at Reading Town Hall on 6
November.
National Tree
Officers Conference
2019 programme
announced
SOIL ASSOCIATION
CERTIFICATION
FORESTRY TO AUDIT
ALL PUBLIC FORESTRY
IN GREAT BRITAIN