Trees: Conservation

(asked on 19th October 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to (a) plant more trees and (b) preserve existing tree species in the UK.


Answered by
Rebecca Pow Portrait
Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This question was answered on 27th October 2021

The Government has committed to increasing tree planting in the UK to 30,000 hectares per year by the end of this parliament.

As supported in both the England Trees Action Plan (ETAP), published in May and most recently the Net Zero Strategy, published in October, we have set out various commitments to boost tree planting, establishment and management in England; support a thriving green economy through more private investment in trees and woodlands; and bring trees closer to people. In England, we are boosting the existing £640 million Nature for Climate Fund with a further £124 million of new money, ensuring total spend of more than £750 million by 2025 on peat restoration, woodland creation and management – above and beyond what was promised in the manifesto.

We continue to support activities to enhance production, processing and supply of UK tree seeds from a wider range of species and provenances. One hundred percent of trees planted by Forestry England in a forestry setting are UK grown. This has been the position for the last three years.

As set out in ETAP we have committed to several increases in tree protection in England. This includes launching three Forestry Innovation Funds to restore vulnerable woodland habitats and help woodlands adapt to a changing climate and recover from the impacts of pests and diseases. Additionally, through the Environment Bill we will reform the current felling license regime to crack down on illegal tree felling, as well as introducing a duty to consult.

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