The Forestry Commision
The Forestry Commission looks after Wales's public woodlands - which make up over 40 per cent of this vast area - on behalf of the National Assembly for Wales, which took over policy responsibility for the land when it was established in 1999.
The majority (almost 70 per cent) of this woodland is conifer, reflecting the earlier need to create strategic wood reserves. In recent years, the trend has been to diversify and plant more broadleaved and mixed woodlands. In 1999-2000, nearly 25 per cent of all planting (new planting and replanting) was of broadleaved species. Broadleaved woodlands occupy some 84,000 hectares in Wales.
In the private sector, there are large numbers of relatively small woodlands created and maintained by individual owners. About a quarter of Welsh woodlands are found on farms. These are predominantly small broadleaved woodlands of high environmental value.
The Forestry Commission will deliver the National Assembly's forestry policies through:
working in partnership with others to promote the interests of forestry
encouraging good forest management which maximises public benefit by providing targeted grant-aid for woodland owners
regulating forest practice in both public and private woodlands through consultation, the use of felling controls and environmental impact assessments.
Working forests still form the backbone of Welsh forestry, which contributes some £400 million of gross output per year to the economy in Wales and provides just over 4,000 jobs. However, today the Commission must balance these considerations with other social and environmental factors.
A positive legacy of planting in the 1960s and 1970s is the potential for wood production to increase during the next 15-20 years, providing raw material for the expanding wood processing industries in Wales. The current timber production from the woodlands is 1.4 million tonnes, which is predicted to rise to some 1.9 million tonnes of timber by 2015.
The Forestry Commission, together with other partners, has prepared a Wales Woodland Strategy for the National Assembly, which was published in July 2001. This strategy sets a vision for the woodlands of Wales for the next 50 years, showing how sustainable woodland management will contribute to the Assembly's aim of social justice and prosperity for all.
More detailed information on forestry in Wales and on the work of the Forestry Commission in Wales is contained in the Forestry Briefing for Wales and by highlighting one of the navigation icons on the left of the screen.
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