| | Woodlands for Wales: A Consultation Document by the National Assembly for Wales |
| 1.1 | In 1999 the National Assembly for Wales produced and widely circulated a consultation document entitled 'Woodlands for Wales' |
| 1.2 | The purpose of the document was to encourage debate and gain views on a way forward for woodlands in Wales and the type of strategy and policies that should be developed. The consultation document recognised the wide ranging social, economic and environmental benefits that woodlands can provide. It sought comment on a broad range of issues centred on the type of woodlands and forestry industry that people want for the future of Wales, and the mechanisms by which these might be achieved. |
| 1.3 | More specifically, the consultation document addressed three specific topic areas: - woodlands for rural development and the wider economy;
- woodlands for the environment;
- woodlands for people.
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| 1.4 | The document went on to describe four hypothetical scenarios, which offered a range of predictions for the future of woodlands and the timber industry in Wales: - The Market Forces Scenario - which assumed a reduction in public investment in woodlands, a reduction in the maintenance of environmental standards through regulation, and a self-supporting timber industry that competes un-aided in the international market.
- Integrated Rural Economy Scenario - whereby woodland policies and support mechanisms are integrated with agriculture and economic support policy, with more emphasis being placed on agri-environment schemes and local processing of wood products, with additional funds being targeted to specific priority areas.
- Environmental Scenario - whereby the aim of woodland policy is to achieve enhanced environmental values. Native tree species are the favoured planting stock, clear felling is avoided, and woodland is removed from areas of semi-natural habitats of greater value, where restoration of the original habitat is feasible.
- The Present Projected Scenario - which assumes that public investment in woodland continues at the same level as at present, with gradual improvements in productivity delivered through advances in technical research and innovation. Outputs of an environmental and social nature continue to be better understood and influence policy, which aims to deliver a more sustainable woodland economy.
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| | The Consultation Process |
| 1.5 | Before the preparation of 'Woodlands for Wales', the Working Group charged with preparing the consultation document met with major stakeholder groups to seek their views. These stakeholders included major industry and environmental bodies and academics with an understanding of land-use issues. These views helped inform the Working Group in their consideration of issues to be included in 'Woodlands for Wales'. Following publication, the Forestry Commission convened five 'Local Consultation Workshops', at locations across Wales (Carmarthen, Cardiff, Mold, Bangor,Builth Wells). |
| | Purpose of the Report of Consultation |
| 1.6 | The purpose of this report is to summarise the written and website responses to the consultation document and the associated workshops, and to draw out the main issues raised. The report discusses the factors that respondents felt should be addressed by a Welsh woodland strategy and, where appropriate, highlights differences between different interests and different sectors of the industry. The chapters which follow are entirely based on the responses. The report deals with matters of fact i.e. what the respondents have said. It does not provide any comments or value judgements on the responses. |
| | Method of Analysis |
| 1.7 | The closing date for comments on the consultation document was 31st January 2000. When consultation closed 194 responses had been received. These form the basis of all comments made in this report. |
| 1.8 | The responses have been summarised in a Microsoft Access for Windows database, which has been subdivided in accordance with the questions posed in the consultation document. One of the key purposes of the database has been to try and structure individual responses around common themes to aid analysis and allow easier comparison of different perspectives on the same issues. It should be stressed, however, that the database does not supersede the full written responses - rather it provides a quick index for tracing back to the main points in the written responses. |
| 1.9 | The database structure is set out in Appendix 1, while the key points that were raised at the workshops are summarised in Appendix 2. |
| | Structure of this Report |
| 1.10 | The report is structured into six remaining chapters centred on the key topic areas raised in the consultation document. Chapter 2: outlines the nature of the respondents and their support for a strategy;
Chapter 3: considers the current benefits and disbenefits of woodlands in Wales;
Chapter 4: considers the building blocks in the development of a woodland strategy;
Chapter 5: considers the scenarios for the future;
Chapter 6: considers the implementation of the strategy in terms of funding and advice;
Chapter 7: considers the roles that different sectors can perform in the implementation of the strategy. |
| 1.11 | We have tried hard to reflect accurately the views expressed by respondents. Where useful, we have indicated the level of support for individual ideas and initiatives but this is not an exact science as responses take the form of discursive prose to what are general and often open-ended questions. It should be noted that where we have estimated the number of responses to a particular question, each response is counted as one; in other words there is no weighting toward organisations that may be representing a large membership. |
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