Fraxinus
16-10-2011, 12:21 PM
I read a very interesting paper recently written in the journal of the Royal Scottish Forestry Society.
It was inspired after the last years protestations in Britain over the threat to sell off publicly owned forests. Now I would be against the privatisation of public resources as well myself but the author of the paper raises some relevant points.
Unlike forestry in southern Ireland, British forestry and that of the Six Counties is not an expanding industry and has to a large degree completely moved away from timber production. The result is that Britain imports large amounts of timber and this will substantially increase into the future.
According to the article forest management, at least publicly owned forests, has switched from timber production to forest recreation and conservation due to public pressure over the past 20 years. All essential and worthy but as the writer points out, managing woodlands for timber doesn't have to be exclusive of the other two objectives as European forestry has shown.
People use vast amounts of timber products every year and these timber products have to come from somewhere. In Britain, it seems, that people don't want timber products from domestic sources rather seeing their forests used exclusively for wildlife and recreation management while consuming imports from abroad.
I don't think it's a case for privatisation but the article definitely highlights the need for us to be aware that timber doesn't just fall from the sky and some form of production managment is needed. Seeing that it is a renewable resource it'd be very foolish for us not to use wood products either. And there are forms of management as promoted by the likes of http://www.prosilvaireland.org/ that are sustainable by including the protection of biodiversity in its management.
I don't have permission to attach the article yet but here's a link to a bullet point presentation on the subject by the author of the paper http://www.abdn.ac.uk/rural-law/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/1230-1250-Andrew-Cameron-The-Forestry-Sector.pdf
It was inspired after the last years protestations in Britain over the threat to sell off publicly owned forests. Now I would be against the privatisation of public resources as well myself but the author of the paper raises some relevant points.
Unlike forestry in southern Ireland, British forestry and that of the Six Counties is not an expanding industry and has to a large degree completely moved away from timber production. The result is that Britain imports large amounts of timber and this will substantially increase into the future.
According to the article forest management, at least publicly owned forests, has switched from timber production to forest recreation and conservation due to public pressure over the past 20 years. All essential and worthy but as the writer points out, managing woodlands for timber doesn't have to be exclusive of the other two objectives as European forestry has shown.
People use vast amounts of timber products every year and these timber products have to come from somewhere. In Britain, it seems, that people don't want timber products from domestic sources rather seeing their forests used exclusively for wildlife and recreation management while consuming imports from abroad.
I don't think it's a case for privatisation but the article definitely highlights the need for us to be aware that timber doesn't just fall from the sky and some form of production managment is needed. Seeing that it is a renewable resource it'd be very foolish for us not to use wood products either. And there are forms of management as promoted by the likes of http://www.prosilvaireland.org/ that are sustainable by including the protection of biodiversity in its management.
I don't have permission to attach the article yet but here's a link to a bullet point presentation on the subject by the author of the paper http://www.abdn.ac.uk/rural-law/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/1230-1250-Andrew-Cameron-The-Forestry-Sector.pdf