Realising nature’s value – report from the Ecosystem Markets Task Force. Click to download from the Defra website
The final report of the Ecosystem Markets Task Force was published today entitled: Realising nature’s value
The report includes (on page 21) the B&Q woodland project that we announced recently (read more). It says:
Bringing neglected woodland into an appropriate management regime is challenging, and woodland owners often lack a route to market. The B&Q UK Forest Friendly Woodland project is run by the charities BioRegional and The Sylva Foundation, and helps woodland owners and managers understand their woodland resource and create a Forestry Commission compliant management plan. A network of local woodland trainers will visit 200 woodlands across the South East and East of England, representing approximately 10,000 hectares of woodland and provide training to woodland owners on The Sylva Foundation’s MyForest mapping service.
The Ecosystem Markets Task Force was established as a practical, business-led review of the economic opportunities that arise from valuing nature correctly . The work of the Task Force is a key commitment in the Government’s Natural Environment White Paper, ‘The Natural Choice’ , which seeks to create “a green economy, in which economic growth and the health of our natural resources sustain each other, and markets, business and Government better reflect the value of nature.”
Download the report from the Defra website
What a fantastic initiative. Great to see a major retailer working with charities to do something practical to help woodland and the wider environment.
Really god news, and praise to B and Q. Making local timber sourcing and use as high profile as growing and consuming much more local food?
John Gordon
chair, South Oxfordshire Sustainability (SOS) group