Amid a period of much turmoil (political and otherwise), the UK Forest Market Report 2022 was launched. But it also raised some interesting questions, as FJ found out at an event held in Edinburgh.

THE list of geopolitical factors impacting on world affairs – and forestry – appears to be getting ever longer. There’s been Brexit, a pandemic, war in Ukraine, and now, in all likelihood, a global recession – and that’s just to name a few.

It was in this atmosphere then that, once again, Tilhill and Goldcrest Land and Forestry Group launched the UK Forest Market Report for 2022. In its 25th year, the report’s headline figure was that woodland values had risen by at least 15 per cent compared to 2021, driven by increased demand for timber assets. However, as guests found out at two launch events in November – one in London and the other in Edinburgh – there is more to the current situation than meets the eye.

Xander Mahony, head of forestry investment at Tilhill, and Foresight Sustainable Forestry’s Robert Guest were among those tasked with providing an insight into 2022’s theme of ‘Timber: The Climate Commodity?’. 

At the end of the presentations, the speakers were all invited back onto the stage for a Q&A.

READ OUR FULL FEATURE ON THE REPORT HERE 

Q: How can we better demonstrate the social value of forestry to local communities?
RG: One of the things we see around any planting or land change scheme is that, currently, you are not required to offer a public consultation in all scenarios. We certainly would do that as a matter of course. Our observation is there are generally one or two loud voices who drown out the silent majority. We need to turn that on its head and transparently say ‘this is our plan’. Engagement is really important. In forestry, we have a flurry of activity at the start – or during thinning etc. We just need to explain this to people.

Forestry Journal: Confor’s Stuart Goodall was asked a question from the audience. Confor’s Stuart Goodall was asked a question from the audience. (Image: FJ)
XM: One of the problems we have is some people don’t know how to respect the countryside. There’s an education aspect needed to ensure use of the countryside is not in contrast to the work Dan is doing.
Daniel Bass, rewilding services lead, Ecosulis: It’s been proven that not engaging with the community is one surefire way of killing off a project. We’ve seen the importance of starting slowly and not running in with huge-scale projects.

Q: We’ve seen the recent dip in timber prices. Where will the next 12 months take us?
Fenning Welstead, partner, Goldcrest Land and Forestry Group: Timber prices always go up and down, and we have the peaks and troughs. There has been a war going on and there’s the cost-of-living crisis. That’s not going to last and raw materials will remain important. The UK imports around 80 per cent of what we use, but that will change. I can only see a positive future.
XM: Speaking from a financial point of view, there is an expected inflation of timber prices as we use more timber because of its low carbon footprint. At the same time, it’s in a circular cycle based on economic factors. Whenever the prices are high, people cut down their trees and sell them. Whenever they are low, they keep them in the ground. We just didn’t plant enough trees in the 1990s and 2000s.
RG: One thing we didn’t mention is the war in Ukraine. A terrible event but about 20 per cent of global timber supply comes out of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. None of that is currently PEFC-certified. That will likely have an impact.

Q: With regards to rewilding – are you wanting to return to a natural environment or a biodiverse environment?
DB: I don’t think anyone can take a point in the last 1,000 years and say a particular ecosystem is where we want to go. In Europe, we often use baselines that are less natural and more cultural such as the pre-industrial era. People think rewilding is about returning to a past state but our take on it is that it is okay to be informed by multiple past baselines but we recognise that humans are now eco engineers within that space. We can create systems that have high function that aren’t a carbon copy of what’s gone before.

Q: Does the current legal framework in place for protected sites allow enough flexibility?
FW: My short answer is no, it doesn’t. We get entrenched views and comments from certain sectors, and my concern is that people don’t understand and see that we have a decision-making process.

Forestry Journal: One event in Edinburgh (pictured) and another in London were held to launch the report One event in Edinburgh (pictured) and another in London were held to launch the report (Image: FJ)

XM: Our current system is built around control. We feel that we control certain aspects of the environment around us. Perhaps aiming for something that is a bit more dynamic and robust is a better solution.

At this point, a final question was addressed to Confor chief executive Stuart Goodall, who was sitting in the front row of the audience.

Q: Are there any market developments back to hardwood timber in UK forestry?
SG: That is something I feel very strongly about. There is definitely a very strong political desire to see the recovery of hardwood markets. The problem is we want to create good-quality timber and not just firewood. We have problems with grey squirrels and we’re just not coming up with the solutions required. A trend is definitely taking place in wanting to put these markets back into management.