The Woodland Trust has written to local MP Norman Baker to praise him and his government colleagues' approach to the nation's forests in light of the government's response to the report by the Independent Panel on Forestry (IPF) (pdf download).
On the 4th of July 2012, the IPF published its final report into the future of the nation's forests which laid down a challenge to the nation and the government to recognise the value of our forests and woodlands and the need to grow a new appreciation of them. At the end of last month, the government published its response to the report (pdf download) which has been broadly praised by the Woodland Trust. The response includes:
Norman says: "It is fair to say the initial policy direction for our woodlands was very ill thought-out and I wrote to the Defra Secretary of State on a number of occasions to express my concerns, which I know my constituents shared. It was right, therefore, that against this strong opposition the decision was made to take a step back and review how best our forests and woodlands can be utilised and preserved for future generations. It is great that the Woodland Trust believes that this has broadly been achieved and that we now have a foundation of a policy that puts protections of our forests and woodlands at the fore.
The Woodland Trust has asked that I provide my assurances that I will do what I can to ensure that we deliver a policy that secures the future of our forests and woodlands and I am of course happy to provide that assurance."
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Contact Norman at:
Norman Baker,
23 East Street,
Lewes,
East Sussex,
BN7 2LJ.
Tel: (01273) 480281.
Fax: (01273) 480287.
Email: info
