Single-species limit lowered in new UKFS and peat depth rules unchanged
The new fifth edition of the UK Forestry Standard (UKFS) sets a 65% single species threshold, a reduction from 75% and intended to ‘reflect the importance of increasing forest resilience through greater species diversity’.
An accompanying document setting out the deliberation process said the change demonstrates ‘how seriously the four UK administrations take the issue of forest resilience and the need to mitigate the risks to UK forests from a changing climate and increasing pests and diseases’.
The peat depth threshold will remain at 50cm in the new standard, because there was ‘no settled scientific consensus for change’.
The UKFS sets out the technical requirements and best practice for the sector, seeking to balance environmental, economic and social considerations. There will be a 12-month transition period for guidance to be updated accordingly and draft forest plans to be developed, with the standard taking effect in October 2024. Updates reflect new scientific knowledge, international developments and new legislation. UKFS fifth edition can be found here. new fifth edition
Please note: The following statement is taken from the Scottish Forestry website
“The 5th edition will be applied after 1st October 2024. After that date, updated Good Forestry Practice Requirements will be applied to existing forest plans at the time of renewal. Until then, the 4th edition of the UK Forestry Standard (2017) should be used.”
UKFCG Management update
With effect from 1st November 2023 Simon Webb has been confirmed as a Director of UKFCG. The registered address for UK Forest Certification Ltd has also changed and can be found on UKFCG invoice letterheads issued after the above date.
UKFCG Audit team
We are delighted to announce the addition of a new member to our audit team, Amy Mitchell will be joining Phil and Simon in the next few weeks. Amy, having implemented compliance audits for over 25 years throughout the UK, and who will be known to many forest managers, will be working on a contract basis in Scotland. Amy’s impressive CV includes extensive experience in the role of FSC and PEFC Lead Auditor, FSC and UKWAS Compliance Group Scheme Manager and more recently as a Woodland Carbon Code Validator.
We look forward to working with Amy and to ongoing expansion of UKFCG which now provides forest management certification for over 200 forests in the UK.
Stakeholder Engagement Training launched in Scotland
As woodland expansion and creation is projected to increase, potential areas of tension with other land users and communities may arise. Those in the forestry sector need to be prepared to tackle these issues and engage stakeholders at all stages.
Confor has been working with its members to identify best practice approaches and is now able to offer a stakeholder engagement training course for the sector. Designed and tested by industry representatives so that the training is appropriate and relevant to industry practitioners, the first series of the courses will be running across Scotland in 2023/24.
Places are limited are each location. Find a session near you and register your interest. Confor is grateful to Scottish Forestry for their support in delivering these training courses.
