Seeing the wood for trees in Oxfordshire

THE future of Oxfordshire?s woodland was the subject for debate at a special conference held in the county last week.
Representatives from Oxfordshire County Council, the Government, farming, the building and furniture industries, the energy sector, nature conservation organisations, education and others attended.

Oxfordshire has several well established woodland initiatives, all supported by local authorities including the County Council, that support owners’ efforts to manage their woodland.
Some of the county?s woodland is more than 400 years old.
Key issues identified at the conference included:
? Promoting better use of local wood.
? Promoting the use of low value wood for fuel.
? Directing the development of new fuelwood
coppice in ways to minimise environmental
damage and provide new public benefits.
? The value and importance of woodland in
education.
? Creating new woodland resources and managing
existing woodland in the Oxford green belt
for public benefit.
? Funding to deliver outcomes desired.

County Forester, Eric Dougliss said: ?If woodlands are to continue providing public benefits, they have to be sustainable. Realistically, this means that owners must be able to sell what their woodlands produce, at a profit.
?Using local, rather than imported wood, for building and furniture manufacture is one possibility. Using the large quantities of low value wood for energy production is another.
?The increasing demand for wood energy is likely to produce a demand for increased areas, maybe several thousand hectares, of new fuelwood coppice.
?Finding suitable sites for this, minimising environmental damage and maximising public benefit are going to be big challenges.?