Lords to quiz forestry industry and National Trust on forestry strategy
The House of Lords EU Committee will hold the first of four evidence sessions on forestry with the Confederation of Forest Industries (Confor) and the National Trust on Wednesday 19 March.
The Committee are considering EU forestry policy and its links to the UK ahead of an expected declaration by EU Ministers in late Spring.
The Committee will take evidence from Stuart Goodall of Confor and Ray Hawes of the National Trust from 11:00am on Wednesday 19 March in Committee Room 2 of the House of Lords.
Areas the Committee will cover with the witnesses include:
- How the competing objectives of forestry policy – such as flood prevention, climate change mitigation and provision of timber – can be managed?
- What are their organisations' respective visions for the future of forestry at the EU, UK or local level?
- Does the European Commission's vision for the future of forest management chime with their own?
- Is the EU's Rural Development Fund effective in supporting forests?
- What improvements need to be made to the forest knowledge base?
- How can the implementation of forestry policy be effectively monitored?
- The import of illegally-sourced timber into the EU.
