Information note - No. 58

The Forestry Research Co-ordination Committee met on 8 November 2001 at Eland House, Bressenden Place, London.

Expenditure on forestry and tree-related research

Total expenditure on forestry and tree-related research in Britain, collated by FRCC, will amount to c. £25 Million in the year ending March 2002 (Table 1). This represents a decrease of c. £3M on the 00/01 expenditure. One additional organisation contributed data this year but the reorganisation of government departments (formation of DEFRA, etc) has altered the distribution of research expenditure across FRCC member organisations (Table 2). All data include expenditure on technology transfer which is an integral part of most research programmes. The number of projects for which costs and other details are included in the collation has improved in recent years with better use of databases. There is, nevertheless, a clear indication that total UK expenditure on forestry research is returning to similar levels to those of the early 1990s. Although departmental structures have altered, expenditure by the main UK funders of forestry research has generally remained similar. Expenditure by government departments (except for DFID), research councils and agencies is slightly lower than last year, with the EU spend slightly up. Expenditure by subject area (Table 3) shows that the main changes from last year are increases in research on Tropical Forestry (which may reflect better data collection), Expansion (new planting) and Recreation & Community Participation. Analysis of the database over a number of years by keyword (Table 4) shows trends which reflect the linkage between research and forestry policy. Over recent years less has been spent on Air Pollution and Tree Genetics while expenditure has been consistent on Conservation, Tree Selection, Vertebrates, Short Rotation Coppice, Climate Change and on Timber Properties & Pulping. This year Entomology has replaced Invertebrates in the list of keywords which have the greatest expenditure associated with them. This reflects no more than a change in choice of keyword and better guidance on the choice of keywords will be provided next year. Land Use has displaced Vertebrates from the top ten list and expenditure on Short Rotation Coppice has declined.

The Welsh Woodland Strategy

The Welsh Woodland Strategy: Woodlands for Wales, The National Assembly for Wales Strategy for Trees and Woodlands was published in 2001. Key principles are sustainability, social inclusion, quality, partnership and integration. Five strategic objectives are identified:

• Woodlands for people.

• A new emphasis on woodlands management.

• Wales as a location for world-class forest industries.

• A diverse and healthy environment.

• Tourism, recreation and health.

The research priorities which arise include: Transformation from traditional single species, even-aged stands to continuous cover forestry; Restoration of ancient woodlands; The interaction with people including the learning opportunities; Climate change (carbon sequestration and catchment management); Local issues like transport and the local use of forest products; and Integrating forestry into the wider rural economy. FRCC welcomed the Welsh Strategy and, in addition, discussed the need for more research into the role of forestry in the natural environment, e.g the use of woodland in floodplain management and the overall benefits of woodlands in the landscape, the objective being to use woodlands positively to achieve environmental benefits.

Links with Scottish Forest Industries Cluster and UK Timber Engineering Group

The work of the Scottish Forest Industries Cluster was described to the Committee. Details are available on the Cluster’s website (www.forestryscotland.com). Cedric Wilkins will represent the Cluster at future FRCC meetings. The activities of the UK Timber Engineering Group (UKTEG) which is co-ordinated by DTLR were also described. Membership of UKTEG includes TRADA, engineers, industrialists, academics, structural consultants, manufacturers, DTLR officials, BRE and trade associations. Two or three meetings per year are organised by DTLR, and the group addresses:

• needs of the timber construction sector

• current issues - safety/economic issues; future trends; national and European codes and standards; building regulations; education of engineers (undergraduate/CPD)

• reviews of strategies for future research

• peer review of current research.

Social sciences research into woodlands and the natural environment

The proceedings of a one-day workshop on social forestry have been published by the Forestry Commission (Social Forestry: Questions and Issues by Elizabeth O’Brien, FC 2001), and provided a scoping document for an FRCC conference which was held at Cardiff University in June 2001. The Cardiff meeting addressed three broad themes: Culture values and meanings of woodlands and trees; Monitoring and modelling approaches to forest management and sustainability; and Community involvement in decision-making and management. Immediate research needs were identified as public interest, values and discourses, public engagement and governance, visualisations of forest design as a basis for examining public preferences, and the development of decision support systems for forest managers. The proceedings of the conference Trees are Company: Social Science Research into Woodlands and the Natural Environment will be published in April 2002.

February 2002

Tables

Table 1
Total expenditure on forestry research by FRCC organisation over the last 10 years. Annual costs are shown as actual expenditure in the year and also adjusted to £s 01/02. The numbers of organisations who submitted data in each year are also shown.

Table 2
Estimated expenditure on forestry research by FRCC member organisations in the last four years (£K, actual expenditure in the year)

AGRICS: MAFF, Scottish Office (SOAEFD), Welsh Office Agriculture Dept. (WOAD) & DARDNIz

BBSRC: Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

CON: Countryside Agency, English Nature & Scottish Natural Heritage

DARDNI: Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for Northern Ireland.

DEFRA & EA: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Environment Agency

DETR: Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions

DFID: Department for International Development

DTI: Department of Trade and Industry

DTLR: Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions

EU: European Union.

FC: Forestry Commission

NAW: National Assembly for Wales

NERC: Natural Environment Research Council

SEERAD: Scottish Executive Environment & Rural Affairs Department

SFT: Scottish Forestry Trust

Others: Many other sponsoring organisations inc. other universities, ETSU, ESRC, Commercial, etc.

Table 3
Estimates of costs by subject area for 98/9, 99/00, 00/01 and 01/02 (£000s in £s 98/9, 99/00, 00/01 and 01/02)

Table 4
Costs by main keyword (£000s in £s 99/00, 00/01 and 01/02). Note projects have a number of keywords so that project costs may be shown more than once.