Information note - No. 54

The 54th meeting of the Forestry Research Co-ordination Committee was held on 15 October 1999 at Great Minster House, 76 Marsham Street, London.

Expenditure on forestry and tree-related research

Total expenditure of forestry and tree-related research in Britain, collated by the FRCC on the same basis as last year* will amount to c. £21 million in the year ending March 2000. This is a very similar expenditure to that in the year ending March 1999. Table 1 shows that fewer organisations contributed to the database this year (20 compared to 24 in 1998). This suggests that the steady decline in expenditure on forestry research since 1989/90 may have come to an end. The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, the Environment Agency and Department for International Development and the Forestry Commission have spent more on forestry research and using the CORDIS database has picked up more EU-funded projects. The agricultural departments and BBSRC spent about the same as last year, while the conservation bodies, NERC, universities and commercial interests spent less (Table 2). Tropical forestry, silviculture, mensuration and inventory and socio-economics (planning) showed slight increases of expenditure, while that on tree biology, biotic damage, harvesting, wood science and the environment decreased (Table 3). For some subject areas, these changes were small. Analysis of the database over a number of years by keyword shows trends which reflect the linkage of research expenditure with forestry policy. Over the last three years, less has been spent on air pollution, expenditure has been consistent on conservation, biodiversity, land use and short rotation coppice and has increased on climate change and molecular genetics.

Country Forestry Strategies

The England Forestry Strategy was launched in the Summer of 1999 and consultation is currently under way on the Forestry Strategy for Scotland and Welsh Woodland Strategy which will be published early in 2000. The development and implementation of these strategies has involved a number of organisations and departments, and they reflect both the broad range of benefits provided by woodland and the distinctive needs of each country. Research needs are being identified and will influence research programmes over the next few years. The Rural White Paper, which is currently being prepared under the lead of DETR and MAFF, will follow the priorities set out in the Country Forestry Strategies.

EU Rural Development Regulation

The Rural Development Regulation (FDR) is the most significant element of Agenda 2000 for forestry. Its creation is recognition that in future farming needs to be part of wider rural policy. Forestry’s inclusion in the RDR is a welcome development and, although funds are currently limited, the indications are that in future EU funds will be redirected within the Common Agricultural Policy to the measures within the RDR, including forestry. To exploit RDR countries are required to submit a programme, covering the period 2000-2006, which includes the forestry measures that they wish to implement. Regional partnerships will have a role in determining local priorities and the Farm Woodland Premium Scheme should be integrated into the programmes.

The next meeting of FRCC will be on Thursday, 16 March 2000.

December 1999

Tables

Table 1.
Total expenditure on forestry research by all FRCC organisations over 10 years (£000 in year's expenditure and in £s 1998/99). The number of organisations who submitted data in each year is also shown.

Table 2
Estimated expenditure on forestry research by FRCC member organisation in 1997/98, 1998/99 and 1999/00 (£000 in £s 97/8, 98/9 and 1999/00).

Table 3
Estimates of costs by subject area for 1997/8, 1998/9 and 1999/00 (£000s in £s 97/8, 98/9 and 99/00).
NB: Projects are only allocated to one area.