Benefits For Communities
From green spaces to job creation, woodlands give back to the communities around them. Investment in forestry and the timber supply chain boosts the rural economy and the local area.
Doesn’t forestry just mean short-term planting jobs and no local economic benefits?
The latest statistics show forestry and primary and secondary wood processing supports more than 90,000 jobs in the UK. Find out more about forestry and wood processing jobs.
The forestry and wood industry supports a wide range of jobs, from tree nurseries, companies who plant trees and manage forests, harvesting the trees, transporting the timber - and processing the wood to make products for our everyday lives. As the forests planted last century have matured, many thousands of jobs have been created and these are predominantly close to forests and wood processing facilities are – it’s not economically viable to transport logs by road over long distances.
Studies show forestry supports at least as many jobs as sheep farming, including one report on Eskdalemuir in southern Scotland and another about Wales. Rural areas are increasingly seeing significant numbers of new jobs emerging due to forestry.
It makes economic sense to keep operations as close to the forestry site as possible – from sourcing trees at nearby nurseries, to partnering with local sawmills when the time to harvest timber comes.
Planting schemes can also lead to investment to improve rural roads to support timber transport and the movement of machinery. This can often result in better transport links between remote communities.
Who owns our forests?
Around 25% of the UK’s forests are owned by governments, with most of the rest owned by individuals.
The expansion of tree planting has attracted a range of investors able to bring the significant financing required to create larger forests. Some of this investment is targeted at forests of broadleaf tree species that are not planted to produce wood, but where there is an opportunity to sell carbon credits. Other investment is targeted at planting wood-producing forests where the investment bridges the gap between lower rates of grant and the income from sales of timber in future decades.
Forestry can attract significant investment into rural areas and create new jobs. This can come from existing companies or investors attracted by strong growth in the industry, the positive benefits it delivers in tackling climate change, and the opportunity to improve places for wildlife and for people.
Many investors are drawn to forestry by the strong environmental and societal benefits provided by tree planting, as well as the continued growth of modern productive forestry as an industry.