MPs and Lords have established a new group in Parliament to safeguard and boost the future of the country’s forests and the wood processing sector, and Chase MP Amanda Milling is among the founding Members.
The new All Party Parliamentary Group on Forestry (APPGF) has been created to highlight the urgent need for more investment in the forestry and wood-processing sector. The group will focus on the need for increased levels of sustainable forestry, helping to drive UK support for the wider forestry and wood-processing sector.
Amanda explained her decision for joining the group:
“Cannock Chase Forest in central to my constituency, and essential to my constituents. Whether for its leisure benefits, nature, scenery or employment, Cannock Chase matters a huge amount to my constituents, and I will never take that for granted. I thought it was important for me to be a part of this group and to get involved right at the start, by attending the inaugural meeting. More broadly, a successful forestry and wood processing sector is positive for the economy, the environment, recreation and health.”
At the House of Commons launch event, Stuart Goodall, Chief Executive of group organisers, Confor, set out how forestry and wood processing supports 2.5% of the UK economy and three-quarters of a million jobs.
MPs at the APPGF launch event also discussed how the benefits of planting more trees go above and beyond economic factors. More British planting, MPs claimed, would bring environmental and biodiversity benefits to the UK. As a result, MPs called for better public education on the role managed forests play and the need to encourage more people to visit the nation’s forests.