Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Confor was invited to give evidence to a Westminster committee’s inquiry into future flood prevention during a constructive debate on flooding and tree planting at the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Forestry.
The group heard from Confor’s Technical Director Andrew Heald, Tom Nisbet of Forest Research and Austin Brady from The Woodland Trust about the practical ways planting trees can help reduce flood risks as part of broader package of natural flood management measures.
APPGF Chair Chris Davies, MP for Brecon & Radnorshire, was joined at the meeting by Vice-Chair Anne Marie Trevelyan (MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed) and Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee Neil Parish (MP for Tiverton and Honiton).
Mr Heald presented Confor’s new discussion paper, Forestry and Flooding, and Mr Parish asked a series of probing questions of the experts on the practical issues of planting more trees and the impact this would have on farming and local communities. Mr Parish suggested that the government needed to look at innovative financial measures that incentivise farmers to plant trees in places that can reduce water flow and help protect valuable topsoil as well as reduce flood risk.
Confor Chief Executive Stuart Goodall, who facilitated the APPGF discussion with Chris Davies MP, said: “This was an excellent and constructive meeting with a range of different bodies debating what practical actions can be taken to move things forward. It is now all about where and how to plant trees in upland river catchments, not whether to do it.
“Confor produced the Forestry and Flooding paper to explain very simply how tree planting can help reduce future flood risks. We will continue to lead the debate in this area and welcome the opportunity to give evidence to the EFRA inquiry on future flood prevention.” He concluded.
Tags: All-Party Parliamentary Group on Forestry, cofor, flood prevention, tree planting, westminster commitee
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