People are being asked to say where they would like Wales' new national forest to be. The Welsh Government has made a commitment to plant 86 million trees over the next decade, massively increasing the amount currently being planted.
In 2020, just 290 hectares of woodland was planted in Wales but 43,000 new hectares is needed in the next nine years. Annual woodland creation has not exceeded 2,000 hectares since 1975. So, as part of its plan to create a national forest, the Welsh Government is inviting people in Wales to submit their views on where these new trees should be planted.
There are plans this will form a connected network of woodlands throughout Wales. It is hoped this will help slow the environmental catastrophe unfolding, with TV presenter Iolo Williams describing Wales as becoming a green desert.
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An online map has been created for people to choose where they think woodland should be placed. In a statement, the Welsh Government said: "We will look at all the locations people in Wales want to see the National Forest grown and use this information to see where we can put the right trees in the right places."
Part of the challenge for tree planting comes from the fact that many parts of Wales may not be appropriate for woodland (not least if everyone starts clicking in the middle of town high streets). The Welsh Government stressed this point as well as warning people that just because they have clicked on the map, it didn't mean they had permission to start planting saplings. A Welsh Government statement said: "We cannot guarantee all areas will become part of the National Forest. Please note the use of this tool does not grant any permissions to plant trees."
Though experts agree that tree planting is an important part of the much-needed drive to reduce our carbon emissions (just last week the temperatures at the south pole were 40C above what is normal for the time of year), the conversion of productive farmland into forest can have impacts on both food production and rural communities. WalesOnline conducted an investigation into this recently which you can read here.
You can put your requests for the Welsh national forest on the map here as well as registering your interest to help plant trees in Wales. The Welsh Government describes the venture as a "unique way to establish a nationwide network of publicly accessible woodlands and forests". The interconnected nature of the forests is important as it means that species are able to travel safely around Wales reducing the risk of isolated pockets of species losing their genetic diversity.
