We recently published a joint statement with Confor and the Royal Forestry Society in support of the development and implementation of Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) across England, but these LNRS must be developed with a strong foundation in professional forestry expertise, evidence-based standards and collaborative engagement. Please see this statement below.
Forestry advice for Local Nature Recovery Strategies
Confederation of Forest Industries (Confor), the Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF) and the Royal Forestry Society (RFS) welcome the opportunity to support the development of Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS). As organisations representing the forestry and woodland management sector in the UK, we bring together expertise from across academia, practice, and industry. Our members include forest scientists, woodland owners, land managers, ecologists, and environmental professionals who are committed to the sustainable stewardship of our woodland resource.
We believe that LNRS have significant potential to deliver lasting benefits for nature, climate resilience, and local economies. We need to make space for nature, as well as for responsible production of timber and food. Well managed productive forestry, as well as environmentally responsible farming, can provide value additional habitat for wildlife, complementing wider habitat networks. Productive forests are efficient at sequestering carbon as a contribution to climate change mitigation. Home grown timber offsets our carbon footprint overseas. The UK currently imports over 80% of its timber requirements, making us the third highest global importer after the United States and China. As demand for renewable, low-carbon materials increases worldwide, sustainable domestic timber production becomes increasingly vital. LNRS represent an opportunity to support both productive forestry and nature recovery – objectives that can and must go hand-in-hand to support local rural economies to thrive.
What LNRS means for landowners, managers and consultees
This section is for landowners, land managers, and other consultees who want to understand how Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) might affect their land and how to engage with them effectively. Later sections are more focused on local and unitary authorities leading the development of LNRS.
LNRS are a statutory requirement introduced under the Environment Act 2021. LNRS will support the delivery of BNG in the planning system, and will be taken into account when considering public funding for nature recovery proposals. LNRS may be increasingly used to inform option selection in environmental funding, such as ELM and England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO).
LNRS are not formal planning documents and do not impose land use changes or new legal designations. However, their influence on policy, funding, and land management decisions is expected to grow significantly.
Note: The Defra policy update of December 2024 confirms that while LNRSs are not legally binding, they are a key tool for identifying areas of “high strategic significance” for BNG, guiding future planning policy, and shaping how public authorities meet their duty to conserve and enhance biodiversity. Defra (2024), LNRS Delivery – Policy Update, December 2024. Access guidance here.
For landowners and managers, this means LNRSs could influence which grants or projects are funded in your area. The choice as to whether to and how to accept those grants remains with the landowner (unless you are a public landowner). However, they will not require you to make changes to your land or affect your development rights.
A nuanced approach to woodland
Woodlands are highly diverse ecosystems made up of a wide range of species and ecological communities. We recommend that LNRS reflect this complexity and avoid overly broad or generic approaches to woodland management. We strongly advocate that woodland management should be informed by professionally trained foresters with appropriate expertise and grounded in the latest evidence and standards.
Improved structure and diversity in managed woodlands has marked benefits for biodiversity in all types of woodland, whether native, or mixed commercial forestry. All woodland types – native and productive – face multiple pressures including pests, diseases, and climate change. Grey squirrels and deer, for example, are major threats to tree establishment and survival, reducing structure and diversity and impacting individual trees. It is therefore important for measures to be introduced in an LNRS to control these pressures to achieve the outcome of better structure of condition, benefitting biodiversity in the long-term.
Additionally, around 40% of England’s woodlands are currently unmanaged. These areas represent significant untapped potential. Bringing them into sustainable management would yield benefits across environmental, social, and economic dimensions. For example, local infrastructure to market timber or wood products such as charcoal or firewood can provide an incentive for bringing smaller woods into management. The expansion of woodland – new native woodlands and new productive woodland – will both be needed if we are to meet our targets on biodiversity, climate and further increase our supply of domestic timber.
Professional forestry expertise and standards
In developing LNRS, we recommend clear reference to the following core standards and sources of evidence that underpin sustainable forestry in the UK:
- UK Forestry Standard (UKFS)
The UKFS is the technical standard for sustainable forest management in the UK and applies to all woodland. It provides a robust framework for planning, creating, and managing woodlands in a way that integrates biodiversity, productivity, and resilience. Within UKFS it acknowledges that woodlands and forests are different and need to be managed appropriately – Access website here. All new woodland creation and management activities referenced in LNRS should align with the principles of the UKFS, as does all land in receipt of government funding. - UK Woodland Assurance Standard (UKWAS)
UKWAS is an independent certification standard used to verify sustainable woodland management through FSC® and PEFC certification. Woodlands managed to UKWAS must be managed and audited to a high standard. Around 44% of managed woodlands in the UK are certified under UKWAS. LNRS should support woodland areas managed to either UKFS or UKWAS and avoid imposing conflicting measures that could undermine well-established practices – Access website here. - Evidence on forestry and biodiversity
- Confor’s Biodiversity, Forestry and Wood report offers a comprehensive overview of the biodiversity value of managed woodlands – Access document here.
- Forest Research’s Rapid Review of Evidence on Biodiversity in GB’s Commercial Forests explores the relationship between biodiversity and productive forestry and highlights gaps in our current understanding – Access website here.
- The National Wood Strategy
Developed in collaboration with NGOs such as Friends of the Earth, Future Trees Trust, Grown In Britain, Royal Forestry Society, Structural Timber Association, Timber Development UK and Woodland Heritage and professional bodies including RFS, this strategy outlines how England can expand its woodland cover in a way that benefits people, nature, and the economy. It reinforces the importance of a joined-up approach involving public, private, and voluntary sectors – Access website here.
Enhancing wildlife and landscape-level coordination
- How to help red squirrels thrive – UK Squirrel Accord
The red squirrel is an iconic native species under threat from invasive grey squirrels. Supporting red squirrel conservation and grey squirrel control must be part of wider recovery planning. The UK Squirrel Accord brings together a national coalition committed to this goal. - An analysis of the cost of grey squirrel damage to woodland
The Royal Forestry Society wrote this report to build on and update previous research on the cost of damage’ by grey squirrels to woodland in England and Wales. - Deer Initiative partnership
Landscape-scale deer management is essential to woodland regeneration and biodiversity. The Deer Initiative provides a model for collaborative, evidence-led approaches to sustainable deer populations. - ICF and CIEEM position paper: Management of Existing UK Woodlands: An Opportunity for Green Prosperity
The Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF) and the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) wrote this position paper to urge Government agencies across the UK to bring about an urgent step change in the sustainable management of existing woodlands. - Bringing Woodland into Management: the missed opportunities in England and Wales
The Royal Forestry Society wrote this report to highlight the wasted opportunity, due to the lack of woodland management in England and Wales, to increase carbon capture and storage and improve biodiversity; undermining the health and resilience of woodlands, making it more likely that eventually they will become derelict.
Working with us
Confor, ICF and RFS can support LNRS development through advice, engagement and dissemination across our networks. We encourage inclusion in future communications and consultation processes to ensure that LNRS are grounded in professional forestry expertise.
We remain committed to ensuring that Local Nature Recovery Strategies help secure a resilient, biodiverse, and productive future for England’s woodlands.
