Green MP bid to protect Forests

See Forest of Dean campaign here

There are worrying rumours of a behind-the-scenes effort to revive plans to sell off England’s woodlands. We may have less than a week to stop them and keep our forests safe for future generations. Next week, the government's forest panel will publish a new report on the future of our woodlands. Rumours are circulating that some panel members want to clear the way for a fresh sell-off. We’ve got a few days to persuade the rest of them to block this new threat to our beautiful woodlands. Green MP Caroline Lucas has tabled an EDM - has your MP signed?

Please add your name to the urgent petition now, and then forward this email to your family and friends. 38 Degrees will do an emergency delivery to each of the panel members before next Wednesday:
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/keep-our-woods-safe

NEW CALL FOR LAWS TO PROTECT PUBLIC OWNERSHIP OF FORESTS AFTER COALITION POLICY FIASCO

Green MP tables Parliamentary Motion ahead of report by Government's independent panel on Public Forest Estate - see below and here.

New legislation is needed to ensure that England's public woods and forests are safe from future attempts at a Government sell off, warned Caroline Lucas MP today in a Parliamentary Motion tabled ahead of a key report on forest policy (1).

In an EDM inspired by a growing movement of grassroots and community groups (2), the Green MP is calling for a strong commitment to public ownership of the Public Forest Estate, so that the land can remain under the stewardship of the Forestry Commission.

The Government's announcement of plans to sell off the forest estate in October 2010 caused a huge public outcry - with over half a million people signing a 38 Degrees petition in protest - and ended in an embarrassing u-turn for the Coalition.

The recommendations from the Independent Panel on Forestry, established by the Government in the aftermath of the fiasco, are due to be published on 4 July.

Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion and leader of the Green party, said: "The huge success of the cross party campaign against the proposed forest sell off showed that the Government completely underestimated the strength of feeling about public protection of our natural heritage. Rather than allowing history to repeat itself, Ministers must now take on board the concerns of the many thousands of people who took a stand against this misguided policy and act to keep the Public Forest Estate (PFE) in public hands. Our national forests are a bargain to the taxpayer - managing the entire estate costs each of us a little less than 30p a year - while research by Economics for the Environment Consultancy (EFTEC) suggests that the 258,000-hectare PFE generates around £2bn annually in public goods & services, far more than what is delivered by the private or NGO sector.

"Forestry Commission woods are also much more likely to be accessible than private woods. The PFE represents about 18% of woodlands in England, but this amounts to about 44% of the publicly accessible woodland. If this Government is truly committed to protecting the rich cultural, historical and natural diversity of our forests and woods, it cannot sell off the land to the highest private bidder whose primary interest will be turning a profit."

The Green MP's EDM comes as research shows that the public is ready to make a stand once again if Government fails to meet demands over public woods & forests. In a survey carried out by Our Forests with 38 Degrees, just under 90% of respondents said they would campaign against the Government if their hopes for England's public woods and forests are not met. Nearly 90% of respondents felt that the Public Forest Estate merited on-going taxpayer support.