BIHIP Policy brief
September 2007
(1.1 Mb)

Policy Paper
August 2007
(174 kb)

Policy

Introduction

BIHIP was created in 1991 by those with an interest in broadleaved trees and forestry to address a gap in the industry. Most of the emphasis of the Forestry Commission in Britain and of Coillte in Ireland was, and remains largely on the value of broadleaved trees for conservation, landscape and recreation, with little interest or emphasis on economics and timber production. Forest owners who are concerned with growing conifers are generously provided with public funds for tree establishment, especially if they are growing Sitka spruce. However, broadleaves, which currently account for a very high proportion of planting throughout Great Britain and Ireland, receive only token levels of attention.

From the 1950s to the present, genetics research in British and Irish forestry concentrated almost solely on conifers and as a result research and advice in broadleaved genetics have suffered from considerable under-provision. The attitude that broadleaved planting is mainly for amenity and conservation and that hardwoods are not capable of producing anything of economic value in their own right seems largely to persist in government policy circles in England, though not so much in Scotland or Ireland.

Policy of BIHIP

BIHIP was established by a number of concerned landowners, research institutions, universities and professional foresters in an attempt to correct this position. It aims to raise awareness of current forestry issues and to stimulate a debate within our membership, the wider forestry industry and beyond. Its policy aims are to:

1. raise awareness of the concepts of genetic conservation;

2. initiate proper debate and scientific consideration of the complex issues behind current policies and provide feedback to policy makers;

3. produce periodic reports, scientific and policy papers to raise awareness of issues seen as important, and provoke discussion by the forest industry.

Reasons for supporting provenance research and tree improvement are based in a belief that using broadleaved stock, which is capable of high quality timber production, has the following benefits:

1. it helps the commercial viability of plantations whilst maintaining high amenity and conservation values;

2. it encourages a better standard of silviculture;

3. high quality hardwood timber has a very long record of being readily marketable;

4. it leads, in the future, to a more diversified range of timber products in Britain;

5. confidence in the performance of broadleaf planting stock will encourage further tree planting.

In addition, the production of the Forestry Commission Seed Zone Map in 1999 focussed interest on the question of the benefits and costs of local provenance stock. It heightened interest in the question of establishing pragmatic limits for the transfer of planting stock, and is the subject of a 2007 BIHIP Policy paper titled "Tree improvement and genetic diversity of British and Irish broadleaved trees: dispelling misconceptions" [August 2007 (174 kb) ].