Evidence route for small woodland owners

The Forestry Commission England’s Operations Note 22 provides guidance to woodland owners in England, and suppliers using wood from small English woodlands, to help them meet the requirements of Government Timber Procurement Policy. This note is specific to the Category B option only and may not be directly relevant to those owners or agents who are using the Woodland Planning Grant (WPG) route for other management purposes.

Forestry Commission England can provide an alternative route to owners whose woodland is not certified under the UK Woodland Assurance Standard (UKWAS) i.e. FSC/PEFC UK. This route provides the necessary evidence to meet the Category B criteria, and is achieved through the English Woodland Grant Scheme (EWGS) using an updated Woodland Planning Grant (WPG) process.

The WPG has been updated in line with the draft revision of the United Kingdom Forest Standard (UKFS) which is currently being updated. CPET has confirmed that the new WPG and associated monitoring process set out in this note fully meets the legal and sustainable criteria for supplying timber, through the Category B option. Both the WPG template and relevant guidance documents can be viewed and downloaded at: www.forestry.gov.uk/ewgs-wpg.

The WPG Category B route is not compulsory and owners are able to provide their own evidence in order to meet the legality and sustainability criteria if they wish. The WPG Category B option is open to owners with less than 100 hectares of woodland and more than 3 hectares, whose woodlands are not certified. It is envisaged that owners with more than 100 hectares will pursue the Category A, full certification option, if they wish to supply any timber through a Government contract.

So what do I need to do?

The process for proving sustainability in compliance with the government’s policy via the EWGS is described in the Operations Note and set out in a flowchart in Appendix 1

 Chain of custody

The WPG Category B process only provides evidence that the woodland is a legally and sustainably managed source. Suppliers will still need to provide additional chain of custody evidence to connect actual supplied timber products to that woodland source.

Being at the beginning of the chain it is easy for woodland owners to achieve this. A simple form that should accompany each load of wood that leaves the forest is provided in Appendix 2 of the Operations Note. This can then be used further down the supply chain as necessary.

Further Advice

The EWGS website www.forestry.gov.uk/ewgs contains all the information needed to apply for grant support. If you do not have access to the internet, you can request any of the information from your local Forestry Commission office.

The WPG template will be reviewed on a regular basis and any necessary amendments made as appropriate. Applicants should ensure that they download the current template, guidance etc. from the web site to ensure that the latest version is being used.

The Forestry Commission recommends getting professional advice from an agent experienced in woodland management. A list of national and regional professional organisations is provided at www.forestry.gov.uk/england-advice or available from your local Forestry Commission office.

Please find Operations Note 22 Enabling Woodlands to Comply with Government Timber Procurement Policy ( Updated June 2011) available for download here