Welsh Minister for Climate Change, Julie James, has announced £32m for farmers and landowners to help Wales plant 86 million trees by the end of the decade to combat the climate emergency.
The announcement follows a short, intensive review carried out by the Deputy Minister for Climate Change which looked at removing barriers to woodland creation.
Wales needs to plant 43,000ha of new woodland by the end of this decade as part of the Welsh government’s effort to making the country net zero by 2050.
The two new schemes are:
- The Small Grants Woodland Creation scheme, which simplifies funding for farmers and other land managers to plant small areas of trees on land in Wales under two hectares which is agriculturally improved or of low environmental value.
- The Woodland Creation Grant, which offers funding for tree planting and fencing to farmers and land managers who have a woodland creation plan, approved by the Welsh government.
Both schemes will provide grants towards tree planting, fencing and gates and 12 years of maintenance support.
Minister for Climate Change Julie James said:
“Planting more trees will play a fundamental role in helping Wales to avoid some of the worst effects of climate change.
“Woodland creation can also provide a wealth of benefits to local communities from green jobs to places for nature.
“We want farmers in Wales to be central to our plans. They know their land better than anybody else so, to ensure the sustainability of their business, we will leave decisions around where trees should be planted entirely with them.
“As long as they meet the UK Forestry Standard, we are on hand to offer the support they may need.
“We know they, like many others, are keen to reduce their carbon footprint and help us on our Team Wales mission to tackle climate change head on.”
