Will the Minister state what percentage of tree cover in Wales is (a) native and (b) productive forestry and if there are plans to increase the proportion of productive forestry?
Forestry Research statistics from 2020 suggest native woodland accounted for 48% of the total woodland area in Wales. They do not hold similar statistics for productive woodland.
Welsh Government is committed to supporting the creation of diverse woodlands, which are more resilient and able to deliver multiple benefits for people and nature. The Programme for Government includes a commitment to create a timber based industrial strategy. This is a crucial component of our net zero strategy. Productive forestry is an important part of the Welsh timber industry, and the strategy will focus on how we can move towards and increase the amount of higher value timber products produced from Welsh wood. As part of the strategy, we will consider the volume of timber we need to produce in Wales.