Forestry

Natural Resources Wales are responsible for creating, protecting, and managing woodlands in Wales.

Woodlands improve the quality of the environment because they:

• help protect the quality of drinking water supplies
• help manage flood events
• capture harmful pollutants and improve air quality
• provide shade, shelter, and absorb sound
• stabilise soils, reducing erosion and landslides
• provide a rich habitat for plants and animals, including pollinators and rare species

What we do

Manage woodlands

We do this by:

• looking after the Welsh Government’s Woodland Estate. We are the largest land manager in Wales
• looking after National Nature Reserves. The nature reserves include some of the finest native woodlands in Wales

Supply timber

We do this by:

• producing around 850,000 tonnes of timber each year, from our own forests
• having a timber sales and marketing plan for 2021 to 2026, this plan helps us show how we sell and market timber

Invest in renewable energy

We do this by:

• working to develop the wind and hydro power potential of the Woodland Estate.

Regulate forestry activities

We do this by:

• issuing felling licences to control the cutting down and replanting of trees
• investigating illegal tree felling on the Welsh Government’s woodland estate
• issuing Statutory Plant Health Protection Notices. We issues these to control the spread of tree pests and diseases
• checking the environmental impact of certain forestry plans. We also take enforcement action, if needed
• looking after designated sites. These sites include Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas
• regulating forestry and woodland activities that may affect wildlife

Provide advice and guidance

We do this by:

• providing guidance and advice to industry, businesses, and the voluntary sector
• administering the Ancient Woodland Inventory

Work with partners

We do this by:

• working with Forest Schools and helping the Outdoor Learning Training Network