A visit to Coed-y-Brenin by a group of foresters from an Indian state whose tree cover alone is almost twice the entire size of Wales proved the old adage that small is beautiful.
Seven senior foresters from Karnataka in south-west India came to the popular location just outside Dolgellau on a fact-finding mission to discover how Forestry Commission Wales looks after the Welsh Government’s woodlands.
While the scale might be different – Wales would almost fit twice into Karnataka’s 14,950 square miles of forest – the group still learned valuable lessons on sustainable forest management.
The visitors spent a day with FC Wales staff as part of a three-month study tour at University of Wales Bangor.
The focus of the visit was on how FC Wales managed woodlands to meet multiple objectives, sustainability issues and the challenge of climate change.
Kim Burnham of the FC Wales Woodlands for Learning team outlined the aims of the Welsh Government’s strategy for trees and woodlands and explained the structure of FC Wales and how the different units interacted.
Aled Thomas, the Local Area Manager, pointed out the sustainability credentials of the visitor centre as he guided the group on a walk along the river to Coed Dolgefeiliau, where large-scale landscape issues and habitat management were discussed.
The group then observed harvesting operations and learned how FC Wales managed its restocking programme, before visiting the large Douglas fir stand at Ty’n y Groes to discuss conservation issues.
Ravi Bosgudi Parameshwarappa, Conservator of Forests Karnataka, said, “Your forests are very different but that is not important. What is important is how you manage them, and it is these skills which we are here to look at.”
Kim Burnham said, “It was a chance to showcase Wales as a location for world class forestry and to gain an insight to how forests in other parts of the world are managed.”
Managing our woodlands sustainably for future generations requires FC Wales to balance a range of diverse interests, but there is at least one important difference with Karnataka’s forests, which support 25% of the elephant and 10% of the tiger population of India!
