Woodland Options within the Developing New Environmental Land Management Scheme

1. Woodland Options within the Developing New Environmental Land Management Scheme Chris Waterfield Forestry Commission Field Manager Yorkshire 8th May 2014

2. What this presentation will cover • CAP Overview • NELMS Principles and outcomes • NELMS Design • Prioritisation and Targeting • Time Frame to Implementation

3. CAP Overview

4. The shape of the new Common Agriculture Policy 2015-20 CAP 2015-2020 £3.1bn allocated to environmental land management Pillar 2 – Rural Development Programme Pillar 1 Environmental land management schemes (NELMS and on-going EWGS and ES) Growth Farming and Forestry Competitiveness Leader Single Common Market Organisation Direct Payments Scheme Basic Payment Greening Payment Young Farmer scheme

5. Environmental land management and the RDP • Environmental land management is the primary focus of the next Rural Development Programme (RDP) in England: • Allocated87% of RDP funding • Worth £3.1 bnover the programme period • Of which £2.2 bn(71%) accounted for by existing Environmental Stewardship and English Woodland Grant Scheme commitments

6. Defra CAP Reform Aims • Want new CAP to be simple, affordable, effective • Defra delivering new IT service • One system for all schemes • Working with users and stakeholders as we go • Aiming to ease the burden of regulation

7. NELMS Principles and Outcomes

8. Health Warning • Much of the detailed design of the scheme remains to be worked out. • The CAP Public Consultation Response from Defra released in February 2014 provides more detail on the design of NELMS and other elements of the next RDP. • www.gov.uk/government/consultations/common-agricultural-policy-reform-implementation-in-england

9. New Environmental Land Management Scheme • ‘NELMS’ is a working title. Final name to be decided by Defra. • An incentive scheme for farmers, foresters and other land managers to manage their land more sustainably and deliver a range of public goods and benefits - using EU taxpayers money, via the RDP. • NELMS builds on 25 years of agri-environment in England and will blend in former woodland grants (EWGS) • Extensive evidence review undertaken to guide scheme development

10. Why not just keep Environmental Stewardship? Scientific reviews of Environmental Stewardship over recent years have highlighted a need for: • ensuring we don’t pay for things that would have happened anyway • improved spatial targeting • agreements to deliver a more coordinated response to environmental issues e.g. diffuse water pollution and habitat connectivity. • ensuring uptake of the right combination of options in the right places (instead of free choice of options) • improved targeting of woodland creation to support a range of environmental outcomes e.g. soil protection and water quality

11. What is NELMS? • Owned by Defra. • Delivered by Natural England with the Forestry Commission, Rural Payments Agency as inspector and paying agency • NELMS is a significant tool to achieve outcomes supporting: • Biodiversity 2020 (consistent with EU Birds and Habitats Directive) • The Water Framework Directive and flood risk management • Government Forestry and Woodland Policy • The European Landscape Convention • Climate Change: National Adaptation Programme (NAP) • Natural Environment White Paper and Water White Paper.

12. NELMS can address multiple outcomes – but may take a single focus where most effective. Flood Risk Mitigation Biodiversity Landscape Soil and water quality On farm education Historic Environment Genetic Conservation Carbon Storage Climate Change Secure public benefits and more sustainable land management

13. NELMS Basics • Single Scheme: No Tiers, no upland or organic specific strands • Open across England to farmers, foresters and other land managers – but objectives will be prioritised and delivery targeted • Voluntary • Single menu of management options, including capital items • Integrates former ES and English Woodland Grant Scheme (EWGS) • Closer Integration in delivery with Catchment Sensitive Farming (pending final Defra decisions on CSF future)

14. NELMS Basics • Online application process – new CAP IT system • Online guidance: Replaces the handbookto describe the scheme, application procedures and options descriptions. “Assisted digital” offer being explored by Defra for those unable to access this. • Agreements last 5 years, with a few exceptions for 10 or longer (with a break clause at 5 years ) • Capital items available to all applications • Limited range of small scale capital grants available nationally as capital-only agreements.

15. NELMS Basics • Simpler: • No more underpinning between scheme elements (ELS-HLS) • No upland or organic specific sub-schemes, though these themes are still supported • Simpler menu of options to choose from • No points/ha entry threshold. • Payment: • Basis remains “income foregone” and actual costs (costs only for woodland specific capital items) • Standard payment rates

16. NELMS Basics • Single, annual application window • Scoring system replaces points thresholds • Single annual agreement start date – January 1st each year

17. Two approaches to scheme entry Invitation (Supported) Self-Service • Online application and guidance • Targeted to Priority Sites • 1-2-1 support from delivery body • Delivery body develops an invitation pipeline (similar to HLS) • Targeted to the most important locations e.g. designations • Access to management options that require complex management e.g. habitat creation • Ability to tailor prescriptions • Online application and guidance • Support via land manager’s existing network of ‘trusted advisers’ • Delivery body provides one-to-many guidance and online advice • Available nationally, but targeted for landscape scale outcomes • Management option prescriptions not editable, but some regional flexibility being sought • Locally specific management option packages promoted

18. Woodland Policy Priorities • Protect: plant health, resilience, deer and grey squirrels • Improve: species and habitats • Expand: woodland creation

19. Woodland options within NELM’s • Woodland Planning Grant – to support the preparation of a United Kingdom Forestry Standard (UKFS) compliant Woodland Management Plan. A pre-requisite to access woodland options within NELM’s. • Woodland Improvement – to deliver substantial change in supporting Priority Species, Priority Habitats and resilience • Woodland Regeneration – to restore forest potential damaged by non-endemic pests and diseases; to change the species structure of forests for ecological reasons eg restoration of plantations on ancient woodland sites • Woodland Creation – to support the creation and establishment of new woodlands to increase woodland cover for biodiversity, flood management and water quality • Woodland Infrastructure – to support the improvement of access for example in bringing under-managed woodlands into management

20. NELMS Prioritisation and Targeting

21. Prioritisation and Targeting • Scheme remains multi-objective (single focus possible) • Seeks “Right agreement, right options, right places” – with new group emphasis where coordination across holdings is desired. • Greater emphasis on achievement of landscape scale outcomes • Transition from 70% scheme coverage (by area) to circa 35-40% by 2020 • Emphasis on ‘quality rather than quantity’. • There will be prioritisation across the scheme objectives (unlike ES)

22. Prioritisation and Targeting • Top national priorities = Biodiversity and water management (quality and flood risk). • Particular focus on situations where these top priorities overlap. • Landscape and climate change are overarching objectives, important for all applications to account for and reflect. • Seek opportunities to support historic environment, on farm education, coasts and genetic diversity • Scheme national targeting will reflect this prioritisation, plus: • Scope for local refinement in which holdings are targeted • Scope for local refinement of priority options and option packages to be promoted locally

23. NELMS National Targeting framework • Targeting model is being developed and data sources identified – joint with EA/FC • Data within the model is being weighted and ranked • Framework has flexibility to respond as policy priorities are confirmed by Defra • Opportunities identified in all areas • The national framework will be converted into practical information to be used effectively at a local scale This is purely indicative of how a targeting map might look

24. Prioritisation and Targeting The national targeting framework will help us to identify the locations to focus delivery based around: • Priority Sites • Priority Areas There will be scope for local refinement in partnership with stakeholders in each region

25. Targeting for Outcomes: Achieving landscape scale outcomes • NELMS will place an emphasis on achieving greater coordination in the way the scheme is delivered to achieve “landscape scale” outcomes. • A combination of guidance and selection criteria will encourage the choice of the right management options in the right areas and at the right intensity. • Application guidance will provide clarity on how coordination will be achieved and demonstrated within individual applications • Coordinated applications may gain extra weighting in application scoring

26. Refining Local Delivery – current thinking: Partnership working between local delivery teams and stakeholders essential to successful forward planning of delivery. Main opportunities for partnership work lie in: • Targeting validation and refinement • Option promotion • Coordination working together with land managers to achieve “landscape scale” outcomes

27. Funding for facilitation to achieve coordination Defra CAP Consultation Response: • There will be competitive access to a facilitation fund for a number of specific projects which: • encourage co-operation for groups or clusters of farmers, land managers and other local partners • are in areas consistent with scheme targeting maps • Based on Nature Improvement Areas (NIAs) approach • Main objective will be co-ordinated delivery across land holdings and at sufficient scale to deliver our environmental outcomes and supporting and empowering farmer led approaches • Continuing discussions with stakeholders and other partners to develop this cooperation concept

28. Timeline to Implementation

29. Basic Timeline • Submission of RDP Programme Document (containing NELMS design) to European Commission (EC) expected Spring 2014 • Approval of the next programme by the EC expected Autumn 2014 • NELMS: • Finalise scheme design by August • Scheme guidance available from October • Applications possible summer 2015 • Some priority woodland grants available during 2015 (TBC). • First contracts live from January 1st 2016

30. Summary

31. In Summary • New Scheme will be launched during 2015 • First agreements live January 2016 • Single scheme blending former woodland and farming grants • Twin approaches to applications: proactive and self-service • Twin focus on sites and priority areas • More prioritised, targeted and coordinated than before

32. Thank you for listening. Any questions?