| Confederation of Forest Industries | |
| Abbreviation: | ConFor |
| Formation: | 2004 |
| Status: | Non-profit company |
| Purpose: | Trade association for forestry in the UK |
| Location: | 59 George St, Edinburgh, EH2 2JG |
| Region Served: | UK |
| Membership: | Forestry and wood-using businesses |
| Leader Title: | Chief Executive |
| Leader Name: | Stuart Goodall |
| Main Organ: | Board of Directors |
| Website: | ConFor |
The Confederation of Forest Industries, shortened to ConFor, is the trade association for the forestry industry in the United Kingdom.
It was established to represent forestry and wood-using businesses, from nurseries and growers, to wood processing end-users. It was created to represent the views of the industry to the Forestry Commission and the policy makers within the relevant legislatures and executives.
It has the largest membership of any representative body within the UK sector and is headquartered in Edinburgh.
ConFor was created in 2004 and is the first organisation of its kind that has the entire supply chain within its membership, from nurseries and woodland owners, to processors and sawmills. This makes it different from other nations as the trade associations of the forest and wood-using industries are split within the different competing constituents of the supply chain. It is a membership organisation that is funded by and accountable to businesses within the industry.
The organisation lobbies governments, parliaments and assemblies of the United Kingdom, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland on behalf of members. As a member of the Confederation of European Forest Owners it also lobbies for its members at the European Parliament. Since devolution, rural policy making has been passed to the devolved administrations of the UK, meaning that strategy can vary over the different parts of the country. The devolved administrations of Scotland and Wales have produced their own forestry strategies: The Scottish Forestry Strategy [1] and Woodlands for Wales [2] which both view forestry as an integral part in the efforts to tackle climate change. In Scotland and Wales forestry policy resides within the Forestry Commission where, as, in England forestry policy resides in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) with the Forestry Commission England implementing policy.
Forestry in the UK is split between the Forestry Commission, which is a government agency and the private sector.[3] It breaks down between the private and public sector as:
| Conifer FC | Conifer Private | Broadleaf FC | Broadleaf Private | Total Woodland | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 147,000 ha | 215,000 ha | 55,000 ha | 706,000 ha | 1127,000 ha | |
| Scotland | 424,000 ha | 621,000 ha | 28,000 ha | 269,000 ha | 1342,000 ha | |
| Wales | 92,000 ha | 64,000 ha | 14,000 ha | 114,000 ha | 285,000 ha | |
| Northern Ireland | 56,000 ha | 10,000 ha | 5,000 ha | 16,000 ha | 87,000 ha |