UKWAS certification

The RSPB has reaffirmed its commitment to high standards of woodland and forest stewardship by maintaining our UKWAS certificate. 

The RSPB UKWAS certificate comprises 11,611ha of woodland and forest on 50 nature reserves across England, Wales and Scotland. This area includes lowland broadleaved woodland, upland birch and ash woods, western Atlantic oakwood, wet woodland, native pinewoods, wood pasture, conifer plantation and newly planted and naturally regenerating woodland. These encompass extensive areas of valuable ancient and semi-natural woodland, and they support notable populations of some UK birds of conservation concern, along with other rare and threatened species including specialist invertebrates, mosses and lichens associated with these varied habitats. 

UKWAS is a voluntary forest management standard that is approved by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) which sets out a range of environmental, social and economic requirements for certificate holders to demonstrate credible and responsible woodland and forest management assessed by independent auditors. The RSPB is committed to meeting the UKWAS requirements which provide a foundation for RSPB’s woodland management.  

The RSPB’s FSC forest management certificate is audited annually against the UKWAS standard by Soil Association Certification, an independent FSC accredited certification body. Our licence code is FSC® C131089 and the current certificate runs until July 2026.