Jul 27, 2010. /Lesprom Network/. The Forestry Commission is looking to boost the amount of woodland in the north-west of England by offering grants to landowners, as KMS Baltics reported. Farmers are being offered up to GBP 3,800 per hectare, in addition to annual payments, to allocate their land for tree planting. At present, the north-west had woodland cover of around 6.8%, which is below the national average of 8.4%. To bring the region up speed, the Forestry Commission is providing cash incentives to landowners to keep livestock off specific areas and plant new native trees. Last year, grants from the organisation helped to create 280 hectares of new woodland in the UK. Kevin May, grants, regulation and partnership manager for the Forestry Commission in the north-west, said: "Woodlands are important for a number of reasons. "We would like anyone in the region who has land they would like to turn into woodland to contact us so we can work together to achieve an increase in our region's woodland cover." Speaking at a major industry conference in Edinburgh last month, Tim Rollinson, head of the Forestry Commission, said protecting the world's woodland areas is essential to mitigate the disastrous effects of climate change.