Scotland’s forests and woodlands are among our most valuable rural assets and our ambition is for them to expand and flourish.
They contribute significantly to our ambitious climate change targets, soaking up about 10 million tonnes of CO2 each year.
And they help to build growth and prosperity, contributing £1billion each year to the Scottish economy and supporting 25,000 jobs.
That is why this Government is committed to growing more trees all across Scotland.
We were already committed to planting 10,000 hectares per year and have now increased that target in the draft Climate Change Plan to 15,000 hectares annually by 2025.
Achieving it must become a shared national endeavour.
We now have a plan to help us deliver. By implementing the Mackinnon review recommendations we will speed up and simplify the approval process for woodland creation schemes. We have increased the Timber Transport Fund by £5million this coming year and will invest £4million more in planting, in forestry in the coming year.
Scotland’s land owners and managers are key to realising our ambitions and the role that Confor plays in this regard is invaluable. Yet, woodland creation is more difficult in some areas of Scotland – the Highlands in particular face a unique set of challenges.
I have therefore increased the grant for native woodland planting in the Highlands to £3600 per hectare.
This, together with other support funding, will help tackle these challenges and make native woodland creation more attractive on a wide range of Highland sites. It will enable the Highlands to play its part in meeting our annual planting targets and in creating a more biodiverse landscape, while providing work for many and supporting livelihoods and businesses.
It is a clear signal of this government’s commitment to expand modern sustainable forestry and we are putting in place all the necessary components for future success: funding, processes, innovation and political will.
Our forests come in all shapes and sizes: productive forests, iconic native pinewoods and treasured native woodlands. Each is valuable in its own way and continuing to plant the right tree on the right site in the Highlands and elsewhere in Scotland results in a win for communities, the economy and the environment.
