Nicola Sturgeon: Assessing forestry under SNP's long-serving FM

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TALK about breathing life into the midweek hump. 

Nicola Sturgeon's revelation on Wednesday that she will stand down as first minister of Scotland after nearly a decade in the role came as much of a shock to members within her own party as it did to the public at large. 

Debate over her legacy and the reasons for her resignation will gather apace in the coming days and weeks before a successor is eventually found. 

Her contribution to forestry will be no different. With the obvious caveat that the dust is still settling, let's take a look at the sector during her tenure. 

What happened during her tenure? 

Since replacing Alex Salmond as leader of the SNP and first minister in Scotland, Ms Sturgeon has overseen a number of key forestry events. Chief among those was the replacement of the Forestry Commission in Scotland with two public bodies: Scottish Forestry and Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS). 

Formed in 2019, they are essentially arm's length organisations to the Scottish government, albeit this was only as a result of lobbying on behalf of the forestry sector.

Ms Sturgeon's government had instead argued to absorb the FC's remit entirely. A crucial parliamentary vote on the matter was won by just a single vote in favour of keeping the two distinct. 

In the time since, forestry has been overseen by a number of cabinet secretaries, including Fergus Ewing, with an environment minister responsible for the sector. Current holder Mairi McAllan assumed this role in 2021. 

Whether or not the formation of SF and FLS has been a success appears to depend on who you ask. While many praise the organisations for their work, with tree planting rates certainly better now than before (more on that later), many workers on the ground have been critical, with some even calling for both to be "scrapped". 

Other notable actions during Ms Sturgeon's tenure include the creation of Scotland’s Forestry Strategy 2019-2029 – a major plan of action to expand, protect and enhance the nation's forests and woodlands – and the proposal of legislation to protect ancient woodlands during all planning applications. 

Mairi McAllan is currently responsible for forestry in Scotland (Image: PA)

The forestry sector was also given public support by the country's MSPs during a parliamentary debate last year. Led by Ms McAllan, the debate ultimately passed a motion that included: "[The parliament] celebrates the contribution of Scotland’s forestry workers and their trade unions, and recognises the importance of maintaining and increasing a highly-skilled workforce." 

How has Scotland done during her time as first minister? 

When Ms Sturgeon took office, the Forestry Commission still oversaw forestry in Scotland. Planting rates were well short of what they are now.

Between 2014 and 2015, just 7,600 hectares of new woodland were created in the country. Ms Sturgeon soon took action to address this, pledging to increase rates in a major conference speech in 2015. 

At the time, this worked out at just over 10,000 ha each year. Things didn't get off to the best of starts. Fewer than 10,000 ha were created in total from 2015 until March 2017. 2018 and 2019 also saw failure to hit the target. During this time, the ha goal was increased to 12,000 ha/year and later 13,500 ha/year. The target for 2022/23 is 14,000 ha/year. 

While Scotland has still failed to hit these new targets, it has breached the 10,000 ha/year goal every year since 2020, when a peak of 10,860 ha of new woodland were created. This did fall to 10,480 ha in the most recent figures. 

Scotland has, however, been far and away the UK nation where the most planting has taken place, making up 75 per cent of the rate in the 12 months prior to March 2022.

Previously, it has made up more than 80 per cent of the total planting.

What did she say about tree planting? 

Tree planting has undoubtedly been a major topic of discussion during Ms Sturgeon's tenure, and she has made several remarks about it. 

In 2015, she said: "We are committed to increase planting rates even further so that we plant 100,000 hectares of trees in the decade to 2022."

22m trees were planted last year in Scotland - 84% of UK total. Other parties talk, @theSNP is acting. https://t.co/8AHJT3tXdK

— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) November 28, 2019

In 2019, she tweeted: "22m trees were planted last year in Scotland – 84 per cent of UK total. Other parties talk, the SNP is acting." 

So, what can we say about forestry under Nicola Sturgeon? 

It's only hours since Ms Sturgeon confirmed she would be stepping down, so it will take some time to properly assess her forestry legacy; not to mention the very nature of the sector is that much of what she has championed during her tenure will only bear fruit long after she is gone. 

But there's no doubting tree planting and forestry have been taken seriously by successive Nicola Sturgeon-led governments. That is to her credit. 

Stuart Goodall, Confor's chief executive, said of forestry under Ms Sturgeon's watch: "During Nicola Sturgeon’s time in office, the forestry and wood processing industry in Scotland has thrived." 

The real question now is: will that still be the case under the new first minister?