Scotland's new forestry secretary told to 'get industry back on track'

Mairi Gougeon has now taken on the brief after it was confirmed the trade will be included in the Rural Affairs portfolio of the secretary. 

Previously, forestry policy was in the hands of Màiri McAllan as minister for environment and land reform. She has now been promoted to Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Just Transition and the responsibility for forestry has passed to Ms Gougeon in the reshaped role of Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands. This is similar to how the sector was managed under Fergus Ewing, Ms Gougeon's predecessor. 

READ MORE: Forestry set for new minister after Mairi McAllan promoted in Cabinet reshuffle

While welcoming the appointment of the Angus North and Mearns MSP – made as part of sweeping cabinet changes by new first minister Humza Yousaf – Confor's chief executive has told Ms Gougeon forestry has "lost momentum" in Scotland amid falling tree-planting rates. 

In a letter to Ms Gougeon, Stuart Goodall praised her predecessor, but said: "As you will be aware, the government’s aim is to increase targets for new woodland creation up to18,000 hectares per year by 2025 – but Scotland is not on track to achieve these targets.

Stuart Goodall

"Last December, the Climate Change Committee said: 'While Scotland’s tree-planting rates are higher than those in the rest of the UK combined, rates have recently plateaued and are off track [to meet the 2024/25 target]'. 

"Confor and the whole sector wants to work with you and colleagues to do all we can to reverse that trend and get woodland creation back on track– to support both the fight against climate change and Scotland’s rural economy."

Stuart added: "I am delighted that the £1 billion forestry and wood processing industry is again represented by a Cabinet Secretary.

Mairi McAllan held the forestry brief since May 2021 (Image: PA)

"Confor considers this appropriate, not just because of the 25,000 plus jobs the industry supports across rural Scotland, but also because of the challenges ahead – not least meeting woodland creation targets from the 2021 SNP manifesto." 

During her time as Minister for Rural Affairs, Ms Gougeon visited Jerah, the largest new productive planting site in Scotland at the time, and made clear that she understood the wide-ranging benefits of modern forestry.

And Stuart added of her appointment: "This is very welcome news. Not only does forestry and wood have a seat back at the Cabinet table, but we will also be dealing with Mairi Gougeon, someone who knows the sector well."