FORESTRY bosses in Scotland say they are “pulling out all the stops to drive woodland-creation rates up” – giving the greenlight to more Forestry Grant Schemes already in 2023 than they did the whole of last year.
A total of 11,200 hectares of forestry schemes have been approved by the organisation ahead of the planting season, a rise on the 11,000 ha of the previous period, with more expected in the coming months.
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This follows a disappointing slump in planting levels in the 12 months prior to the end of March 2023, which saw a little over 8,000 ha of new woodland created in the country – the first time Scotland’s total had fallen below 10,000 ha for half a decade.
Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said: “Woodland creation is a vital part of the Scottish Government’s plans to tackle the climate emergency and to address increased biodiversity. This is very much a partnership between government, the forestry sector, communities, landowners and stakeholders. Each has a role to play and is an integral part of the jigsaw in getting trees in the ground.
“I’m really pleased that Scottish Forestry is working hard to approve applications as quickly as they can, whilst also ensuring each scheme is rigorously assessed.”
According to SF, more than half of these approvals – 6,000 hectares – are for native woodland schemes, giving a further boost to the environment. This follows a cash injection of around £1 million to improve the training of frontline forestry staff, and a pledge to hold an emergency forestry summit to address the slump.
Ms Gougeon added: “All forestry interests will soon be coming together at a forestry summit, which I am delighted to chair, where we will collectively build on the positive figures and develop our plans to further improve on planting rates in Scotland.”
READ MORE: UK's tree-planting rates fall to lowest levels in five years
The reason for Scotland’s planting slump has been blamed in part for paperwork delays. Speaking to Forestry Journal at this year’s Royal Highland Show, Scottish Woodlands’ David Robertson said: “We need to look at how we speed up approvals.
“This year, we’ve seen there being surplus capacity in the contracting field because of slow approvals on grant schemes.”
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