Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Environment, Richard Lochhead MSP has established a Woodland Expansion Advisory Group (WEAG).
The background to this is the vision of the Scottish Forestry Strategy to increase woodland cover from 17% to 25% land area by middle of this century and competing demands on the use of land.
The Scottish Government has stated it wants to create 10,000 ha per year but this is not yet translating into an equivalent level of activity.
The Cabinet Secretary has asked the Group to provide advice on identifying what types of land are best for tree planting in Scotland, in the context of other land-based objectives; and on promoting good practice and local processes in relation to tree planting so as to secure multiple benefits.
Despite not being on the advisory group, the Trust was asked to contribute to the debate. We have prepared a response to a series of questions which addresses; where opportunities for woodland expansion exist, the barriers to woodland expansion, as well as examples of where woodland expansion comes into conflict with other land management objectives, and constructive suggestion on how such conflict could be addressed in the future.
Read our response