S6W-22773

Asked by: Ewing, Fergus (Scottish National Party - Inverness and Nairn)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what it is doing to meet its tree planting and coverage targets.

Answered by Gougeon, Mairi - Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands

In June this year, a delivery action plan was announced aimed at ramping up tree planting levels. This included a £1 million investment by Scottish Forestry to provide comprehensive training for its staff to speed up the woodland creation application process.

Other measures announced include increasing the level of support for smaller scale woodland projects, providing more advice and support for farmers, refreshed community engagement guidance and more support for riparian planting.

I will chair a Woodland Creation Summit on 12 December, with industry leaders and stakeholders directly involved in woodland creation, which will look at the opportunities for growing more trees and also look at overcoming any associated barriers in meeting the woodland creation targets.

To date this year, Scottish Forestry has provided regulatory approval for over 11,200 hectares worth of new woodland applications, which already exceeds last year’s total, with more approvals expected.

Nov. 23 2023

Found: Various Scottish Forestry scheme approval statistics: EIR release