The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Ministers set out plans for full devolution of forestry sector
The future management of Scotland’s forests is the subject of a new Scottish Government consultation.
Ministers have set out plans for full devolution of the £1 billion forestry sector, including proposals for a dedicated forestry division within the Government to look at policy and regulation – the present function of Forestry Commission Scotland.
The plans would also see the creation of a new agency, Forestry and Land Scotland, focusing on the management and development of the national forest estate, which covers more than 640,000 hectares, or about 8.2% of Scotland’s land mass.
The consultation states: “The existing governance and accountability arrangements are complex and outmoded, and do not reflect the post-devolution landscape or operating environment.
“The Forestry Commission itself is gradually moving its functions away from the centre to individual countries and, since 2013, there has been uncertainty about the remaining Forestry Commission GB arrangements.
“We want to establish simpler and more straightforward governance arrangements so that the management of forestry in Scotland is fully accountable to the Scottish ministers and to the Scottish Parliament.”
Fergus Ewing, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy, said: “The consultation responses will inform and shape our policy, supporting forestry as one of our most important natural assets for generations to come and ensuring that it continues to deliver for the nation and communities across the country.”
Forestry trade body Confor
welcomed the consultation’s launch.
The body’s chief executive, Stuart Goodall, said: “While other sectors have struggled to recover from the 2008 downturn, Scotland’s forestry and wood processing industry has grown by 50% – and in addition to contributing £1 billion a year to the economy, the sector employs over 25,000 people.
“Scotland is the clear UK leader in forestry and there is now a once-in-ageneration opportunity to establish a support and regulatory structure that can build on and further strengthen that leadership position.”