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Devolution of Scotland’s forests is a historic moment, writes Fergus Ewing

Yesterday I was proud to welcome the passing of landmark legislation to complete the devolution of forestry to Scotland, which began nearly 20 years ago.

I am proud to have been the cabinet secretary responsible for introducing the historic Forestry and Land Management (Scotland) Bill, the first forestry legislation since the Scottish Parliament was reconvened in 1999.

The Forestry Commission, established in 1919 to expand forests after they were depleted during the First World War, has achieved much throughout its existence but administrative arrangements need to change with the times. This government has big plans for woodland creation with the most ambitious planting targets of any part of the UK.

With the bill’s passing, the powers held by the Forestry Commissioners have been transferred to Scottish ministers and forestry is fully accountable to the Scottish Parliament. This bill modernises the statutory framework for forestry in Scotland, which is the right thing to do for a sector worth nearly £1 billion annually and which supports 25,000 jobs. For the first time, there will be a statutory requirement to prepare a national forestry strategy and a duty to promote sustainable forest management.

These measures put forestry at the heart of our determination to drive forward the rural economy. It is a vibrant and vitally important sector, one we want to expand for a range of reasons, in particular climate change mitigation. But woodland also provides places for us to walk, play, explore, and holiday, helping boost and maintain health and well-being.

The new arrangements come into force in April 2019 and there’s much to be done, such as working with UK and Welsh governments on new collaborative arrangements for cross-border functions; it is important that we continue to work across the UK on issues like research and tree health. There is also work required to ensure there is a smooth transfer of staff from Forestry Commission Scotland and Forest Enterprise Scotland to the new arrangements. Valuing and investing in staff is key.

They are vital to helping deliver my future plans for forestry and I want to get on with ensuring they get the certainty and clarity they need about their employment arrangements. The new act also includes and improves measures to protect trees, wildlife and the other plants our forests help to support. That includes new offences to prevent illegal felling and to temporarily stop felling activity which threatens to harm the environment or any living thing.

The act is designed to meet Scotland’s needs and interests which will work in conjunction with existing policies on biodiversity. As a government, we are committed to harnessing the potential of all our natural assets while protecting and enhancing the environment.

This act will enable us to meet ambitious planting targets, while also cherishing, maintaining and developing our national forest estate for future generations. It will allow us to increase timber supply for paper, furniture and houses, creating more jobs and opportunities for business in Scotland. With this act, we have seized a once-in-a-generation opportunity to help realise our ambitions to plant more trees, create more woodland and sustain our forests.

I am determined that planting trees becomes a shared national endeavour with a role for everyone to play in every community – now we have devolved fully the functions of forestry to Scotland, we need to get on with delivering that.