Topic papers for the second consultation

 

Two topic papers helped with the preparation of the draft revised Scottish Forestry Strategy

1. Possible Opportunities for Future Forest Development in Scotland: A Scoping Study

The first Scottish Forestry Strategy (2000) contained an objective to "increase Scotland's forests and woodlands towards one quarter of our land area by the middle of this century".

The purpose of this study was to provide a solid foundation for assumptions about the proportion of Scotland that might reasonably be afforested over the next 40 - 50 years.  The work was undertaken for Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) by Macaulay Research Consultancy Services, in collaboration with Forest Research.

The broad conclusion from this study was that the aspiration for 25% woodland cover remains feasible but that it is unlikely to be achieveable by 2050 without significant changes in the economic attractiveness of woodlands relative to agriculture.  That, coupled with the increasing emphasis on having the right kind of woodland, in the right places, indicates that 25% woodland cover should remain a long-term aspiration but not a target.

The following parts of the report are available for downloading:

• Executive summary of the scoping study (PDF 2.5Mb) 
• Main scoping study report (PDF 301k)
• Main appendices to the scoping study (PDF 688k)
• Main report tables (PDF 482k)
• Main report figures (maps) relating to the scoping study (PDF 6.6Mb)  Please note: this is a large, image rich file and will take time to download on slower internet connections.

2. Forestry Context

Forestry in Scotland operates within an extremely broad international and national policy context.  A full Forestry Context (PDF 256k) paper sets out over 170 references, each with an internet link and a brief explanation of what the reference contains.

FCS would be pleased to hear of any omissions in, or updates to, the references.  Email us at fcscotland@forestry.gsi.gov.uk with your comments.