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Scottish Elections 2021: What the parties say about forestry and wood

23 April 2021

Confor has analysed the forestry and wood content in the main parties’ manifestos for the Scottish Parliament elections on 6th May.

Scotland is planting 80% of all new woodland in the UK and is the only part of the UK to have set clear targets for wood use in construction. In the last Parliamentary session, Confor has continued to build relations with the political parties. This, in addition to COP26 coming to Scotland in November, has focused attention on the climate change benefits of forestry and wood use - so forestry and wood has a higher profile in the manifestos.

Confor produced its own manifesto, Building A Greener Future, which you can read here if you have not already seen a copy. Its findings were well-received by all parties at our pre-election hustings on March 25th (click here to read report).

In this item, we analyse what the main parties are saying about trees and timber - and what it could mean.

Scottish National Party

Scotland’s Future, Scotland’s Choice

Party says:

We will increase our targets for new woodland creation by 50%, from 12,000 hectares up to 18,000 hectares per year by 2025.

Over five years we will provide an additional £100 million to Scottish Forestry to increase new planting, £30 million to Forestry and Land Scotland to expand Scotland’s national forests and land, and a further £20 million will go to increase nursery stocks.

We will create a presumption against hardscaping of garden space in towns and cities and incentivise people to create pollinator friendly gardens and grow small trees in their gardens.

We will ensure that trees, woodlands and natural resources play a key role in flood prevention schemes, in riparian repair activity and to address air pollution.

Scotland has some of the best remaining rainforest sites in Europe. We will support the restoration and expansion of Scotland’s rainforest as a nature-based solution to the climate emergency. We will establish a National Register of Ancient Woodlands and work with owners and agencies to maintain and protect them.

Confor says:

The SNP has been well ahead in all Scottish opinion polls for several years. While it might not achieve an overall majority in the Scottish Parliament elections, the indications are that the SNP will emerge as the party with the most seats and, as convention dictates, be given the first opportunity to form a new government.

So what the party say about forestry matters and the commitments offered match up closely with Confor’s policy objectives for Scotland. Between 2016-2021, the SNP-led administration made forestry and wood a priority and increased tree planting targets - and linked them clearly to wider policy objectives, including rural economic growth and climate change mitigation. We can expect this to continue if the SNP continues in government.

Conservatives

Rebuild Scotland

Party says:

Protecting our natural environment for the next generation.

... Scottish Conservatives would bring forward an ambitious Nature Bill to strengthen environmental protections on land and sea for Scottish species and their habitats.

Trees are nature’s carbon capture technology and the basis of many natural habitats. We would increase new tree planting in Scotland to 18,000 hectares annually by 2024-25. However, quality and biodiversity are also important, so we would increase the proportion of new planting that is of native species, while ensuring that Scotland’s forests are productive. We would work with the construction sector to increase the use of timber for building. We would place a particular emphasis on protecting and reversing the decline in Atlantic woodlands, known as Scotland’s rainforests.

Confor says:

At this election, the Scottish Conservatives are vying with the Labour Party to be the main opposition. Their continued support for ambitious planting - and focus on increasing the use of timber for building - is very positive. Alongside other opposition parties, they have been persuaded by environmental organisations that native woodland planting is best for biodiversity and that this should outweigh other considerations such as carbon and rural jobs. Confor believes 60% of all new planting should be productive species, as included in the Scottish Forestry Strategy, which was signed off by all parties.

Scottish Labour

National Recovery Plan

Party says:

Scotland already plants a significant amount of trees, but this must increase from the existing 11,000 hectares a year to at least 15,000 hectares a year, building to at least 18,000, as recommended by the Committee on Climate Change. This should be matched by an increase in peatland restoration to 20,000 hectares each year, alongside measures to end commercial peat extraction. Scottish Labour would establish a Scottish Conservation Corps as part of its Jobs for Recovery guarantee to help carry out this work.

There has been a real term cut to forestry funding, while the SNP has failed to meet its own planting targets. At least 50% of all woodland expansion should be with native species and at least 10% delivered through natural regeneration. Overgrazing by deer can damage our native woodlands, and we support modernising deer legislation and the implementation of the Deer Working Group recommendations.

Confor says:

UK Labour made a campaign promise to plant billions of trees when Jeremy Corbyn faced off against Boris Johnson at #GE2019. Scottish Labour’s plans are consistent with that and - like the Scottish Conservatives - mirror the Scottish Government’s tree planting plans that would see 18,000 hectares of new woodland planted every year by 2025. Labour also wants more native species planting in the mix; again, Confor supports the retention of the 60% productive element as included in the Scottish Forestry Strategy. Labour wants a Conservation Corps set up to plant some of these trees, picking up woodland creation as part of the green economic recovery. Confor welcomes the link to a green economic recovery, but would note that successful tree establishment requires skilled labour and that trees, once planted, need to be managed.

Scottish Liberal Democrats

Put Recovery First

We will propose a Nature Recovery Law to set legal targets across government to clean up our air, soils, seas and rivers. We will:

Set legally binding nature recovery targets, with an action plan and financial support for delivery.
Protect and restore carbon-rich habitats while phasing out harmful practices.
Expand woodland using at least 50 per cent native species, increasing Scotland's forest cover by an additional 36 million trees every year.
Develop a formal strategy for Scotland's Wild Land Areas.
Set a national target that 30 per cent of all publicly owned land should be used for rewilding, including land owned by Forestry and Land Scotland, Crown Estate Scotland, and Scottish Water.

Confor says:

The Liberal Democrats have had a strong commitment to the environment for years and it’s no surprise they are prioritising woodland creation and the 50% target for native species planting adopted by other opposition groups. 36 million trees is the 18,000 hectare target (by 2025) explained in a different way but the overall intention is the same. Rewilding of publicly owned land, including that managed by Forestry and Land Scotland, taps into a topical theme amongst some environmental interests. However, the impact of rewilding on rural employment, especially at the scale proposed by the Liberal Democrats, is poorly understood, as are the claimed-for benefits for biodiversity. There would also be concern that this could undermine the long-term supply of wood which has traditionally supported huge investment in wood processing and reduce domestic supplies of a renewable, low carbon material at a time when Scotland is seeking to decarbonise industries like construction.

Scottish Greens

Vote Like Our Future Depends On It

Party says:

Woodland creation could play a major role in tackling the climate and nature emergencies whilst creating rural jobs, giving everyone more opportunities to enjoy quality green space, and boosting rural tourism. Just 18% of Scotland is currently forested, but our vision is to increase this to 40%, and for at least 60% of this to be native woodland. The Scottish Greens will focus on building the public forest estate and supporting communities, small-scale foresters and crofters to create and manage more woodland.

We will:

Target the Scottish Forestry Grant programme at native woodland creation, including productive mixed and broadleaf woodland as well as woodland where nature and recreation is prioritised.
Support local government to take an active role in identifying land for and then delivering reforestation.
Commit £10m p.a. more to the Scottish Land Fund, earmarked for reforestation schemes
Give Forestry Land Scotland (FLS) a duty to grow Scotland’s National Forests. An additional £200m will be made available for this purpose, enough to grow the public forest by approximately 50,000 hectares.
Support community ownership by encouraging the transfer of ownership from Forestry and Land Scotland and Local Authorities to communities via a simplified Community Asset Transfer Scheme.
Use existing rural development schemes to support the development of businesses linked to forestry.
Address grazing pressure in the uplands by increasing the deer management grant, implementing the recommendations of the Deer Management Working Group, and encouraging a reduction in sheep numbers via existing agricultural support schemes.
Ensure that compensatory planning to plant new trees is enforced when trees are felled for development, and require developments over a certain size to pay towards public forest planting.

In addition to this:

Maintain EU bans on bee-harming pesticides, and phase out the use of neonicotinoids in the forestry sector.
Replace current grants with Land Management Contracts, which will support farmers to deliver a range of public benefits including organic farmland conversion, agroforestry, agroecology, soil conservation and peatland restoration, flood management, wetland creation, landscape restoration and public access, renewable energy, rewilding and species reintroductions.

Confor says:

It's no surprise that the Scottish Greens have, arguably, the most ambitious plans for the environment with a doubling of Scottish woodland cover planned. Again, there is a strong focus on native woodland, raising questions about future supplies of wood. There is no link made to the carbon and green economy benefits of using more wood, including rural jobs.

The Scottish Greens do not contest all Scottish constituencies and its focus is on the list vote, so it looks to influence through consensus and supporting other parties to pass legislation rather than governing alone. In the last Parliament, the Greens supported the SNP government on key votes like the budget but there was no formal coalition agreement in place. Depending on other party results this time around and, if they gain more seats, we may see the Scottish Greens have more influence on legislation and the Scottish Government’s programme.

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