Improving Environmental Protection in Forestry

The Forest Industry Environment Group (FIEG) came together following discussions between various individuals across the state and private forestry sector in Scotland. There appeared to be several areas of environmental interest where working together seemed to offer advantages. We found that we had common goals but also common problems, particularly in seeking compliance with regulatory, UKFS and UKWAS requirements.

The FIEG is not a formally constituted body, and is currently made up of representatives from Confor, Forestry Commission Scotland, Forest Enterprise Scotland, Scottish Woodlands and Tilhill. We hope we can draw in the experience, skills and time of other organisations, companies and individuals in the future, including from outside Scotland. If you would like to be involved or if you have suggestions for issues that should be tackled in the future, please let us know.

At the most practical level the objective of the group is to promote common standards so that everyone working in the sector receives consistent message from site to site, and also to help interpret legislation and guidance, and distil this down to sensible workable advice.

As a first step the group felt it was useful to establish a framework of roles and responsibilities. This would also give a consistent reference for future guidance and operational management. Rather than reinvent the wheel, it seemed obvious to adopt the familiar roles described in FISA’s Guidance on Managing Health and Safety in Forestry, and simply define environmental responsibilities for those roles. Thus, the idea of “Guidance on Responsibilities for Environmental Protection in Forestry” was born with the aim that it could become an accepted industry wide standard.

The first draft of the proposed guide is published on the Confor website as a consultation exercise. The group would welcome your thoughts and comments, with a view to producing a final draft in the spring of 2019. Please send you comments to stuart.wilkie@scottishwoodlands.co.uk  by 15^th January 2019.