Forestry and climate change in Scotland

 

Forestry policy in Scotland is devolved to the Scottish Executive with Forestry Commission Scotland acting as the Executive’s forestry department. Changing our ways – Scotland’s climate change programme recognises the increased contribution that the forestry sector can make for Scotland. This is reflected in the Scottish forestry strategy (2006) which is the Scottish Executive’s framework for taking forestry forward through the first half of this century and beyond. The Strategy sets out the vision for the future of the forestry in Scotland, with action on climate change being one of seven key themes.

Delivering the objectives of the Scottish Forestry Strategy will:

• Ensure that Scottish forestry meets its full potential in facilitating ecological, economic and social adaptation to climate change through the careful planning and management of forests and woodlands.
• Capture opportunities for forestry to help lessen the severity of climate change by; helping to reduce emissions (where wood fuel substitutes for fossil fuels); by substituting timber and wood products for energy intensive materials such as concrete and steel; by providing locations for appropriate renewable energy projects; and by energy conservation measures in forest industries.
• Increase the amount of carbon sequestered (removed) by Scottish forestry by locking-up carbon in biomass, and through the conservation of other major carbon sinks (stores), particularly peat bogs and soils.
• Increase people’s awareness of climate change, and the actions they can take to help, as well as encouraging local use of woodlands to reduce travelling in cars.

Scotland’s Climate Change Programme includes a carbon savings contribution for the forestry sector towards the Scottish Target (2.7 million tonnes of annual carbon savings by 2010):

Annual carbon savings contribution from Scottish forestry	Delivered by
0.6 million tonnes by 2010	- Afforestation - Biomass as a renewable energy source - Wood as a substitute for energy intensive building materials - Reduction of timber miles (road transport of roundwood)
0.8 million tonnes by 2015
1.0 million tonnes by 2020

The Scottish Forestry Strategy’s programme of action

(‘P’ denotes priority actions)

Adapting to climate change

• P Improve understanding of climate change impacts on woodland ecosystems and silviculture, and implement precautionary measures, such as forest habitat network creation.
• Maintain preventative measures and ensure readiness for pests, diseases and other threats, such as fire and wind.
• Increase the role of forestry in environmental protection including sustainable flood and catchment management, and soil protection.

Mitigating climate change

• P Ensure mitigation measures contribute fully towards meeting the commitments in Scotland’s Climate Change Programme.
• P Develop a Biomass Action Plan for Scotland by the end of 2006, and ensure biomass forms part of a Renewable Heat Strategy.
  - Support biomass use for renewable energy, facilitating development of an efficient and reliable wood fuel supply chain.
  - Increase wood fuel usage to help achieve the Climate Change Programme targets.
• Encourage other forms of renewable energy production on forest land, subject to environmental and planning safeguards.
• P Promote increased use of sustainably produced timber and timber products in construction.
• Explore the potential for the development of biofuels from wood biomass.

Increasing carbon sequestration and retention

• Harness the carbon sequestration potential of new woodland as a contribution to Scotland’s carbon saving targets. Carbon gains will be greatest on fertile, low carbon soils.
  - Increase the area of appropriate new woodland to help achieve the Climate Change Programme targets.
• P Increase long-term carbon retention in woodlands through low impact silvicultural systems, promoting woodland regeneration (e.g. by managing grazing pressure) and by providing guidance on minimising carbon losses during forest operations.
• Encourage the development and monitoring of short rotation coppice and short rotation forestry on appropriate sites.
• Refine carbon sequestration modelling to reflect the Scottish situation.
• Help examine the feasibility of market-based mechanisms to facilitate trading of greenhouse gas reductions from land management activities in the UK context.

Increasing awareness of the forestry sector’s contribution

• P Prepare a forestry sector climate change action plan.
• P Develop a sound evidence base for developing and monitoring forestry’s contribution to tackling climate change.
• Raise awareness of the potential impacts of climate change and what actions forestry can take to assist.
• Consider climate change implications in deforestation decisions.
• Establish a basis for monitoring roundwood road miles (‘timber miles’) and facilitate projects that reduce the impacts of timber transport.

Indicators

• P Area of new planting.
• Annual net carbon savings.
• P Installed capacity of wood energy plant (in megawatt thermal and megawatt electrical).
• Number of non-domestic, wood fuelled energy systems installed.
• Area of short rotation coppice.
• Index of roundwood road miles.