What do National Parks mean for forestry?

Both Scotland’s existing National Parks have extensive areas both of natural and semi-natural woodland and of large commercial forestry plantations. Both have actively encouraged further woodland expansion, for example through the Great Trossachs Forest and Cairngorms Connect projects.

Cairngorms National Park Authority offers uplift grants for native woodland creation on top of the National Forest Grant Scheme.

Both National Park Authorities  have sought constructive relationships with Forestry Scotland and with the timber industry. Any future National Parks would also contain forests and woodlands to a varying extent.

Brexit is casting doubt over the future of upland agriculture, and climate mitigation policies are encouraging more tree planting. The expansion of forestry brings benefits including employment in planting, felling and timber processing.

However, it can also have adverse impacts on the environment and communities, such as acidification of water bodies, increase in flash flooding, loss of landscape diversity and damage to narrow roads by timber trucks.

Recent years have witnessed efforts to make forestry more environmentally benign, to invest in recreational provision and to involve local people more in decision-making about future plans and forest management.

The future of land use, including forestry, would be central to any National Park’s agenda. National Parks have a crucial role in seeking to foster improved mutual understanding and dialogue between all parties in the land use debate, as part of efforts to generate a shared vision for the future of the area and to secure better integrated land management. Forestry in a National Park should adhere to the highest standards, demonstrate multiple benefits, seek integration with other land uses and engage and involve local communities, aiming to demonstrate responsible land stewardship.