Chamber and committees

Petitioner submission of 31 August 2021

PE1812/U: Protect Scotland's remaining ancient, native and semi-native woodlands and woodland floors

With the United Nations issuing a ‘Code Red for Humanity’ this year, the case to strengthen legal protections for Scotland’s remaining fragments of ancient (just 1% left), native and semi-native woodlands (approximately 4% of land area) and woodland floors before COP26 in November 2021 is irrefutable. Sadly, our own experience this year is that even existing legal protections for Scotland’s ancient woodland are flouted by landowners and agencies funded and trusted to protect them. In April we discovered a landowner was clear felling native trees in a Planted Ancient Woodland (PAWs). We contacted Scottish Forestry. They measured at least 21m3 of trees felled recently without a licence. A licence provides for an official exemption of only 5m3. Scottish Forestry asked the local authority for an emergency Tree Preservation Order (TPO) and explained that an investigation into a breach of the Forestry & Land Management (Scotland) Act 2018 was now underway. However, we were later informed that a meeting had been held with landowner. It appeared that the landowner was then free to fell more trees for light grazing and coppicing. We were assured a land management plan would be shared with us but four months later we have not received this and there has been no response to our emails. Also, the local authority appears to have taken no action to put a TPO on the threatened wood.

At a vast, mainly commercial, woodland managed by the public agency Forestry & Land Scotland, we witnessed the invasion of a precious ancient Atlantic Oak Woodland by self-seeded sitka spruce saplings blown in from the commercial plantations nearby. Thousands of non-native, highly invasive sitka saplings are now growing around and from the branches of the ancient oaks and gradually killing our natural heritage. Meanwhile highly invasive, non native rhododendron ponticum is also taking over. We have seen strimming of the native wildflowers from the path verges and specimen rhododendron have been planted in some of the remaining fragments of ancient Atlantic oak wood, yet nobody is making any attempt to remove the sitka spruce saplings that are destroying our precious ancient oaks. Sitka spruce is blacklisted as an invasive species in Norway and yet in Scotland it is being assisted to spread right across our country by huge public subsidies to meet climate change linked tree planting targets.

A planning application for a brand new 200 hectare commercial plantation next to the ancient woodland that gave rise to our petition has been submitted. We have formally objected and lobbied our MSP to try to increase the percentage of native tree planting to protect the ancient woodland from invasive, non-native sitka spruce. Conservation organisations are lobbying for 50% of all new woodland creation to be with native trees to help Scotland’s threatened biodiversity and lock in carbon long term. In 2006 a Forestry Commission Strategy included an implementation plan stating 35% of new woodlands should be composed of native species. Yet 15 years later, in the midst of a UN Code Red, this new plantation is scheduled for just 19% native trees.

We noted the SNP’s intention to create a National Register of Ancient Woodland in the 2021 election manifesto and power sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens. Scotland already has an Inventory of Ancient Woodland. We urge the Scottish Parliament to scrutinise the Scottish Government’s delivery of the Ancient Woodland Register commitment to ensure it is delivered in a robust way, with additional actions, protections and funding etc. A Register or Inventory does not afford our ancient woodlands any protection, it just lets us measure their heart-breaking decline.

In the last year, over a two mile long strip of dispersed designated ancient woodland, PAWS and semi-native woodland, we have seen mountain bike trails rip up the woodland floor and disturb nesting birds; PAWS felled (including 150 year old plus trees); burning of ancient oaks in designated ancient woodland and approval of commercial conifer plantation encroaching on ancient woodland. Four different landowners / tenants are involved. Magnify this up across the whole country and we hope you can see immediate and urgent action, and effective legislation is required. An imminent and crucial opportunity for the Scottish Government to strengthen protections for ancient and native woodland and woodland floors from inappropriate development is the new National Planning Framework.