Chamber and committees

All abstractions from the water environment require authorisation under the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011. The proposals in the Water Resources (Scotland) Bill are that abstractions over 10 Megalitres per day will require additional consent from ministers (unless they are subject to an exemption). Ministers will be able to take into account a wider range of impacts that particularly large abstractions would have and thereby ensure that Scotland’s water resources are being used for the benefit of the people of Scotland.

Scottish Water has published their Water Efficiency Plan on their website. See Link.

http://www.scottishwater.co.uk/you-and-your-home/your-home/water-efficiency/water-efficiency-downloads/water-efficiency-plan.

Scottish Water developed the plan and the focus of wider consultation has been on The Water Efficiency Trial component of the overall Water Efficiency Plan. In developing the trial Scottish Water consulted with Scottish Government, SEPA, WICS, WaterWatch Scotland and latterly Consumer Focus Scotland. They also carried out some customer research to inform the development of the trial.

At the end of financial year 2011-2012 15,200 of the graduates who chose to take a student loan in order to pay the Graduate Endowment had an outstanding balance on their loans.

The worst affected areas for Dothistroma needle blight on the national forest estate are North Highland Forest District and Moray & Aberdeenshire Forest District.

Dothistroma needle blight (DNB) has featured in the trade press and on the Forestry Commission’s website for several years, and a Forest Research Note was published in 2008. DNB has also featured in annual Forest Health Days run by Forest Research in order to raise awareness of emerging threats to tree health. In January 2008 a pan-GB Working Group (now a Programme Board) was formed to oversee research directions and operational responses to this disease, with Confor representing the private forestry sector.

Further measures to raise awareness during recent months have included:

A two-page article by Forest Research and Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) in the February edition of the Forestry Journal (a trade magazine for the forestry and arboricultural sectors in GB);

A joint Confor/FCS national briefing on DNB for the private sector (held in Perth on 25 April);

A joint presentation on DNB by Forest Research and FCS at the annual meeting of Native Pinewood Managers on 3 May;

Four DNB training events in DNB identification for private forestry sector survey staff – held in Fife, Galloway, North Highland and Moray/Aberdeenshire, and

The production of a field guide to DNB and other pine foliar pathogens. This was issued at training events and is available, along with other information about DNB, on the Forestry Commission website at: http://www.forestry.gov.uk/fr/infd-6zckae.

Four further training sessions for private forestry sector staff will be offered this year.

Since 2006 Forest Enterprise Scotland (FES) has been undertaking annual ground-based surveys for the presence/absence of Dothistroma needle blight on the national forest estate (NFE). In 2011, following development of cost-effective techniques, FES also commenced more detailed annual surveys to assess the severity of infections on the NFE. In 2011, FES also undertook a helicopter survey of pine woodlands (which had not yet been ground-surveyed) on the NFE to detect any signs of ill-health and to see if such aerial reconnaissance would be a more cost-effective way of identifying the presence/absence and severity of Dothistroma. During these flights signs of pine ill-health on private sector ground were also recorded and the information, with photographs, made available to the relevant owners.

The GB Strategy for Dothistroma needle blight (DNB) recognises that a range of measures will be required to deal with DNB in pine woodlands. This GB Strategy recommends that consideration is given to the role of chemical treatments, including the targeted use of the aerial application of fungicide. Many fungicides have been found to be effective against DNB; for example, cuprous oxide, copper sulphate and copper oxychloride have been used in ground-based applications in nurseries in GB and in aerial spraying operations in countries such as New Zealand.

The aerial application of fungicide is therefore being considered as part of a potential suite of measures that may be required to address problems associated with DNB in Scotland. While there have been no forestry-related aerial applications of fungicide in Scotland (and there are currently no fungicides approved for such aerial-application in the UK), Forest Research is trialling ground-based forest applications of a range of products thought to be effective against DNB. In addition, two areas are being selected for trials of aerial application of fungicide in 2013, and Forest Research will apply to the Chemicals Regulation Directorate for the necessary experimental licence. These trials would help determine the efficacy and environmental impact of aerial applications and so help inform decisions about their possible future use.

The research programme led by the Forestry Commission’s research agency, Forest Research, includes:

surveys to determine the Dothistroma needle blight (DNB) distribution and intensity in Scotland and whether the pathogen is also infecting non-pine species;

analysis and recording of samples from private sector DNB surveys in Scotland;

annual DNB surveys of forest tree nurseries in Scotland, including monitoring to determine the presence or otherwise of the second causal agent of DNB - Dothistroma pini (which is present in some parts of Europe but has not yet been found in the UK);

work on determining the mating type and genotype distribution of DNB in Scotland;

investigating spore dispersal mechanisms (this is being studied in England);

investigating potential host resistance and the use of alternative species/origins;

determining the effectiveness of silvicultural and chemical control techniques for DNB, and

proposed further work on climatic links.

Given the global nature of this disease, it is also important to share research findings between countries. Forest Research is chairing the EU COST Action “DIAROD” which is building on the work of the International Dothistroma Alliance and aims to synthesize knowledge, encourage collaborative research in key areas, determine future research priorities and use the resulting information to develop management strategies applicable to this evolving disease and other future disease threats.

Along with the Research Councils, Defra the Forestry Commission, and the Scottish Government is currently engaged in discussions about developing a Tree Health and Plant Biosecurity Initiative, under the auspices of Living with Environmental Change (LWEC), aimed at increasing UK research capacity and capability in relation to tree health and its associated plant biosecurity issues.

Dothistroma needle blight (DNB) is already having an adverse economic impact as a result of degradation in timber value, and this will increase with continued spread of the disease. In addition there are wider consequences (also affecting non-market outputs) that include reduced carbon sequestration, and the loss of amenity, recreation, and biodiversity value. Loss of biodiversity value would be especially concerning if the disease were to spread in native Caledonian pinewoods. The speed of change in the behaviour of this disease, coupled with uncertainties about the efficacy of some of the potential management options makes it very difficult to quantify economic impacts. However, these impacts are likely to be greatest in areas such as the north and north east of Scotland, where pine currently represents almost half of the woodland area. Along with the industry, Forestry Commission Scotland is establishing a Scottish Timber Markets Impact Group, whose remit will include assessing the implications of tree health issues for the production and marketing of timber from Scottish forests.