THE Scottish Government’s allocation of an additional £6 million for the forestry sector in its Budget has been praised by Confor.

Stuart Goodall, CEO of Confor, welcomed the extra support for the industry as part of the Scottish Government’s focus on tackling climate change.

Mr Goodall said: “In the year that COP26 comes to Scotland, this is further recognition that tree planting and wood use have a key role to play in addressing the climate emergency. I strongly welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to deliver on its tree-planting targets with an extra £6 million allocated in the coming year. Against a backdrop of the new UK Government’s commitment to plant 30,000 ha a year by 2025 across the UK, Scotland is showing the way by planting 84 per cent of all trees last year.

“Scotland is now on track to increase this to 15,000 ha a year by 2025. The Government is putting its money where its mouth is because it understands the multiple benefits that forestry and wood can deliver – not just for climate change, but for wildlife, people and the economy.”

Mr Goodall urged all parties in the Scottish Parliament to support the Budget, which allocates a total of £64 million to forestry.

After beating its tree-planting target of 10,000 ha in 2018/19, the Scottish Government has committed to increasing planting to 15,000 ha annually by the mid-2020s.