A SENIOR forestry official has called a new report – which suggested public support for forestry was falling in Scotland – "sobering".
Stuart Goodall has said the sector must reflect on how it can "up its game" in the wake of the findings, which showed a clear downturn in public awareness and understanding of the industry over the last decade.
According to the Forest Research poll, 81 per cent of respondents agreed with at least one reason to inject public cash into forestry in Scotland, a 10-year low. Elsewhere, just 15 per cent of those surveyed said money should be spent on providing timber to sawmills (less than half of 2013's 31 per cent) and only three in ten backed doing so to reduce the country's reliance on imported wood.
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Confor's chief executive said: “It is good to see recognition from the majority of respondents that public funding should be made available for forestry. However, the clear downturn in public awareness and understanding of the sector in recent years is a major concern.
“Disappointing drops have been recorded in almost all reasons to support forestry with public money in Scotland, including the benefits provided for wildlife, the rural economy and recreation.
"Even support for the sector’s efforts to tackle climate change has fallen to its lowest point since 2015, despite the climate emergency and the significant and far-reaching work the sector is doing on mitigation."
While the UK-wide/England survey did not touch upon the use of public money (focusing more on recreation), the Welsh polling told a similar story to Scotland. Across most categories, there was a clear downturn in support, albeit at least 90 per cent agreed with at least one reason to stump up public cash. There was less of a noticeable fall in Northern Ireland.
Speaking of the Scotland survey, Stuart added: “In analysing this part of the survey it’s important to note the context '… reasons to support forestry with public money', as this isn’t the same as asking people what is valuable generally about forestry or even what they value. Nevertheless, this is a sobering survey and it is vital that the sector reflects on how we can raise our collective game.
“Confor has been stepping up its activities to both increase awareness of the industry through media engagement, and to assist the wider sector in securing public support for years to come.
"While Confor’s work will particularly stress economic benefits like job creation we are keen to agree and deliver a complementary, consistent and impactful narrative that incorporates all the benefits that forests, forestry and timber can provide.”
Alex Brearley, head of forestry at John Clegg & Co, added: “Discussions about forestry have become increasingly polarised over the past couple of years and it is important that we as forestry professionals engage in these debates.
"It is important for us to keep promoting the significant positive benefits that forests and woodland can bring to Scotland environmentally, economically and socially."
Commenting on the results, rural affairs secretary Mairi Gougeon said: "It is encouraging to see that the survey highlights that there is strong support for planting trees for climate change and wildlife as these are the two of the biggest crises that we face."
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