Scottish Forestry could join a proposed environment super-agency
Scotland is considering merging environmental public bodies, potentially including Scottish Forestry; Woodland Trust Scotland warned that specialist forestry expertise and capacity must be protected.
Key takeaways
- 01The government is considering an environment body that could include Scottish Forestry alongside SEPA, NatureScot and Zero Waste Scotland.
- 02Woodland Trust Scotland wants assurance that forestry expertise and capacity would be retained.
- 03Forestry and Land Scotland was not part of the proposal and no merger had been confirmed.
The Scottish Government is considering a single organisation for environmental public bodies as part of wider public-service reforms announced in its Programme for Government, Forestry Journal reports. The proposal is expected to involve SEPA, NatureScot and Zero Waste Scotland, and the government document says Scottish Forestry could potentially be included. No merger had been confirmed in the report.
Ministers say a combined body could remove barriers between agencies and make environmental interventions more effective on climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. The article compares the idea with Natural Resources Wales, which replaced Forestry Commission Wales in 2013.
Woodland Trust Scotland's Simon Ritchie expressed concern about losing forestry specialism and said his organisation would seek assurances that Scottish Forestry's expertise and capacity would carry over into any new structure. Forestry Journal said there was no suggestion that Forestry and Land Scotland was part of the proposal. The article concerns a possible reorganisation, not an announced abolition of all Scottish forestry bodies.
Source attribution
Read original article on Forestry Journal