Scotland planting 10 times more trees than Ireland

Scotland achieved 15,040ha of afforestation in the 2023/2024 planting season, which is more than the total area planted in Ireland over the past six years, and almost 10 times greater than Ireland’s current annual planting.

After falling to 8,190ha in 2023, Scotland’s afforestation programme bounced back to 15,040ha for the year ending 31 March this year. Official statistics reveal that Scotland has created the highest number of new woodland for 34 years.

“These figures also show that nearly 75% of all new woodland throughout the UK were established in Scotland last year,” said a spokesperson for Scottish Forestry.

Scotland’s rural affairs secretary Mairi Gougeon described the latest figures as “quite a remarkable achievement and very positive news”.

“There has been a tremendous amount of hard work to bring us these welcome figures,” she said.

Species breakdown comprised 8,72ha (58%) of conifers and 6,320ha (42%) of broadleaves.

Rural affairs secretary Gougeon emphasised the partnership approach in Scotland.

“We need to give credit to all those who helped get the trees in the ground, including Scottish Forestry’s staff, woodland owners large and small, farmers, crofters, Forestry and Land Scotland, nurseries, forestry companies and their agents, and all those who actually did the planting,” she said.

“The figures are a perfect example of what can be achieved by working in partnership for the benefit of Scotland. I’d like to congratulate everyone involved.”

Irish comparison

“Scotland’s performance is a major achievement for a country roughly the size of Ireland and which only achieved annual planting programmes of 2,700ha as recently as 2010, compared with 8,300ha in Ireland that year,” said Pat O’Sullivan, technical director of the Society of Irish Foresters.

“Now, Scotland is planting a larger area in one year than Ireland has planted in total over the past six years,” he added.

“The partnership approach by Scottish Forestry and stakeholders is in sharp contrast to Ireland, where annual afforestation has fallen below 2,000ha.

“Afforestation programmes achieved in the past in Ireland – especially up to 2005 – demonstrate that Ireland has the capacity to deliver viable afforestation programmes.

“The current afforestation crisis can be resolved, but it will require a different approach, including the establishment of an independent forestry development agency, which stakeholders, including the IFA, forestry organisations, foresters and forest owners, are calling for,” O’Sullivan maintained.

Speeding up

A spokesperson for Confor, the organisation which represents the forestry and forest products sector in the UK, said that “when a dip in planting became apparent in June 2023, a new package of measure was introduced to help raise afforestation”, especially in Scotland.

“This resulted in the biggest change to the Forestry Grant Scheme since it began back in 2015, and included grant rate increases, new or improved grant options and the speeding up of processing applications for new woodlands,” he said.