Minister for Agriculture, Marine and the Islands Jim Fairlie joined members of the Scottish Forest and Wood-based Industries Leadership Group at their recent meeting to launch their updated strategy for 2025 – 2035, called ‘A National Wood Strategy - Delivering for Scotland’.
This national strategy sets out the sector’s ambitions to increase its contributions to Scotland’s economic and climate change targets, working in partnership with the Scottish Government and its agencies.
Guy Watt, Chair of the Industry Leadership Group said: ‘The strategy covers all Scotland’s sources of wood fibre from Scotland’s forests, from imported wood fibre and from reusing and recycling wood fibre. It has been developed by representatives of companies in the private sector from across the wood-chain’.
Minister for Agriculture, Marine and the Islands Jim Fairlie said:
‘This document marks the next phase in driving forward the development of inclusive and sustainable growth in Scotland’s Forest and Wood-based Industries. I commend the sector for its progress and ambition and welcome this strategy as a platform for further growth, innovation and economic impact by 2035.’
The Leadership Group considers there are a wide range of exciting opportunities for the domestic forest industry to grow over the next 15 years as the forecast wood fibre availability in Scotland increases. These new opportunities are for increased processing and downstream manufacturing of and adding value to wood-based products in Scotland. As a result the contributions to the growth of the Scottish economy will also increase significantly particularly in the rural economy.
The Strategy also highlights the important contribution the sector makes to reaching climate change targets. This is because trees capture carbon from the atmosphere as they grow and store the carbon in their stems. This natural process makes a very important contribution to mitigating climate change in Scotland and globally. When sustainably managed trees are made into wood and wood products the captured carbon remains stored in these products throughout their lives.
Wood generally has low embodied energy compared to steel, brick or concrete that require much more energy to produce. This makes wood products a more sustainable choice of material for construction and manufacturing.
The Industry Leadership Group also recognises that trees, woods and forests are also an important part of Scotland’s ecosystem and biodiversity and can provide habitats for a range of Scotland’s unique flora and fauna. They also provide a range of recreational and tourist opportunities in both rural and urban areas.
The Leadership Group also notes a longer-term threat to the future of the sector in that by 2070 the availability of coniferous roundwood is forecast to fall well below forecast demand and current production. There is therefore a need to increase softwood availability by planting more coniferous woodlands, and increasing the productivity of our existing ones otherwise there will be job losses and Scotland will become increasingly dependent on imports.
Copies of the Strategy can be downloaded from here.
The objective of the Scottish Forest & Wood-based Industries (SFWI) Industry Leadership Group (ILG) is to identify ways in which the forest industry in Scotland, working with the Scottish Government, can boost sectoral growth and the economy as a whole, in a way that is aligned with Scotland’s Economic Strategy. It seeks to do this through constructive dialogue and the provision of opportunities to discuss the industry’s needs and to identify opportunities where support and input from government can add value.
There are an estimated 2,860 companies involved in forestry and wood-based activities in Scotland. They have a cumulative total annual turnover of £4.1 billion, and they employ 40,430 people and contribute £1.3 billion annually to the Scottish economy.
It is estimated that the wood-based industries have invested some £400 million in capital investments and £50 million in research over the last 5 years.
The ILG has 23 members that include representatives from companies across the wood chain, Scottish Forestry, Highlands & Islands Enterprise, South of Scotland Enterprise, and Skills Development Scotland.
Members of the ILG come from companies that operate in different parts of the wood-chain from woodland establishment to primary and secondary processing, manufacturing, timber importing and recycling and are members because of their in-depth knowledge of the part of the sector in which they work.
For more information about the Scottish Forestand Wood-based Industries Leadership Group, visit Scottish Forest& Wood-based Industries – SFWI
