Forestry and Woodland Strategy - Glasgow

In 2021, the Glasgow City Region launched a new Forestry and Woodland Strategy that aims to boost the number of trees in the wider city region by a further 18 million over the next 10 years. The aim of the Strategy is to guide woodland expansion, restoration and management in the wider Glasgow area, providing a policy and spatial framework to optimise the benefits for the local economy, communities and the environment. All eight local authorities within the Glasgow City Region together with Scottish Forestry, NatureScot and the Glasgow and Clyde Valley Green Network Partnership developed the strategy. The Strategy updates the existing Glasgow and the Clyde Valley Forestry and Woodland Strategy, which was prepared in 2011 and is integrated with national level policies and guidelines.

Overview

Type of instrument:

Legislative, regulatory and strategic instruments›Dedicated strategy, plan, or law

Challenges addressed

Ecologic connectivity
Water management (e.g. reuse)
Green space management (e.g. accessibility)
Watershed restoration/water quality
Drought and fire risk
Heat stress and heat island effect
Air quality
Social cohesion
Nature appropriation / stewardship
Reconnection to the biosphere / environmental education
Human health, comfort and well-being

Consideration of nature-based solutions:

Currently, forests and woodlands in the Glasgow region cover around 60,000 hectares. The strategy aims to provide a framework under which a further 9,000 hectares will be planted. As a result, 21% of Glasgow City Region’s land area could be covered with a variety of trees by 2030. The Strategy also sets out to improve woodland’s contribution through the use of nature-based solutions. The Strategy has ten specific goals, covering ecological, societal and economic aspects. The Strategy (1) promotes the creation of high quality, multi-functional woodland; (2) informs the design and management of woodland in the Clydeplan area; (3) assists in protecting and enhancing valued woodland; (4) informs woodland planting to secure positive effects for biodiversity and environmental net gain; (5) achieves ecosystem restoration (6) informs development of future Local Development Plans (LDP) and planning guidance for the local authorities within the Clydeplan area; (6) informs local authority development management, investment and asset management decisions on proposals that include woodland removal or woodland creation; (7) guides local authority responses to consultation on planting proposals and applications for grant support for woodland creation and management; (8) assists with the development and approval of Felling Permissions, and long-term Forest Plans and Land Management Plans; (9) guides development and delivery of grant support for forestry activities; and (10) complements partner strategies and guidance for the rural and area natural environment. These goals are broken down into concrete actions. The Strategy describes five five cross-cutting principles that form the basis of all of its actions: (1) Consistent, transparent application of existing regulatory frameworks, (2) environmental protection & enhancement, (3) informed decision-making, (4) partnership working and (5) responding positively to climate change.

Targeted (peri-)urban areas:

Parks and (semi)natural urban green areas

Allotments, community gardens or agricultural areas

Green areas for water management

Derelict areas

External building greens

Urban green space connected to grey infrastructure

Good practice characteristics:

Support multifunctional NBS

Sustainable in the long-term

Locally appropriate

Potential to be replicated / upscaled

Governance

Government body/bodies

Initiating body:

Glasgow and Clyde Valley Strategic Development Planning Authority

Instrument design:

Details about how the instrument was designed:

The Forestry and Woodland Strategy for the Glasgow City Region has been developed by the Glasgow and Clyde Valley Strategic Development Planning Authority through consultation with a wide range of stakeholders including eight local authorities within the Glasgow City Region. Coherence with national policies and legislation was ensured by working closely together with the national level actors Scottish Forestry and NatureScot. The results of the consultation with these different actors is summarised in a dedicated Post-Adoption Statement, ensuring transparency of the process. The development of the Strategy was supported by an Strategic Environmental Assessment as well as an Equality Impact Assessment which assessed the likely environmental and socioeconomic effects of the Strategy. These assessments are required by Scottish law for all dedicated plans or programs.

Instrument implementation:

Type of involvement:

The involvement of the public is foreseen throughout the implementation of the Strategy. As the majority of woodlands are created by the private sector, the Strategy highlights the importance of unlocking this source of investment in the Glasgow City Region. The Strategy provides a vision for the development of the the woodland resource and forest-based economy in the Clydeplan area over the next 20 years. It establishes priorities on what type of woodland management and creation schemes are likely to be supported. Furthermore, it describes where agents and land managers should refer to this information when developing grant proposals and/or seeking to establish new woodland.The Strategy further emphasizes that the range of envisaged social, environmental and economic benefits can only be reached through consultation and engagement with local communities. A specific section of the Strategy describes that community involvement in woodland planning and management utilises local and user knowledge, ideas, skills, and expertise to ensure the long-term sustainability of the woodland. The opportunities for community involvement in woodland expansion and management will be enhanced as local authorities start to develop the Local Forestry and Woodland Strategies required in the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019. The Strategy refers to several initiatives in the Glasgow area that are centered on community empowerment and inclusion in and through local (wood)land management. The Strategy also promotes the development and delivery of woodland-based education programmes in the Glasgow City Region.

Type of non-governmental actors involved:

Citizen councils or consultation for co-planning (e.g. workshops, surveys)

Implementation of NBS (e.g. with government funds)

Targeted actors:

Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)

Private: household, real estate developer, business , financial

Citizens or community groups (CBOs), NGOs

Financing

Sources of funding:

Public national budget

Budget:

Unknown

Details about instrument financing:

The implementation of the Strategy will be primarily financed through the Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS), a Scotland-wide financial support program for the creation of new woodland and the sustainable management of existing woodland. The Strategy advises that the UK Treasury will provide funding to Scottish Government to replace current levels of EU co-financing to FGSs which were lost due to the UK’s departure from the EU.

Monitoring, evaluation and impacts

Is a monitoring framework in place?:

Yes

Performance against the aims, objectives and priorities of this Strategy will be monitored periodically by partners and fed into action planning and future revision. The monitoring covers different aspects such as biodiversity, air, soil and water quality as well as human health and well-being. The strategy describes indicators for each of these fields. Thus, this holistic monitoring can serve to assess whether the strategy realizes its different ecological, economic and social objectives.

Did an evaluation take place?:

Yes

The Strategy covers a 10-year period from 2020 to 2030 and incorporates five-yearly reviews. The reviews will form the basis for potential re-developments or adaptations of the Strategy.

Achieved outcomes and impacts:

To date, no data on achieved impacts is available for the 2020 Strategy. However,

Success factors and lessons learned:

The Strategy provides an example of a holistic approach to urban and peri-urban woodland management. It builds on a thorough analysis of the existing woodland resources in the Glasgow area. Potentials for expansion of woodlands are defined for different land use areas. Despite the Strategy's potential to guide an integrated approach to urban woodland restoration and expansion that serves multiple social, environmental and economic benefits, the Strategy's use for specific intervention is limited. Concrete on-the-ground actions are not defined. Thus, the importance of site-specific assessments of individual proposals for woodland expansion, or woodland removal remains of crucial importance. Supplementary guidance is needed to support implementing actors in creating and/or restoring woodland resources in the wider Glasgow area.

Sources and further information

References

List of references:

Glasgow City Region (2021). Forestry and Woodland Strategy Launched. Available at: https://glasgowcityregion.co.uk/forestry-and-woodland-strategy-launched/ (Accessed: 18 July 2022).

Clydeplan (2020). Forestry and Woodland Strategy for the Glasgow City Region 2020. Available at: http://www.glasgowcityregion.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Clydeplan_Forestry_and_Woodland_Strategy_2020_NEW_COVER.pdf (Accessed: 19 July 2022).

Clydeplan (2020). Equalities Impact Assessment (EqIA) of the Forestry and Woodland Strategy for the Glasgow City Region Screening Report. Available at: https://www.clydeplan-sdpa.gov.uk/files/docs/users/dcrawfor /ClydeplanForestryandWoodlandStrategyEqIA-ScreeningDC.pdf (Accessed: 19 July 2022).

Clydeplan (2020). Forestry and Woodland Strategy for Glasgow City Region Strategic Environment Assessment Post-Adoption Statement. Available at: https://www.clydeplan-sdpa.gov.uk/files/docs/users/dcrawford/PostAdoptionStatement.pdf (Accessed: 19 July 2022).

Clydeplan (2020). Forestry and Woodland Strategy for the Glasgow City Region SEA Environmental Report. Available at: https://www.clydeplan-sdpa.gov.uk/files/docs/users/dcrawford/PostAdoptionStatement.pdf (Accessed: 19 July 2022).

The Arboricultural Association (2022). Clyde Climate Forest. 18 million trees by 2030! Available at: https://www.trees.org.uk/News-Blog/Latest-News/Clyde-Climate-Forest (Accessed: 19 July 2022).

Photos

@P.Reid