Scotland signs up to forestry pledge

A global ambition to restore landscapes and forests is being supported by Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon

The Bonn Challenge is a global effort which aims to regenerate 150 million hectares of deforested and degraded landscapes by 2020, and 350 million hectares by 2030.

The Scottish government – the first in Europe to sign up to the Bonn Challenge – has committed to a range of actions as part of the pledge, including:

• By 2030, 165,000 hectares of new woodland will be planted. This is part of Scotland’s wider ambition to increase woodland cover from the current 18% to 21% by 2032.

• Delivering a greater level of carbon sequestration, with around 10 million tonnes of CO2 emissions being soaked up each year up to 2032.

• Increasing the annual woodland creation target of 10,000 hectares a year to 15,000 hectares by 2024/25.

• Improving the condition and extent of native woodlands.

Bianca Jagger (pictured right above), an International Union for Conservation of Nature ambassador for the Bonn Challenge, visited Edinburgh to meet the First Minister and endorse Scotland’s pledge. She said, “Scotland joins a cohort of visionary governments and other entities who have recognised that restoring degraded and deforested landscapes is critical to improve people’s lives by achieving poverty reduction and livelihoods generation, while also generating benefits for biodiversity and combating climate change.”

Find out more at https://scotland.forestry.gov.uk/news-releases/scotland-signs-up-to-forestry-pledge