Forestry Statistics

As mentioned in the previous post, I am currently researching the local materials and mainly collecting any data about sourcing, harvesting and, if applicable, renewing the sources. I want to investigate how are the materials sourced in current circumstances and what is the relationship between how much is sourced today and what is the potential maximum for sustainable sourcing. In other words, is the amount sourced today above or below the limit for sustainable extraction? Or perhaps how do we actually create this limit? This most probably depends on the type of material because in terms of non-renewables, such as stone and other mined compounds, it is debatable what level is sustainable. Moreover, it is necessary to take the emissions during the mining into account, but this applies to any sourcing of course. In terms of renewables, finding the balance and the maximum limit of harvesting is much easier in my opinion. And that is because in order to cover up the harvest (wood in this case), you need to plant the same amount, or a bit more to cover up potential loss.

Scotland's plan to increase forest and woodland cover to 21%. (The Scottish Government 2019 p.2)

However, my main focus during in this post is to reflect on some of the findings/statistics regarding Scottish forestry. Scottish forests account for around 1.5 million ha of forests, of which 7.316% lie in Aberdeenshire itself with some ≊ 109 750 ha (based on a 2013 report). Now it is vital to find information on how these forests are managed – what is the harvesting forecast/plan and how much in renewed annually and what is the long-term perspective on forestry in the region – is there a planned expansion of forests etc. Scotland is planning to increase the woodland cover to 21% by 2032 by planting more than 12 000 ha per year from 2020, gradually increasing in upcoming years. Knowing how much is planned to be planted in Aberdeen City & Shire would be beneficial as this creates potential material resource/capital in the future. Also, expanding forestry is important for rural communities due to the majority of the work associated with woodland creation, management, harvesting and transportation is performed in rural areas (The Scottish Government 2019). Aberdeenshire vastly rural, could therefore benefit from woodland expansion.

Forest coverage of Scotland. (The Scottish Government 2019 p.8)

Nonetheless, despite the push for woodland expansion and planting, it is predicted that UK imports of wood and wooden products will increase to 78% by 2050 which is rather alarming. This increase in import is because of the decline in productive planting since the 1980’s. According to the report by The Scottish Government (2019 p.20), demand for wood fibre are predicted to rise globally, thus resulting in an increase in the cost of imports, consequently increasing the price. Alongside this, it is also important to consider how, or if, will Brexit affect import taxes as well. And so how is Aberdeen City & Shire relevant? Regardless of my current unavailability of relevant statistics, I could assume that the amount of import is similar throughout the entire UK, therefore Aberdeen City & Shire as well. But even without the assumption, the fact that UK imports 60% of its wood and wood products (being a second largest net importer of wood in the world) is significant enough to express the deficit of domestic wood production. From this point of view, in order for Aberdeen City & Shire to become self-sufficient, a lot more of new forests need to be planted, otherwise alternative renewable materials that could cover the deficit need to be considered. But I will discuss this in another post.

Personally, I was a little surprised and a little discouraged by how much wood and wood products are imported into the UK because it essentially means that UK, and Scotland respectively, are far from being self-sufficient, at least in terms of wood. All the countries would have to plant more than double of what is currently processed/sold, pointing at the fact that the UK should try to meet the European forest coverage of around 30+%. Whether this is possible or not is for another debate.

THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT, 2019. Scotland’s Forestry Strategy 2019-2029. Edinburgh: The Scottish Government.

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