Trees "good" for Scotland

Nine out of 10 Scots want to see “a lot more trees being planted”, according to a new survey from Forestry Commission Scotland.

The Commission interviewed 1,000 people as part of a process to discover the nation’s views on the different aspects of forestry, including its impact on climate change.

Three-quarters of those polled said that “trees are good” due to their carbon storage properties, with 90% saying they wanted to see more trees being planted.

On top of that, 60% said that the benefits forestry offers in tackling climate change are a good reason for the Scottish government to support the sector.

“It’s good to see that we in Scotland are clearly making the connection between the importance of trees and climate change and that overall, 90% of those interviewed were able to select a good reason to support forestry with public money,” said Dominic Driver, social policy adviser at Forestry Commission Scotland.

“It is also clear that people want to see more tree planting and that they feel good forest management contributes towards reducing the affects of climate change.”

Mr Driver added that it was clear that Forestry Commission Scotland needs to promote biofuels to “increase the awareness of its benefits to the Scottish population and businesses”, after just over 50% of respondents said that using woodfuel is better for the environment than oil or gas.