In Scotland we need to restore our native woodland cover. The Government agrees and wants to see 18,000 ha of new woodland created per annum, primarily through native woodland expansion. Not especially ambitious for an emergency, but perhaps overly ambitious for our antiquated grant system which has, except for the year 2023/24, delivered less than…
Author: Professor Douglas C MacMillan
I thought we lived in a world where science guided our decisions about how best to protect nature and the planet. Sadly this would appear not to be the case. Vested interests and the voices of the powerful now hold sway, with science only deployed by government where there is good reason to expect it’s…
Why the ban on camp fires in the Cairngorms National Park maybe political rather than sustainable…..
NIMBYism’ and ‘Park politics’ rather than fire risk is probably behind the move to ban camp fires (see here). My bet is that the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNP) has caved in to pressure from residents and sporting estates who are anxious to blame somebody else for the wildfire problem land managers have, by…
[The post first appeared on Prof Douglas MacMillan’s Linked-In feed. Our apologies, the original caption to this photo said it was taken from A9 at Drumochter – ed. Photo taken same day at Drumochter is now included below] Last week Scottish Ministers approved a ban on recreational fires and barbecues in the Cairngorms National Park…
The Scottish Government’s consultation on proposals to modernise the legislation which governs deer management in Scotland closes today (see here). There is a survey which is relatively easy to complete. The primary aim of the proposed legislation is to ‘ensure it is fit for purpose in the context of the biodiversity and climate crises’. The…
Restoring Scotland’s natural woodland cover and biodiversity from centuries of over grazing is an urgent and necessary step towards sustainable management and care for our hills and mountains. Woodland regeneration could, within decades, extend throughout the uplands allowing a natural woodland mosaic to develop, increasing biodiversity while protecting and enhancing the terrestrial carbon cycles. The…