Forestry and Land Management (Scotland) Act 2018

3 Duty to prepare forestry strategy

(1) The Scottish Ministers must prepare a forestry strategy.

(2) The forestry strategy—

(a) must set out a vision for forestry in Scotland,

(b) must set out the Scottish Ministers’ objectives, priorities and policies with respect to the promotion of sustainable forest management, and

(c) may set out other matters with respect to the promotion of sustainable forest management.

(3) The forestry strategy must include the Scottish Ministers’ objectives, priorities and policies with respect to—

(a) the creation of woodland,

(b) the economic development of forestry,

(c) targets for the planting of trees,

(d) the conservation and enhancement of the environment by means of sustainable forest management,

(e) the realisation of the social benefits of forestry,

(f) the acquisition and disposal of land under sections 18 to 20,

(g) the production and supply of timber and other forest products.

(4) The Scottish Ministers—

(a) must keep the forestry strategy under review, and

(b) may, if they consider it appropriate to do so, revise the strategy.

(5) If the Scottish Ministers have not revised the forestry strategy under subsection (4)(b) within the period of 9 years beginning with the day on which the strategy was last published, they must revise the strategy.