Low Carbon Scotland - meeting the emissions reduction targets 2010-2022: report

7. Rural Land Use

7.1 In this chapter, the term "rural land use" is used to cover agriculture and related land use, and forestry. The causes of greenhouse gas emissions from the rural land use sector are different from those which occur in the other sectors in this report. Rather than being the result of combustion, emissions from rural land use come primarily from biological processes, albeit in many instances these processes are the result of some kind of human activity. In addition, rural land use activities like forestry and specific cropland management can also absorb CO ₂ from the atmosphere.

7.2 A significant proportion of the emissions from agriculture and related land use come from nitrogen fertiliser use and livestock's digestive systems. Nitrogen is an essential element for plant growth. Fertilisers may either be manufactured or come from organic, principally farm based, livestock manure and slurry.

7.3 Changes in the way land is used, such as converting grassland to cropland, can lead to the breakdown of organic matter in soils, releasing carbon to the atmosphere as CO _2. By contrast, the conversion of arable land to grassland can lead to the absorption of CO ₂ through soil processes, increasing the soil's carbon store. Scotland's woodland is a net carbon sink as trees absorb CO ₂ during the process of photosynthesis. However, as forests age, this effect diminishes and their contribution to reducing Scotland's overall emissions decreases.

7.4 Opportunities exist across the rural land use sector to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Farmers and other land managers can take simple steps to improve the efficiency and diversity of their businesses, benefitting their bottom line as well as cutting emissions. There are opportunities to manage soils to protect the existing carbon stores and lock away even more. By sustainably creating and managing woodland, the amount of CO ₂ absorbed can be increased and the wood can be used to replace more carbon-intense materials for fuel and construction.

7.5 Rural land use activities are interrelated and interdependent. For example, a great deal of land in Scotland is used both for extensive grazing and sporting purposes. Much of Scotland's land has significant value such as for biodiversity and access to the outdoors and these benefits may depend, in part, on agricultural and woodland management. Rural land also provides significant potential for the development of renewable energy by land based enterprises and rural communities.

7.6 Compared to other sectors of the economy there is much greater uncertainty in estimating emissions from rural land use and predicting the effects of changing practices. Fertiliser nitrogen losses, for example, depend on a complex set of conditions, including the application techniques, soil type, soil moisture and the weather during and after application. The Scottish Government is working with UK and international partners to improve our understanding of emissions from Rural Land Use, so that future policies are informed by the best evidence and farmers are properly credited for improvements in farming practices.

7.7 Despite the scientific uncertainty there are some emissions abatement measures that are known to deliver significant emissions reductions, while delivering savings to business, and biodiversity, air and water quality benefits.

Trends

• In 2008, emissions from agriculture and related land use were 11.5 MtCO ₂e, a decrease of 2.3 MtCO ₂e from 1990. Woodland sequestered more greenhouse gases than it emitted, a total of 10.1 MtCO ₂e, 1.8 MtCO ₂e more than in 1990.
• Although carbon sequestration from woodland has increased since 1990, it is important to note that this peaked around 2004. This is because levels of woodland creation in Scotland declined in the 1990s and now many Scottish forests have reached maturity. Older trees sequester CO ₂ at a slower rate than younger trees.

• The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory also estimates emissions from land converted to settlements since 1950. These were 1.7 MtCO ₂e in 2008, 0.1 MtCO ₂e lower than in 1990. These have not been included as part of the rural land use sector, as the emissions are mostly retrospective.

7.8 Figure 8 sets out the historical greenhouse gas emissions from these activities from 1990 to 2008 together with "business as usual" projections to 2022 of emissions if no additional measures were put in place to reduce them.

Figure 8: Emissions and sequestration from rural land use in Scotland, 1990 to 2008, and "business as usual" projection to 2022

Milestones

• The conclusion and publication in 2011 of current research projects by the Scottish Government and the Committee on Climate Change on behaviour change in agriculture and the development of indicators to measure progress in reducing agricultural emissions. This will inform the development of Scottish Government climate change milestones for agriculture. Depending on the research outcomes, these are likely to focus on the number of farm businesses that have adopted Farming for a Better Climate measures and the number of farm businesses undertaking nutrient management plans.
• Subject to adoption by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change of wetland management as an optional reporting item in the international greenhouse gas inventory process, the Scottish Government will incorporate consideration of peatland restoration into the methodology for calculating the net Scottish emissions account.
• Plant 100 million trees by 2015.

Land Use Strategy

7.9 In line with Section 57 of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, Scottish Ministers will lay a land use strategy before the Scottish Parliament in March 2011. The Scottish Government's consultation on a Draft Strategy concluded in December 2010. More information is available on the Government's website ¹⁰¹ .

7.10 The Land Use Strategy will be the Scottish Government's high-level and long-term agenda for sustainable land use and has been developed in line with this Report. Enabling land-based businesses to succeed in a low-carbon economy is central to this agenda. The Strategy will consider all land and all land uses across the country, and outline the delivery mechanisms for its implementation. By setting clear objectives and applicable principles for land managers and policy-makers alike, the Strategy will help Scotland get more from its land, including the contribution that can be made towards meeting our greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.

Agriculture and related land use

7.11 A key challenge in this sector is to contribute towards climate change targets while ensuring that Scottish agriculture remains productive and competitive. The Scottish Government's approach is to begin by seeking the maximum uptake of voluntary actions which both reduce avoidable emissions (those that arise from inefficient use of fertilisers and other resources rather than from the fermentation of feeds in the guts of animals) and improve farm performance.

Scottish policies

Farming for a Better Climate

7.12 Farming for a Better Climate ( FFBC) is a targeted communication strategy designed to encourage farmers to adopt efficiency measures that reduce emissions, and help them adapt to climate change while at the same time having an overall positive impact on business performance.

7.13 The strategy targets five key areas for action:

• Using energy and fuels efficiently.
• Developing renewable energy.
• Locking carbon into the soil and vegetation.
• Optimising the application of fertiliser and manures.

• Optimising livestock management and storage of waste.

7.14 Farming for a Better Climate has been developed jointly by the Scottish Government and Scottish Agricultural College ( SAC) and is funded by the Scottish Government. SAC hosts a dedicated website ¹⁰² which provides farmers with advice on costeffective measures that can be taken in each of these areas. The website was launched in September 2009 and features case studies and downloadable practical guides.

7.15 Four farms have been selected to be Farming for a Better Climate "Focus Farms", demonstrating how to tackle avoidable greenhouse gas emissions whilst balancing sustainable food production and maintaining a competitive farming industry. The Focus Farms represent three agricultural sectors - dairy, upland livestock and arable. The fourth is a diversified farm business and can be used for education and public demonstration.

7.16 The Focus Farm programme will run until 2013 to establish best practice and monitoring and reporting procedures. Open days and demonstrations will take place on the farms, the aim being to show direct evidence of how effectively the principles can cut emissions while also improving the efficiency and therefore profitability of farm businesses ¹⁰³ .

7.17 Many of the measures encouraged by Farming for a Better Climate potentially qualify for grant funding through the Scotland Rural Development Programme ( SRDP) ¹⁰⁴ . The SRDP is a programme of up to £1.5 billion of economic, environmental and social measures designed to develop rural Scotland. It commenced in 2007 and will operate until 2013.

7.18 Eligible activities include: provision of manure/slurry storage and treatment; installation of renewable energy capacity and management of lowland raised bogs.

Farming for a Better Climate example - locking carbon into the soil and vegetation. 7.19 On a global scale, soils contain about twice as much carbon as the atmosphere and about three times as much as vegetation 105 . Small changes in the global soil carbon store could therefore have a significant effect on atmospheric CO 2 concentrations. 7.20 Well managed soils can accumulate more carbon over time but poorly managed soils, such as those subject to overgrazing, drainage, inappropriate ploughing and burning can lead to substantial emissions. This is principally caused by the carbon in exposed and disturbed soil decomposing to form CO 2. Weather can also be a factor, in particular the warmer and drier summers associated with climate change. 7.21 Scotland's soils store an estimated to 3,000 million tonnes of carbon 106 , 107 , which is equivalent to nearly 200 years of net Scottish greenhouse gas emissions. Managing the land to help preserve this carbon store is therefore extremely important. 7.22 One of the key targets of the Scottish Government's Farming for a Better Climate programme is to help farmers to lock carbon into the soil and vegetation. The programme offers farmers advice about measures they can take to minimise emissions from these sources such as reducing tillage where appropriate (which also cuts vehicle emissions), crop rotation, incorporating crop residues into the soil after harvest, and planting trees on highly degraded or marginal soils. 7.23 Under the Scotland Rural Development Programme there is an Uplands and Peatlands package which contains a number of Axis 2 Rural Priorities Options to benefit upland habitats and carbon storage. 108

Support for anaerobic digestion through the SRDP

7.24 Anaerobic Digestion ( AD) is the process where micro-organisms break down biodegradable materials in the absence of oxygen in an enclosed tank to produce biogas (approximately 60% methane, 39% carbon dioxide and 1% ammonia). This biogas fuels a generator which produces electricity and heat either for use on-farm or for sale to the national grid. As well as biogas, AD produces a solid and liquid residue called digestate which can be applied to farmland as a bio-fertiliser potentially reducing reliance on manufactured fertiliser.

7.25 Scotland's Zero Waste Plan, launched in June 2010, set out the Scottish Government's intention to introduce progressive bans on the sorts of material that can be landfilled. This is covered in more detail in Chapter 8 on waste. Food waste and other organic matter will be among the material banned from landfill. AD is potentially one of the most costeffective methods for treating this kind of waste material, offering opportunities for the processing of municipal waste.

7.26 AD is part of the suite of measures promoted through the Farming for a Better Climate initiative. Financial support is available to land managers who meet stated criteria through the SRDP for the purchase and installation of AD plant. Electricity produced from renewable sources below 5 MW may qualify for Feed In Tariffs ( FITs). These are financial subsidies which offer a payment per kWh of electricity produced. FIT eligibility requirements are determined by Ofgem, with SRDP grant funded installations required to comply with state aid rules.

EU/Scottish proposals

EU Common Agricultural Policy - mandatory climate change measures

7.27 The present European Union Common Agricultural Policy ( CAP) provides a level of income security to farmers as well as a "cross-compliance" framework for sustainable management of the environment. The CAP is due for revision at EU level post 2013 and there is potential for specific climate change mitigation measures, including some of those encouraged in Farming for a Better Climate, to be made mandatory through the cross-compliance regime that links farming practices to subsidy payment.

7.28 The Scottish Government will work hard to represent the best interests of Scottish agriculture during the CAP negotiations. Attaining a high uptake of FFBC voluntary measures without resorting to regulation remains the priority. However, a mandatory regime may be necessary if insufficient progress is achieved by the sector.

Overall abatement from agriculture and related land use policies and proposals

7.29 Table 12 and Table 13 show that the overall abatement from adopting all agriculture and related land use policies and proposals could be 0.9 MtCO ₂e in 2020 (0.5 MtCO ₂e from proposals). Emissions would be 10.7 MtCO ₂e in 2020, 23% lower than in 1990.

Supporting and enabling measures

Improved livestock health

7.30 Improving livestock health both benefits productivity and reduces greenhouse gas emissions per unit of milk or meat produced. Healthier livestock grow faster, convert feed more efficiently and are more fertile with lower mortality. The Scottish Government is funding research on improving the breeding potential of livestock and improving livestock health by tackling endemic diseases.

7.31 In September 2009 the European Commission recognised Scotland as officially free of Bovine Tuberculosis ¹⁰⁹ . The next priority is the eradication of Bovine Viral Diarrhoea. A programme to eradicate this disease from Scotland's cattle herds was introduced in September 2010, with £400,000 support from the Scottish Government ¹¹⁰ .

7.32 The Climate Change Delivery Plan for Scotland, published in June 2009, identified research on the carbon footprint of Scottish livestock products as a priority. The Scottish Dairy Carbon Footprint Project ¹¹¹ is now underway, with results expected in early 2011. The research project will contribute to meeting a key challenge for rural land use identified in the Delivery Plan: achieving greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets while working within the global context of increasing demand for food. It is envisaged that this project will serve as an exemplar for future work on other supply chains in Scotland.

Peatland restoration

7.33 Scotland's soils, and especially its peatlands, can play a key role in retaining and sequestering carbon. Scottish peatlands contain 1,600 million tonnes of carbon out of the 3,000 million tonnes held in all Scottish soils.

7.34 In support of informed discussions with stakeholders, in December 2010 the Scottish Government published a discussion paper on carbon-rich soils, setting out the activities that we currently support and areas where further work is required ¹¹² . The paper contains particular detail about the current state of knowledge about carbon sequestration through rewetting peatlands.

7.35 Measures such as drain blocking and the installation of other flow regulation structures to re-wet peatland which has previously been drained for reasons such as improving grazing or to permit afforestation could have the potential, in the medium to long-term, to reduce and even prevent drying and the exposure to air which can otherwise lead to increased oxidation rates and enhanced emissions of CO ₂.

7.36 The Scottish Government is considering the potential benefits of peatland restoration. There is potential to enhance biodiversity by improving and restoring wetland habitats. The multiple benefits from land and the opportunities provided by carbon-rich soils will be recognised in the forthcoming Land Use Strategy. However, the effects of restoration on greenhouse gas emissions are complex and uncertain both in scale and in timing. No figure for the emissions abatement potential of peatland restoration is given in this Report because there is currently insufficient data on which to base a suitable estimate. More research on peatland management is required in order to develop sufficiently robust data before any commitment to a major restoration programme can be made, not least on the grounds that such measures will need to be justified on a value for money basis.

7.37 The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is in the process of considering an approach to adopting wetland management - namely drainage and rewetting of wetlands since 1990 - as a reported item in the greenhouse gas inventory process. This would bring the consideration of emissions and sequestration of carbon from both degraded and restored peatlands into the existing reporting structure.

7.38 The proposal is that wetland management be incorporated on a voluntary basis into the greenhouse gas inventory process. The principles were agreed at the Conference of the Parties meeting in Cancún, Mexico, in December 2010 ( COP 16), but there was no agreement on the final detail of how these will be incorporated into national emissions reporting. The next step will be for the UNFCCC to agree new accounting guidelines, hopefully in 2011, in order to allow wetland management to be incorporated into international reporting from 2013.

7.39 As stated at the conclusion of the Short-Life Working Group on Climate Change Annual Targets ¹¹³ , the Scottish Government will work with stakeholders to examine how wetland management may be incorporated into emissions reporting for the net Scottish emissions account once the process is agreed internationally. It should be noted that this approach, if adopted, would apply both to activities since 1990 that generate emissions from drained areas, as well as the emissions avoided from areas restored since 1990.

7.40 In December 2010 the Scottish Government announced £200,000 of funding to support Scottish Natural Heritage's work to develop an inventory of Scotland's carbon-rich soils, and the RSPB's peatland restoration work at Forsinard to examine different approaches and benefits.

7.41 These projects will contribute to enhancing understanding of soil and emissions science. The outcomes of this work will help in the development of a programme to support conservation and restoration where it can be shown to prevent further greenhouse gas emissions or bring about carbon sequestration.

Soils policy framework and research

7.42 Other work by the Scottish Government to ensure that soil policies play an important role in Scotland's response to climate change includes:

• Publication in May 2009 of the Scottish Soil Framework ¹¹⁴ , to promote the sustainable management and protection of soils consistent with the economic, social and environmental needs of Scotland.
• Funding for a substantial research portfolio, Protecting the Nation's Soils. Estimates of the total carbon stock in Scottish soils are based on legacy data from the Soil Survey of Scotland completed in the 1980s using old analytical techniques. Protecting the Nation's Soils is due to report in the spring of 2011 on a partial re-sampling of the National Soils Inventory. This will provide up-dated estimates of the carbon stock and indications of how this carbon stock may have changed in different land uses since the 1980s. ¹¹⁵

• Working with partners in the UK Government and data providers to develop the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory so that it takes account of a broader range of emissions sources in sufficiently sophisticated ways to provide a more accurate picture of the emissions arising from agriculture and other forms of land use. Calculating the extent of the greenhouse gas emissions from soils is extremely difficult and not all losses of carbon from soils are currently taken into account.

7.43 In addition, SEPA will publish a State of Scotland's Soil Report in 2011. The report will collate new data from a variety of sources to highlight the importance of soil in an environmental, social and economic context. It will outline the state of Scotland's soil and will identify how and where improvements can be made to both the state of soil and our understanding of it. One of the key issues considered will be the interactions of soil with climate change.

7.44 The Scottish River Basin Management Plans include a programme of measures to protect Scotland's water environment, complementary to Scottish Government policy on soils. In conjunction with the Diffuse Pollution Management Advisory Group, SEPA is carrying out assessments of rural land use activities that impact upon the water environment. Follow up action will include discussions with land managers on compliance with the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2005 General Binding Rules which will include information on more efficient fertiliser use. This will help to reduce over-use of fertilisers, which will reduce nitrogen losses to water and air.

Guidance on developments on high carbon soil

7.45 Advice and other practical support to land managers is essential to making best use of our natural assets. SEPA, Scottish Natural Heritage and Forestry Commission Scotland provide advice on land use changes and other activities that are likely to have a significant impact on the environment, including soil carbon. They have particular roles in advising developers and planning authorities within the Environmental Impact Assessment process. ^{116, 117, 118 & 119}

7.46 In June 2008 the Scottish Government published a "carbon calculator" which provides guidance to developers on calculating the impact of wind farm developments on soil carbon stocks held in peats and to gauge the emissions payback time ¹²⁰ . A project is currently underway to update the methodology used in this guidance. It is important that the assessment should take account of the balance of emissions created as well as those avoided over the course of the life of a project.

Costs and benefits

7.47 Continuing the Farming for a Better Climate programme in its current form would cost the Scottish Government £1.8 million over the period 2011 to 2022.

7.48 The Scottish Government provides grant funding through the Scotland Rural Development Programme to help farm managers with the up-front investment costs of installing anaerobic digestion facilities to process animal wastes. It is estimated that supporting anaerobic digestion in this way would cost the Scottish Government
£2.3 million between 2011 and 2022.

7.49 However, by achieving the greater efficiencies that Farming for a Better Climate encourages, farmers and other land managers could save up to an estimated £464 million between 2011 and 2022.

Woodland creation

Scottish policies

Increase woodland creation to 10,000 hectares per year

7.50 At the beginning of the 20th century woodland cover in Scotland had declined to about 5%. The formation of the Forestry Commission and subsequent introduction of a state afforestation programme in 1919 led to a steady increase in the woodland area. Initially this comprised of mainly coniferous plantations but developed to encompass a wide diversity of woodland types. Today Scotland's woodland cover is about 17% of the land area.

7.51 There was a major period of forestry expansion through the 1970s and 1980s. During the 1990s, planting averaged over 10,000 hectares per year (ha/yr) - with a greater emphasis on native woodlands than previously. More recently, planting rates have fallen - to only 2,600 ha in 2009-10 (see Figure 9). However, afforestation in 2010-11 has shown a marked increase, with an estimated 7,500 ha likely to be planted this year. This is the result of improvements in the Scotland Rural Development Programme and activity on the national forest estate.

Figure 9 Woodland planting rate, 1978 to 2010

7.52 The 2006 Scottish Forestry Strategy ¹²¹ set a target to increase woodland cover to 25% of Scottish land area by the second half of the 21st century. This was reaffirmed in the Scottish Government's Rationale for Woodland Expansion (2009) ¹²² , which set a target of planting a further 650,000 hectares of woodland. This requires woodland planting rates to increase to an average of 10,000 ha/yr.

7.53 In support of this, the Scottish Ministers have pledged to plant 100 million trees by 2015 as part of The Climate Group States and Regions Alliance's ¹²³ commitment to plant 1 billion trees to encourage governments, businesses and communities worldwide to plant a tree for each person on the planet. To achieve the 100 million target, the planting rate will need to increase towards 10,000 ha/yr, depending on planting density.

Scottish proposals

7.54 Looking ahead, it may become appropriate to increase planting rates towards 15,000 ha/yr. Before extending the afforestation target in this way, it will be important to establish that such a goal would be practicable and cost effective. An important factor will be the availability of sufficient suitable land on which to plant trees. As discussed in paragraphs 7.58 to 7.63, new woodland must be created in appropriate places and in ways that are sensitive to other land uses such as agriculture.

7.55 In February 2010 the Scottish Ministers announced a restructuring of the grant aid available for woodland planting under the Scotland Rural Development Programme to reduce bureaucracy and allow certain types of applications to be "fast tracked". There is evidence that this has helped to stimulate planting rates above the low levels seen in recent years. However, it is unlikely that grant aid alone will be sufficient incentive to encourage land owners to plant the quantities of additional woodland necessary to achieve an afforestation rate of 15,000 ha/yr. If higher planting rates are to be achieved and sustained it will be important that the commercial potential of woodland be developed. Forestry Commission Scotland is considering alternative approaches to increasing woodland planting rates as part of the Scottish Forest Strategy, with examples being the Woodland Carbon Code and facilitation of the development of markets for timber products, both of which are described in more detail later in this chapter.

Overall abatement from woodland creation

7.56 Table 12 and Table 13 show that the additional sequestration from increasing the woodland creation rate to 10,000 ha/yr could be 0.31 MtCO ₂e in 2020. Increasing this even further, to 15,000 ha/yr, would provide an additional 0.14 MtCO ₂e in 2020. However, this abatement potential will continue to grow substantially during the following decades as these trees mature.

Supporting and enabling measures

Woodland Carbon Code

7.57 While support for woodland creation under the SRDP has been enhanced, alternative mechanisms will be required to deliver the woodland expansion target. The recent launch of the pilot phase of the Woodland Carbon Code ¹²⁴ is aimed at attracting finance to contribute to the costs of woodland creation by developing well-governed forest-related carbon markets. This Code is intended to provide quality assurance standards that will underpin forest-based carbon schemes so that they are sustainable, well designed and managed and deliver the carbon benefits that they claim. The intention is that the Code will come into operation across the whole of the UK in mid 2011. Meanwhile, between October and December 2010 the UK Department for Food and Rural Affairs consulted on how businesses can use the Code protocols when measuring and reporting on net green house gas emissions ¹²⁵ .

Woodland planning - The Right Tree in the Right Place

7.58 While seeking to increase Scotland's woodland area, care must be taken to ensure that new planting takes place in the most appropriate locations. The high planting rates of past decades were, in part, achieved by planting trees on carbon rich soils, an activity which we now understand can release CO ₂ into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming. Future planting must minimise this risk and be integrated with the other land uses. The revised UK Forestry Standard ( UKFS) and associated Guidelines, including new guidance on forests and climate change, will be published in 2011. The UKFS will continue to provide a robust framework within which woodland creation proposals are considered.

7.59 In June 2010, Forestry Commission Scotland published The Right Tree in the Right Place ¹²⁶ , which provides guidance to planning authorities on the multiple benefits that can be derived from well-planned and well-managed woodlands and encourages them to prepare new forestry and woodland strategies to guide future woodland expansion.

Woodland and agricultural land

7.60 Forestry development in Scotland has traditionally been on poorer quality land. During the years of agricultural surpluses and relatively low land prices a prevailing view was that woodland creation should move 'down the hill' to improve the diversity of lowland landscapes and avoid further land use change in the uplands.

7.61 This situation has changed in recent years. Prices for grain and other arable crops have risen. Concerns over global food affordability and supply are being compounded by poor harvests in some major arable cropping regions, and the emergence of biofuels as a competing market for arable crops. Prices for high quality farmland in Scotland are at an historic high.

7.62 Within this context it is likely that the main focus of woodland creation will be away from prime agricultural land and on land where the benefits offered by forests are likely to outweigh the potential for agricultural production. However, some better land will be appropriate for woodland creation, for example where it forms part of a habitat network, contributes to water and soil resource management, provides farm, community or amenity benefits or supports very high yielding energy forests close to biomass energy plants.

7.63 SRDP grants for planting woodland on agricultural land include annual payments reflecting loss of agricultural income. In addition to promoting action through SRDP, Forestry Commission Scotland is piloting a scheme whereby it will lease land from farmers for around 10 years in order to establish woodlands on farms.

Controlling woodland removal

7.64 Increasing Scotland's overall woodland area will be aided by reducing the loss of existing woodland. The Scottish Government will therefore only support the removal of woodland where it would achieve significant and clearly defined public benefits. This policy is articulated in both the National Planning Framework 2 and consolidated Scottish Planning Policy. The criteria for determining the acceptability of woodland removal and further information on the implementation is explained in the Policy on Control of Woodland Removal ¹²⁷ , which the Scottish Government expects planning authorities to take into account when preparing development plans and deciding planning applications.

Timber

7.65 Supporting 13,200 jobs and generating £460 million in gross value added, Scotland's timber industry makes a valuable contribution to the country's economy ¹²⁸ . Currently, over 70% of the timber produced in Scotland (6.4 million cubic metres in 2009) is processed in Scotland.

7.66 The timber industry provides two cross-cutting means of reducing emissions:

• Wood for construction - Timber is a lower carbon alternative to construction materials such as concrete and steel. A timber frame building can store almost 11 tonnes more CO ₂ than a traditional brick and block house. Forestry Commission Scotland's Timber Development Programme ¹²⁹ aims to improve the quality and value of, and access to the most appropriate markets for, home-grown timber.

• Wood for fuel - Biomass, including woodfuel, will be an important contributor to meeting the Scottish Government's target of achieving 11% of heat usage from renewable sources by 2020. Currently over 90% of renewable heat is generated from woody biomass and demand for woodfuel for heat and power in Scotland is estimated to have reached 670,000 oven dried tonnes in 2010, an increase of 35% on 2009.
  
  International greenhouse gas emissions accounting rules treat burning wood as largely carbon neutral, since it releases the carbon stored by trees as they grow. These rules also account for factors such as the disturbance of soils in woodland and carbon lifecycle. However, harvested woodland must be replanted in order to maintain the resource and carbon cycle.
  
  Wood fuel is a limited resource and should be used in the most efficient way. The independent Wood Fuel Task Force reconvened recently and is reviewing supply and demand issues with the aim of reporting to Scottish Ministers in 2011 ¹³⁰ .
  
  The Scottish and UK Governments are currently developing biomass sustainability criteria to require that biomass used for heat or power generation as part of government incentives such as the Renewables Obligation, comes from sustainable sources.

7.67 More information on the policies encouraging the use of renewable heat is provided in Chapter 3 on Energy Supply.

7.68 A thriving timber industry will play an important part of the contribution that the woodland and forestry sector can make to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Demand for timber drives demand for woodland and benefits the economics of woodland creation. Managed sustainably, productive forestry also helps to balance mature woodland with younger plantings, which have the greatest potential to sequester carbon.

7.69 Developing a more efficient and competitive timber supply chain and facilitating the development of markets for forest products are key objectives within the Scottish Forest Strategy. At the local level, the Scottish Working Woods label has been developed for use by smaller sawmillers and wood users to recognise the sustainability and economic benefits of locally grown and processed timber ¹³¹ . More details of the actions being taken to realise the Scottish Forestry Strategy objectives are available in the 2010-2013 Implementation Plan ¹³² .

Costs and benefits

7.70 The cost of achieving a new woodland planting programme of 10,000 ha/yr over the period 2011-2022 will be around £542 million, assuming an average of £5,300/ha. Much of this will come from financial support through the SRDP, currently worth up to £1.5 billion over the seven year period 2007 - 2013, but there will also be additional planting on the national forest estate.

7.71 More information about SRDP funding for woodland creation is available on the Scottish Government's website ¹³³ and the Forestry Commission Scotland website ¹³⁴ .

7.72 These costs should be seen in the context of the employment and economic benefit attributable to the Scottish forestry sector. Forestry currently makes up about 0.5% of the total gross value added for the Scottish economy, with a proportionally more significant contribution in rural areas. As well as the 13,200 full-time-equivalent jobs sustained by the timber industry, generating £460 million each year, £206 million is spent each year on tourism and recreation associated with woodland, sustaining around 17,900 full-time-equivalent jobs. Increasing the woodland creation rate to 10,000 ha/yr could provide up to the equivalent of 6,500 person years direct employment in woodland establishment between 2011 and 2020. Increasing the rate to 15,000 ha/yr from 2015 could add an additional 3,000 person-years of employment.

7.73 Woodlands make an important contribution to Scotland's biodiversity in terms of the number of priority habitat types (seven including wood pasture) and priority species (169) it supports. Woodlands in Scotland support a higher concentration of UK priority species than all other terrestrial land uses or habitat types, and native woodlands are a key part of our natural heritage.

7.74 In addition to these economic and environmental benefits, the ability of woodlands to deliver social benefits has been increasingly recognised in the last ten years. Woods offer opportunities for physical, mental and psychological health improvement, for example through exercise and making use of woodland settings for therapeutic activities. There are also learning benefits. In 2007, 569 schools were involved in woodland-based learning activities and an estimated 63% of Scottish children made visits to Scottish woodlands.

The need for greater powers

7.75 Scottish policy on agriculture, related land use and forestry has to work within the framework of the EU Common Agricultural Policy. Although the Scottish Government works with its partners in the UK Government and other Devolved Administrations to influence the UK position in EU negotiations, the Scottish Ministers would have a better platform to represent the interests of these sectors were they able to negotiate directly in the EU.

7.76 Taxation has a fundamental influence on land use decisions. Greater flexibility to define a fiscal regime for Scotland would help align taxation regimes with Scotland's economic and environmental priorities.

Table 12: Policies for reducing emissions from Rural Land Use

Policy package and description	EU, UK or Scottish policy?	Expected abatement (ktCO 2e) in 2020	Further information available from
Farming for a Better Climate FFBC encourages farmers to adopt efficiency measures that also reduce emissions, particularly those having an overall positive impact on business performance.	Scottish	319	Farming for a Better Climate website: http://www.farmingforabetterclimate.org
Support for anaerobic digestion through the SRDP Grant funding through the Scotland Rural Development Programme is available for farmers to install anaerobic digestion facilities to process animal wastes.	Scottish	16	Scotland Rural Development Programme, List of Rural Priorities Options: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/ Topics/farmingrural/ SRDP/RuralPriorities/Options
Increase woodland creation to 10,000 hectares per year Scottish Ministers have pledged to plant 100 million trees by 2015, increasing the current planting rate towards 10,000 ha/yr, depending on planting density. Abatement in 2020 assumes this planting rate is maintained from 2015 to 2020.	Scottish	310	The Scottish Forestry Strategy: www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/infd-6aggzw The Scottish Government's Rationale for Woodland Expansion: www.forestry.gov.uk/website/ forestry.nsf/byunique/infd-7unjy3#woodexp
TOTAL ABATEMENT FROM RURAL LAND USE POLICIES		645

Table 13: Proposals for reducing emissions from Rural Land Use

	Maximum abatement potential (ktCO 2e) in 2020	Total financial cost (2011-22, cash terms)	Cost-effective-ness (£/tCO 2e abated)	Earliest start date	Options for implementation
EU Common Agricultural Policy - mandatory climate change measures This would entail the addition of climate change actions to the CAP cross-compliance requirements that farm businesses would have to satisfy to qualify for the Single Payment Scheme. The effect would be to make mandatory some or all of the measures currently encouraged by Farming For a Better Climate.	540	-265	-67	2018	This would result from revisions by the EU to the CAP and the earliest that this can occur is 2014, with changes on the ground not expected until 2018. Scotland has lobbying influence but no direct control.
Increase woodland creation to 15,000 hectares per year Increasing woodland planting rates to 15,000 ha/yr would be depend on whether this can be shown to be a practicably achievable goal. A key consideration will be more privately owned land becoming available for forestry that has been the case in recent years.	144 (in addition to 310 from achieving a planting rate of 10,000 ha/yr)	799	20	2011	Grant funding for woodland planting will continue to have a role, but the experience of recent years is that it will not be sufficient incentive to drive planting rates of this level. There will therefore also need to be greater levels of private investment in woodland creation. Measures that are being implemented to stimulate woodland creation include improving the available grant funding; additional planting on the national forest estate; leasing land from farmers; and new business models such as the 'Woodland Carbon Code' to promote investment in woodland carbon projects.
TOTAL FOR RURAL LAND USE PROPOSALS	684	534

Table 14: Supporting and enabling measures for reducing emissions from Rural Land Use

Policy package and description	EU, UK or Scottish policy?	Policy or proposal?	Further information available from
Improved livestock health Includes measures such as an immunisation program to eradicate bovine viral diarrhoea, which would result in herds becoming more efficient and productive due to lower disease levels, reducing carbon intensity of production.	Scottish	Proposal	Bovine Viral Diarrhoea - Eradication Programme: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/ Topics/farmingrural/Agriculture/ animal-welfare/Diseases/ SpecificDisease/bvd/eradication
Peatland Restoration The Scottish Government will work with stakeholders to examine how wetland management may be incorporated into emissions reporting for the net Scottish emissions account once the process is agreed internationally.	Scottish	Policy	Short-Life Working Group on Climate Change Annual Targets: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/ Topics/Environment/climatechange/ scotlands-action/climatechangeact/papers
The Scottish Government will undertake research to improve the data available regarding the effectiveness of peatland restoration. This will help to inform the development of a programme to prevent further greenhouse gas emissions or bring about carbon sequestration.	Scottish	Policy
Soils policy framework and research Scottish Soil Framework promotes the sustainable management and protection of soils consistent with the economic, social and environmental needs of Scotland. Funding for a substantial research portfolio, Protecting the Nation's Soils. Working with partners in the UK Government and data providers to develop the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory to provide a more accurate picture of the emissions arising from agriculture and other forms of land use. Advice to land managers on compliance with the Water Environment (Controlled Activities)(Scotland) Regulations 2005 General Binding Rules, including information on more efficient fertiliser use. This will help to reduce over-use of fertilisers, which will reduce nitrogen losses to water and air.	Scottish Scottish Scottish Scottish	Policy Policy Policy Policy	The Scottish Soil Framework: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/ Publications/2009/05/20145602/0 Environment - Land Use and Rural Stewardship, Protecting the Nation's Soils: http://www.programme3.net/soil/
Guidance on developments on high carbon soil Guidance, including for Environmental Impact Assessment, from SEPA, Scottish Natural Heritage and Forestry Commission Scotland. Scottish Government 'carbon calculator' for wind farm developments on high carbon soil.	Scottish Scottish	Policy Policy	SEPA Regulatory Position Statement - Developments on Peat: http://www.sepa.org.uk/planning/ idoc.ashx?docid=c2030d4f-898f-47 9b-9f1c-638a3d87f036&version=-1 SEPA Land Use Planning System Guidance Note 9, Advice on how and when to consult SEPA: www.sepa.org.uk/idoc.ashx?docid= 55a92a07-60eb-403c-9d73-ac80f5e61b88&version=-1 Scottish Natural Heritage, Environmental Impact Assessment webpage: http://www.snh.gov.uk/ planning-and-development/ environmental-assessment/eia/ Forestry Commission Scotland, Environmental Impact Assessment webpage: http://www.forestry.gov.uk/ forestry/INFD-5ZGKWL Calculating carbon savings from wind farms on Scottish peat lands: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/ Publications/2008/06/25114657/0
Woodland creation Policy approach to expanding woodland sustainably: The Right Tree in the Right Place Recognition of the value of prime agricultural land Control Woodland Removal	Scottish	Policy	The Scottish Forestry Strategy: www.forestry.gov.uk/ forestry/infd-6aggzw The 2010-2013 Scottish Forestry Strategy Implementation Plan: www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/infd-6aggzw The Scottish Government's Rationale for Woodland Expansion: www.forestry.gov.uk/website/ forestry.nsf/byunique/infd-7unjy3#woodexp Information about forestry and the planning system in Scotland, including The Right Tree in the Right Place: http://www.forestry.gov.uk/ forestry/INFD-868FMB Forestry Commission Scotland's Policy on Control of Woodland Removal: http://www.forestry.gov.uk/ woodlandremoval
Scotland Rural Development Programme grant funding for woodland planting.	Scottish	Policy	SRDP Rural Priorities, Woodland Creation: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/ Topics/farmingrural/SRDP/ RuralPriorities/Options/WoodlandCreation Forestry Commission Scotland "Grants news": http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-7RLKLY
Woodland Carbon Code aimed at attracting finance to contribute to the costs of woodland creation.	UK/ Scottish	Policy	Woodland Carbon Code: http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-84HL57
Support the use of Scottish timber for construction and fuel.	Scottish	Policy	Forestry Commission Scotland's Timber Development Programme: http://www.forestry.gov.uk/tdp