Scotland's Forestry Strategy 2019-2029 draft: strategic environmental assessment (SEA)

9 Conclusion

9.1.1 The SEA has concluded that the draft Strategy, with its core purpose of promoting and supporting the implementation of SFM principles, will have overall positive environmental effects. Cumulative effects are expected to be positive over all of the environmental topics.

9.1.2 Where appropriate, adherence to the requirements of the UKFS and existing environmental regulation and mitigation is taken into account as 'assumed mitigation' and factored into the assessment of the significance of effects. In addition to the UKFS, these include the planning system (where applicable to associated built development); the Forestry (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 and Plant Health (Forestry) legislation.

9.1.3 There may be potential for some mixed effects in relation to the SEA topics: historic environment, landscape, and to a lesser extent, biodiversity, air quality and soil. Mitigation measures for any potential negative impacts have been proposed in the report against the relevant priority from which it is predicted to arise, and the responsible party.

9.1.4 It anticipated that the outcomes from the SEA, and in particular key potential effects, can be monitored as an integral part of the monitoring of the Forestry Strategy itself. Further information on monitoring proposals will be set out in the Post Adoption SEA Statement.