A Dalry hill farmer is questioning Scottish Authorities coverage of mass business afforestation of rural areas.
Jim Ramsay claims turning over large tracts of upland for business forestry is devastating for wildlife.
And Mr Ramsay, of Milnmark, says rich people and traders are exploiting forestry grant schemes to plant up good-hill land, together with round Dalry and Carsphairn – regardless of Scotland exceeding different nations’ targets.
He stated: “Scotland is already producing greater than twice the timber per capita than the European common. How a lot can be sufficient?
“The Scottish Authorities is handing rural Scotland to faceless funding firms from outwith the nation.
“Within the course of rural Scotland is being taken out of the arms of a resident inhabitants who've farmed there for 1000's of years.
“We're just about giving Scotland away with ridiculously over beneficiant forestry grants paid from the general public purse – typically to a rich elite.”
Mr Ramsay questioned assertions that planting conifers captured carbon – and criticised large companies being allowed to offset carbon emissions via buying and selling carbon credit.
He stated: “The science reveals that conifer plantations take up extra warmth than extra reflective moorland coupled with soil carbon losses from afforestation utterly wipes any carbon sequestration by the timber.
“In actuality these ‘credit’ change into nothing greater than excuses for these companies to hold on polluting.
“The Scottish Authorities must name this in and take inventory of the science right here.”
Mr Ramsay warned Sitka plantations had been damaging wildlife – significantly floor nesting birds just like the whaup – with the destruction of agricultural land operating counter to the federal government’s personal insurance policies on meals safety and sustaining rural communities.
He stated: “The late Derek Ratcliffe of the Nature Conservancy Council estimated that 5,000 pairs of curlews have been misplaced to the Galloway and Borders hills alone via business afforestation.
“The whaup’s decline signifies the lack of rural Scotland – after they go many working individuals of the countryside will go together with them.”
He added: “Their habitat loss includes not simply the afforested space but in addition surrounding land.
“That’s as a result of they received’t nest close to cowl for potential predators similar to foxes and crows.
“Up right here we nonetheless have two pairs – however there was once dozens.
“Clearly the Scottish Authorities’s coverage of the combination of farmland and forests is a catastrophe for these birds.
“Massive grant cash is driving the destruction of the curlew and the destruction of rural Scotland.”
In response, atmosphere and land reform minister Mairi McAllan insisted productive forestry was “very important” in tackling local weather change and supported 1000's of rural jobs.
She stated: “Each productive species and timber for the atmosphere are wanted to deal with the dual crises of local weather change and nature loss – and help Scotland’s economic system.
“We're taking numerous actions to make sure that the growing ranges of pure capital funding in Scotland ship advantages for native communities and wider society, together with via the introduction of a brand new Land Reform Invoice.
“Very just lately we additionally introduced new Interim Ideas for Personal Funding in Pure Capital which can apply to any new funding in woodlands in
Scotland.
The atmosphere and land reform minister added: “New measures have additionally been taken to strengthen the eligibility guidelines below the Woodland Carbon Code which can assist cool the land market and encourage new planting to diversify species mixes.”