Synergies and conflicts in the use of policy and planning instruments for implementing forest and woodland corridors and networks; a case study in NE Scotland

• Scotland has ambitious targets for forest and woodland expansion.
• Key objectives include multi-functionality, resilience and sustainability.
• Forest and woodland networks and corridors are key assets to achieve these targets.
• The planning and policy framework is complex, at times inconsistent and uncoordinated.
• Spatially explicit, integrated approaches are needed for adequate actions to succeed.

The policy and planning framework for land use in Scotland has undergone major changes since political devolution began in 1998. The latest reforms have set numerous objectives related to semi-natural, rural and urban landscapes, with a key role attributed to the expansion of corridors and networks. In this paper, we examine the feasibility of the Scottish forest policy and planning framework to drive “the right trees in the right places”, and support the implementation of a spatially and ecologically coherent and multi-functional network of forest and woodland corridors and patches, using North East Scotland as case study. We provide empirical evidence of the lags related to the coherence and consistency of the existing policy and planning framework. We argue that spatially-explicit policy and planning instruments and a stronger degree of coordination amongst institutions and actors operating across policy levels and spatial–temporal scales are needed. We conclude by proposing some pathways forward. It is deemed that through the adoption of such pathways, forest and woodland networks and corridors will not only be targeted at where their multi-functional capabilities can render higher results, but that this can contribute to achieving key challenges of the Scottish territorial policy framework: the gaps between urban and rural planning, and between land ownership and public rights.