Current status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 28 May 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has undertaken with stakeholders in relation to wildfire prevention ahead of summer 2024.
The Scottish Wildfire Forum, which is chaired by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, includes Local Authorities, Regional Resilience Partnerships and other Agencies as members to assess wildfire risks and consider what mitigating actions might be taken.
Alongside the Forum, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service continue to work closely with land managers and local communities prevent wildfires ever occurring.
Work is also ongoing within our National Parks to address concerns around the risk and impact of wildfires. The Cairngorms National Park (CNP) consultation on Fire Management, which ran from February to April of this year, sought views on proposals to reduce fire management byelaws which aim to reduce the risk of wildfires being ignited, and on how the Park Authority might enhance its communication and education approach.
Both the CNP and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park also engage with key stakeholders through Visit Scotland’s Visitor Management Strategy Group Visitor Management: Scotland's Plan & Objectives | VisitScotland.org t o develop messaging around visitor related fires.