Current status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 28 May 2024
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to promote inter-agency co-operation and partnerships with national and local stakeholders to address the underlying factors contributing to wildfires in Scotland.
Scotland’s natural environment, the conditions of vegetation and the weather in Scotland at certain times of year lend themselves to fires starting and spreading quickly.
Addressing those risks is a key priority for both the Scottish Government and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. Through the Scottish Wildfire Forum, chaired by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, and VisitScotland’s Visitor Management: Scotland's Plan & Objectives | VisitScotland.org our agencies and partners come together to plan for and collaborate on issues such as wildfire education.
The Scottish Government is responding to the full range of climate risks identified for Scotland through our 2019 Adaptation Plan, which sets out more than 170 policies and proposals to build resilience to the impacts of global climate change as part of our Just Transition to net zero emissions by 2045. In Autumn 2024 we will publish a third Adaptation Plan, recognising the increased nature of climate risk and planning for a climate resilient Scotland.
Since 2020, SG has invested £66m to restore 18,500 ha of degraded peatlands across approximately 230 projects/sites spread all across Scotland [1] . The Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024 strictly regulates the use of muirburn, with exceptions to allow fuel load management. It also requires those carrying out muirburn to have completed an approved training course.
As we work to combat the effects of the climate crisis, we will continue to consider how our agencies and partners work together to address the risks of wildfire.
[1] Figures from 2020 to 2023.