Why Scotland needs to celebrate the wonders of its rainforests – or they might disappear
As Scotland’s rainforests face multiple threats, it’s time to appreciate them more
Say the word “rainforest” and most people will think of the Amazon but, unknown to some, Scotland has its own version too, albeit a temperate, rather than a tropical, one. What’s more, according to Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon, this country has “some of the best remaining rainforest sites in Europe”.
Typical SNP bombast? Maybe, but she’s not wrong to celebrate this wonderful habitat of oak, birch, ash, hazel and native pine woodlands – particularly as they are in such trouble.
Commercial conifer plantations, diseases like ash dieback, invasions of non-native rhododendron species and bark-munching deer, pollution and climate change have all seen Scotland’s rainforest reduced to its last few redoubts.
Gougeon lauded the work of Forestry Land Scotland to restore areas of rainforest as she announced extra funding of more than £3 million. But the fate of these amazing places, where the wonders of nature are so obvious, perhaps rests more in the hands of us all than in our politicians.
If, on hearing the word ‘rainforest’, we think of Scotland, not Brazil, these glorious woodlands might just have a fighting chance.
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