Working with government
The Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest
The Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest (ASR) launched its first strategy in 2021 after a development phase. We now have 25 diverse partner organisations and work collaboratively with 20 more, all of whom are committed to pooling their resources for the benefit of Scotland’s rainforest. Our partners include a range of conservation and environmental organisations, specialist societies and government agencies.
Much of our work is about coordinating landscape-scale projects, securing long-term funding, building capacity to deliver on-the-ground work, and communicating about the rainforest and the threats it faces. Our partners work together with local people to provide the expertise, resource and capacity needed to deliver the vision for Scotland’s rainforest. Learn more about who we are and what we do<links>
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Working with government The Scottish Government and its agencies have been involved in ASR from the start, with Scottish Forestry, Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) and NatureScot all contributing to establishing the evidence base for the State of Scotland’s Rainforest report, and developing the ASR collaborative strategy. In 2021, the Scottish Government made a commitment to expand and restore Scotland’s rainforest, and then worked closely with ASR to develop a strategic approach to deliver on that commitment, published in 2024. To date, it has contributed £3.8 million towards ASR’s projects.
[drop?] The Scottish Government has also provided £6.3 million in funding to FLS, which has been used to develop a Rainforest Team and put more than 2,000 ha of rainforest habitat on the road to recovery, including controlling invasive non-native species and restoring Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites. NatureScot has also recruited two new collaborative deer management roles in the rainforest.
<highlight?>We will continue to work with the Scottish Government to help build on its commitment in the future.
<link – is there somewhere we could take people for more info on this? Even if external, e.g. find out what our partners are doing on policy support etc>
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Scotland’s rainforest can only be successfully restored at a landscape-scale. We need to work across habitats and boundaries, collaborating with land managers, local communities, businesses, and the public and private sector.
FUNDING RESTORATION WORK
A Rainforest Restoration Fund<link>, blending private and public money, is one of ASR’s key aspirations. ASR partner, Argyll & Isles Coast and Countryside Trust, is leading work to explore how natural capital finance could support rainforest restoration, and the Woodland Trust is leading a project to develop a collaborative fundraising model.
GAINING CONSENSUS
The Common Ground Forum<link>, launched in October 2023, was instigated through ASR and has brought together more than 500 people across Scotland’s upland deer management sector to build consensus and trust. The Forum promotes a more collaborative approach to deer management, enabling stakeholders to build self-sustaining solutions.
BUILDING CAPACITY
ASR’s Our Rainforest Futures project<link> aims to build the capacity of local communities to deliver long-term habitat restoration work across the west of Scotland by bringing new jobs, skills and knowledge-sharing opportunities to key areas. It is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Find out more<link>