Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports for forestry projects

We've a statutory duty to consider proposals for the following forestry projects:

• afforestation (planting of new woodlands)
• deforestation (felling of woodland to another land use)
• the construction and maintenance of forest roads and quarries

If after assessing proposals, we consider that they'll have a significant effect on the environment, then we'll ask the landowner to formally apply for consent under the Forestry (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017.

The landowner must submit an EIA report that sets out how the project will deal with the significant environmental effects. We'll assess the EIA report and also seek the views of interested parties. We'll then decide whether or not to grant consent for the proposals taking account of any responses we have received during our consultations. We'll also notify all interested parties about our decision.

We publish details of the decisions that we make about our assessments of forestry projects in our Environmental Impact Assessment register.