Large corporations and landowners must stop viewing Scotland’s forests “in purely monetary terms”, according to the co-convener of the Aberdeenshire Green Party.
Guy Ingerson, a Scottish Green candidate for the north-east of Scotland, said the number of trees felled on government-owned land over the last 20 years shows that big firms and landowners “dominate” the clean energy sector.
He called for increased land reform and more power for local communities.
Mr Ingerson said: “The increase in renewable energy from wind is of course welcome but these figures suggest that environmental restoration and land reform are still big issues that need to be tackled.
“What these numbers don’t detail is what kind of forest cover is being lost.
“If this is found to be the remnants of ancient Caledonian forest for example then this is of serious concern.”
New figures provided by Forestry and Land Scotland show that more than 3,300 hectares of woodland has been cleared since 2000 to make way for twelve wind farms.
With around 2,000 trees understood to be in each hectare, the total number of trees felled is 6,704,000.
Mr Ingerson called on the Scottish Government to take action to protect the environment and local eco-system in the north of Scotland.
He said: “Little remains of our native woodlands which are vital carbon stores and habitat for Scottish wildlife.
“More generally we need to look at land reform so that renewable energy meets the needs, and is in the hands, of local communities.”
