A Highland summit on the growing threat of wildfires has been welcomed, but industry figures warn that banning muirburn could increase the risk of wildfires.

More than 30 delegates attended the summit, organised by SNP MSP Kate Forbes, to hear from a range of organisations.

Key speakers included Bruce Farquharson, Deputy Assistant Chief Officer, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Colin McClean, Head of Land Management at the Cairngorm National Park Authority.

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A question and answer session followed, along with group discussion on the experience of previous wildfires and the issues that need to be addressed.

In June, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service issued four wildfire warnings in just three weeks, with north west Highland given a ‘very high’ warning, whilst all other areas of Scotland face an ‘extreme’ rating.

The organisation warned that many rural and remote communities are hugely impacted by wildfires, which can cause significant environmental and economic damage.

Speaking after the event, Tim Baynes, Senior Policy Officer at Scottish Land and Estates, said: “Wildfire is becoming an evermore present danger to Scotland and we welcome the efforts of Kate Forbes MSP in organising this valuable summit.

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“As we have seen in recent years, wildfires have caused devastation across many areas of the Highlands, particularly at Cannich in May as well as the Flow Country fire in 2019 which was estimated to have doubled Scotland's greenhouse gas emissions for the six days it burnt."

SLE also reiterated its call for the value of muirburn to be recognised when managing land susceptible to wildfire, arguing that controlled burning of vegetation, commonly known at muirburn, is vital in lowering the risk by reducing the fuel load through which wildfires can spread.

The organisation pointed to firefighters in Spain and other countries using controlled burning and backburning to fight wildfires.

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Highland MSP Kate Forbes said: ”The wildfire summit, which I understand to be one of the first of its kind, was a positive first step in learning the lessons of the recent fires and adapting the approach to future fires. I’m grateful to everybody who contributed to the constructive discussion.

“The clear and consistent message is that wildfires are likely to become more intense and more frequent, as is seen across parts of Europe, unless decisive action is taken.

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“As such we must ensure that we use as many techniques at our disposal as possible for combating fire, including helicopters dropping water but also man-made breaks in vegetation usually created through backburning.”

The Rural Affairs and Islands Committee in the Scottish Parliament has been taking evidence from a number of experts on muirburn as part of the Wildlife Management and Muirburn Bill which is currently at stage one of the legislative process.