Multi-enterprise rural business JAHAMA Highland Estates has today announced one of the UK’s largest woodland regeneration schemes, committing to quadruple native woodland cover across its 32,500-hectare (ha) landholding in the Scottish West Highlands.

Map of Mamore and Killiechonate Native Woodland regeneration Project (credit – Strathcaulidh Limited)

JAHAMA’s woodland regeneration project is the centrepiece of an ambitious, new land management plan for its landholdings in the Mamore and Killiechonate ranges around Ben Nevis, Britain’s highest mountain. JAHAMA is part of ALVANCE British Aluminium in Lochaber, Fort William, which operates the UK’s only aluminium smelter and is one of the world’s greenest metal production plants. JAHAMA and ALVANCE are both members of the GFG Alliance group of businesses, whose assets in Lochaber deliver sustainable industrial development through a unique integration of aluminium manufacturing, renewable hydropower, and responsible land management.

The first phase of JAHAMA’s woodland regeneration project will expand semi-natural native woodland cover from ~ 1,425ha to ~ 5,700ha over a ten-year period by regeneration in and around existing stands of mature seed trees. The woodland boost will play an important role in supporting the Scottish Government in meeting its annual target of increasing new native woodlands by 4,000 hectares each year, whilst also making a significant contribution to wider overall woodland creation targets.

JAHAMA’s plan will remove invasive non-native species, reduce carbon emissions through extensive peatland restoration, restore biodiversity through montane scrub expansion, improve the condition of protected open habitats, and reduce the negative impacts of rapid water runoff from the mountains. The reservoirs and rivers on JAMAHA’s landholdings generate the renewable hydropower that powers Lochaber’s aluminium smelter, which has a smelting capacity of 48,000 ktpa and employs over two hundred staff.

Caledonian pines in Glen Nevis located within the JAHAMA native woodland regeneration area

The smelter’s dedicated hydroelectric power station, the UK’s largest continuous hydro scheme, which can generate up to 84MW, has an upgraded grid connection. This enables it to act as a virtual battery and to play a key role in stabilising the national electricity grid via the balancing mechanism, keeping local households and businesses supplied with power and helping the UK optimise its other renewable energy sources.

The new woodlands will develop in the glens and lower corries of Ben Nevis, the Grey Corries, the Mamores and in the remote moorland landscape between Kinlochleven and Inverlair, to the east of Roybridge.
By restoring and expanding these native woodlands at a landscape scale, JAHAMA are also contributing significantly to the Scottish Government’s biodiversity targets to be nature positive by 2030 and to have restored and regenerated biodiversity across the country by 2045. The native woodland boost will also strengthen the partnership work, which is ongoing to protect and enhance Scotland’s treasured rainforest area.

Alongside JAHAMA’s own funding, this project has been enabled by £2.3m from the Forest Grant Scheme and Scottish Forestry. This will contribute towards the costs of deer management, monitoring, and regeneration over the first five years.
Further woodland expansion under Phase 2, again by natural regeneration, will arise over subsequent decades once the first ‘wave’ of new trees begins to set seed. Several thousand additional hectares of woodland and montane scrub are expected to develop during the second wave, which will take hold within 10-30 years of the project start date.

Looking west from the North face of Ben Nevis, located within the Jahama woodland regeneration project area

The expansion of native woodlands will be achieved through the reduction of herbivore browsing pressure across the landscape, via a phased reduction in deer and sheep numbers in the mountains but maintaining livestock production on the lower, more productive ground. Two additional full time local jobs are being created to help support the increased on-the-ground activity needed to achieve this change of approach to land management. The iconic mountain and moorland landscape will remain accessible and open for the hundreds of thousands of hill walkers, climbers, skiers, cyclists, runners, and dog walkers that enjoy it every week of the year.

Ruaridh Macdonald, Head of Estates Strategy and Development said:

“This is a critical milestone in JAHAMA Highland Estate’s 25-year vision to restore the iconic landscape surrounding Ben Nevis, and to secure aluminium production in the Scottish Highlands for decades to come. Our Mamore and Killiechonate native woodland restoration programme will further enhance unique intrinsic links between our estate management, hydropower, and aluminium operations. It will pave the way for a larger range of related environmental improvements in the area as well as providing a range of benefits to local and regional businesses and all the communities who access and enjoy this magnificent landscape.”

Looking across to the ‘waters of Nevis’ located within the JAHAMA woodland regeneration area

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• For further information and details about JAHAMA Highland Estates please contact: Andrew.Mitchell@GFGalliance.com
• For further information and details about Scottish Forestry please contact Senior Media Manager Steve Williams at: Steve.Williams@forestry.gov.scot