Dr Euan Bowditch

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Researcher/lecturer – forestry and social-ecology  

euan.bowditch.ic@uhi.ac.uk  

Euan came from a forestry background (BSc Hons Forest and Woodland Management) and practiced in a range of countries and environments to expand his skills and understanding of forest environment including time in Finland, USA, Portugal, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Spain. An LLM in Environmental Law and a PhD in Sustainability (focussed on woodland expansion) undercut his interdisciplinary approach to research and undertaking diverse research projects which has included social science and creative practice, applied product development of tree health treatments, business and marketing opportunity mapping, socio-economic baseline assessments, woodland ecology and stakeholder engagement. He has a particular passion and profile of work around Scottish elm and Dutch elm disease. Currently a UK Treescapes Fellow (NERC/DEFRA), he also sits as a UK representative on Forest Green Jobs Experts Groups and IUFRO Sustainable Forest management Criteria and Indicators Group. Euan has taught for over ten years at degree level at Virginia Tech and predominantly at the Scottish School of Forestry teaching Forest Resilience and Forest Recreation, as well as having taught GIS and Landscape Design. He is also the programme leader for the MRes’ in Forestry; and Sustainable Landscapes and Technology in the Built Environment.   

  • PhD Sustainability. University of Aberdeen. Walking the land: examining an ecosystem approach through the lens of woodland expansion on private estates (2016) 
  • LLM Masters in Environmental Law. University of Nottingham. Could trees develop personally – legal standing of trees and forests through case law (2005) 
  • BSc (Hons) Forest and Woodland Management. National School of Forestry (2004). 

Research interest:

  • Nature and people  
  • Social aspects of forest management and the forestry sector  
  • Forest and tree health  
  • Climate-smart forestry  
  • Forest communities  
  • Elm and Dutch elm disease  
  • Creative interdisciplinary research  
  • Forest education and pedagogy  

Research project highlights:

Past projects :

  • Finding Forestry – Creating a space that enables growth, communication and connection for the forestry sector in the UK. Climate Nature Fund, 2022    
  • Knowledge Exchange partnership with Tilhill. Efficiencies in data use and maturity of forest operational data to improve decision-making and marketing outcomes. PI Supervisor. 2020-2022. Innovate UK.  
  •  CLIMO - Climate-smart Forestry in Mountain Regions 2017 – 2021 (EU COST Action). Climo – CLImate Smart Forestry in MOuntain Regions (unimol.it)  
  •  FOBIA – Forest Business Innovation and Advancement 2017-2020 (EU Northern Periphery and Arctic programme) FOBIA (interreg-npa.eu)  
  •  AMBER Adaptation and management of Barriers in European Rivers 2017-2020 (EU Horizon 2020) AMBER, Adaptive Management of Barriers in European River  
  •  Developing alternative treatments for Hylobius abietis (pine weevil) for the UK forestry sector. 2019. UK Innovation Challenge.   
  •  Elm in the Highlands: Current status and potential management responses to Dutch elm disease. 2016. Forestry Commission Scotland.  

External supervision

  • Precious Munyanduki  
  • George Gunn 
  • Peter Noble 
  • Alex Williamson 

Publications

Martí‐Rosselló, T., Duncan, A.J. and Bowditch, E., 2023. Seeing the data for the trees: Assessing the data maturity and readiness of a UK forestry company. Business Strategy and the Environment. (https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3483)  

Bowditch, E. A. D., McMorran, R. and Smith, M.A., 2023. Right connection, right insight engaging private estate managers on woodland expansion issues in times of uncertainty. Land Use Policy, 124, p.106437. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2022.106437)  

Bowditch, E. A. D., Santopuoli, G., Neroj, B., Svetlik, J., Tominlson, M., Pohl, V., Avdagić, A., del Rio, M., Zlatanov, T., Maria, H. and Jamnická, G., 2022. Application of climate-smart forestry–Forest manager response to the relevance of European definition and indicators. Trees, Forests and People, 9, p.100313. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tfp.2022.100313)  

Bowditch, E. A. D., Barron-Merjik, E., Hawkins, R. 2022. Finding Forestry - Creating a space that enables growth, communication and connection for the forestry sector in the UK. Forestry Commission England. Report. (Finding_Forestry_2022_final_report.pdf (uhi.ac.uk))  

Coomes, D., Bowditch, E., Burton, V., Chamberlain, B., Donald, F., Egedusevic, M., Fuentes-Montemayor, E., Hall, J., Jones, A.G., Lines, E. and Waring, B., 2021. Woodlands. In Nature-based Solutions for Climate Change in the UK: A Report by the British Ecological Society (pp. 24-37). British Ecological Society. ()  

Coomes, D.A., Jordon, M.W., Bowditch, E., Burton, V., Donald, F., Fuentes-Montemayor, E., Hall, J., Jones, A.G., Lines, E., Tew, E. and Waring, B., 2021. Implementing woodland nature-based solutions-a UK perspective. Journal of Applied Ecology.  

Bowditch, E. A. D. and Macdonald, E. 2021.The elm is dead! Long live the elm! New conservation developments for elm in Scotland. Scottish Forestry. Vol 75, 2. p. 29-38. (The elm is dead! Long live the elm! New developments for elm conservation in Scotland — University of the Highlands and Islands (uhi.ac.uk))  

Bowditch, E., Santopuoli, G., Binder, F., Del Rio, M., La Porta, N., Kluvankova, T., Lesinski, J., Motta, R., Pach, M., Panzacchi, P. and Pretzsch, H., 2020. What is Climate-Smart Forestry? A definition from a multinational collaborative process focused on mountain regions of Europe. Ecosystem Services, 43, p.101113. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2020.101113)  

Kronholm, T., Sosa, A., Bowditch, E., Pohlschneider, S., Hamunen, K. and Rikkonen, P., 2019. State of the art and development needs of forestry service contractors in the Northern Periphery and Arctic region. Project report, 53. (322859228.pdf (core.ac.uk))  

Bowditch, E.A., McMorran, R., Bryce, R. and Smith, M., 2019. Perception and partnership: Developing forest resilience on private estates. Forest Policy and Economics, 99, pp.110-122. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2017.12.004)  

Bowditch, E. and Macdonald, E., 2016. Elm in the highlands: Current status and potential management responses to Dutch elm disease. Forestry Commission, Edinburgh, pp101. (Bowditch-and-Mcdonald-2016-Elm-in-the-Highlands-report.pdf (splendidtrees.co.uk))  

External profile

Consultancy