A major native woodland regeneration scheme at the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, Scotland, has been launched by environment minister Roseanna Cunningham.

The Great Trossachs Forest, which will cover a 166.5sq km (64.3sq mile) area of the national park, will boast a range of restored, regenerated and new wildlife habitats and has been designed to last for two centuries. More than 10,000 hectares (24,711 acres) of specific habitat types - such as moorland, wetland and grassland - will be enhanced under the plans, while 4,400 hectares (10,873 acres) of new woodland will be created.

The multi-million pound scheme is being delivered by the Scottish Forest Alliance (SFA), which includes Woodland Trust Scotland, RSPB Scotland, Forestry Commission Scotland and oil company BP. Formed in 2000, the SFA has received £10m from BP - one of the largest corporate commitments to the Scottish environment, which has helped to attract £1m funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for the Great Trossachs Forest project.

Cunningham said: "Maintaining, enhancing and expanding Scotland's native woodland cover is hugely important for the health of our communities, our biodiversity, our environment and our economy. "The Alliance's unique approach to woodland management has let each of the landowners to pursue their own objectives while also working together to achieve common aims."

Tim Smith, BP's Scottish external affairs director, added: "The Great Trossachs Forest combines three Scottish Forest Alliance sites at Inversnaid, Glen Finglas and Loch Katrine and is a fantastic example of how the public, private and voluntary sector can work together to create something truly remarkable. "This landscape scale forest, which we believe to be the first of its kind in the UK, will offer enormous benefits in terms of shared research and collaboration which will be of benefit to the partners and Scotland as a whole."