COFORD Forest Policy Review Group Report on · viii | COFORD Forest Policy Review Group Report on...

NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR FOREST RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENTAN COMHAIRLE NÁISÚNTA UM THAIGDE AGUS FORBAIRT FORAOISE

COFORD Forest Policy Review Group Report on

‘Forests, products and people - Ireland’s forest policy – a renewed vision’ (2014)

A Report on Policy Implementation with Recommendations

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COFORD Forest Policy Review Group Report on

‘Forests, products and people - Ireland’s forest policy – a renewed vision’(2014)

A Report on Policy Implementation with Recommendations

By COFORD Forest Policy Review Group

www.coford.ie

Published by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the MarineAgriculture HouseKildare StreetDublin 2Ireland

ISBN 978-1-902696-87-4 Citation: COFORD, 2018. COFORD Forest Policy Review Group Report on ‘Forests, products and people - Ireland’s forest policy – a renewed vision’(2014). A Report on Policy Implementation with Recommendations. Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Dublin.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without permission in writing from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Photographs © Donal Whelan.

A Report on Policy Implementation with Recommendations | iii

Table of Contents

Foreword .................................................................................................................................................................v

Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................ vii

Forest Policy ...........................................................................................................................................................1Background .........................................................................................................................................................1What is Forest Policy? ........................................................................................................................................1Forest Policy Review ..........................................................................................................................................2Policy Implementation ........................................................................................................................................2Forest Sector .......................................................................................................................................................3Environment and Public Goods ..........................................................................................................................6

Review Process .......................................................................................................................................................8Background .........................................................................................................................................................8

Review of progress to date ...................................................................................................................................12Expansion of the forest resource .......................................................................................................................12

Progress and developments ..........................................................................................................................12Issues ............................................................................................................................................................12Recommendations ........................................................................................................................................14

Management of the forest resource ...................................................................................................................14Progress and developments ..........................................................................................................................14Issues ............................................................................................................................................................14Recommendations ........................................................................................................................................16

Environment and public goods..........................................................................................................................16Progress and developments ..........................................................................................................................16Issues ............................................................................................................................................................17Recommendations ........................................................................................................................................17

Supply Chain .....................................................................................................................................................17Progress and developments ..........................................................................................................................17Issues ............................................................................................................................................................19Recommendations ........................................................................................................................................19

Wood processing and wood based panels sector ...............................................................................................19Progress and developments ..........................................................................................................................19Issues ............................................................................................................................................................20Recommendations ........................................................................................................................................20

Forest protection and health ..............................................................................................................................20Progress and developments ..........................................................................................................................20Issues ............................................................................................................................................................21Recommendations ........................................................................................................................................21

Support - education, training and research ........................................................................................................21Progress and developments ..........................................................................................................................21Issues ............................................................................................................................................................23Recommendations ........................................................................................................................................23

Quality standards and certification ....................................................................................................................23Progress and developments ..........................................................................................................................23Issues ............................................................................................................................................................24Recommendations ........................................................................................................................................24

iv | COFORD Forest Policy Review Group Report on ‘Forests, products and people - Ireland’s forest policy – a renewed vision’(2014)

Policy implementation and review ....................................................................................................................24Progress and developments ..........................................................................................................................24Issues ............................................................................................................................................................24Recommendations ........................................................................................................................................24

Cost appraisal and funding ................................................................................................................................25Progress and developments ..........................................................................................................................25Issues ............................................................................................................................................................25Recommendations ........................................................................................................................................25

Legislation .........................................................................................................................................................25Progress and developments ..........................................................................................................................25Issues ............................................................................................................................................................27Recommendation ..........................................................................................................................................27

Coillte ................................................................................................................................................................27Progress and developments ..........................................................................................................................27Issues ............................................................................................................................................................27Recommendation ..........................................................................................................................................27

Institutional arrangements .................................................................................................................................28Progress and developments ..........................................................................................................................28Issues ............................................................................................................................................................28Recommendations ........................................................................................................................................28

References .............................................................................................................................................................30

Appendix 1 - List of submissions received within deadline ..............................................................................33

Appendix 2 - Progress on implementing strategic actions ..............................................................................34

Appendix 3 - Adaptation options ........................................................................................................................58

Appendix 4 - Supply chain ..................................................................................................................................60

Appendix 5 - COFORD Forest Policy Review Group (CFPRG) members ....................................................61

A Report on Policy Implementation with Recommendations | v

Foreword

The forestry and timber sector is well positioned to assume a central role in the sustainable economic, environmental and social development of our country. This review of ‘Forests, products and people - Ireland’s forest policy – a renewed vision,’ which was adopted by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) in 2014, is another significant step in achieving policy aims.

The COFORD Forest Policy Review Group was established by the COFORD Council in 2016 to track the implementation of the forest policy recommendations and monitor and report on progress in implementing the stated strategic actions. The accompanying stakeholder consultation process provided valuable feedback on the implementation of existing, and in some cases new policy recommendations. The report reviews the 107 strategic actions with regard to those that have been actioned, progress to date on others and those that remain outstanding. In addition, a further 20 new strategic actions are recommended.

Forestry enhances the sustainability of the agriculture sector through its environmental and climate change mitigation role; also forests are our most significant terrestrial carbon sink. Given our national climate change targets and our current and future projected greenhouse gas emissions, forestry must play a critical role in sequestering carbon and mitigating emissions including those from the agricultural sector as outlined in FoodWise 2025 Strategy and the National Mitigation Plan.

The future role of forestry has been highlighted in many recent reports. In addressing the topic, “How the State Can Make Ireland a Leader in Tackling Climate Change,” the Citizens Assembly proposed that climate change should be at the centre of Government policy-making in Ireland and the State should review and revise supports for land use diversification with attention to supports for planting forests. It is important that this forest policy review initiative is progressed particularly in light of Ireland’s ambitious Climate Change targets.

A key recommendation in the 2014 Policy document was the establishment of a Forest Council. The COFORD Council has provided an effective model for progressive and productive collaboration between the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the wider forestry and timber sector. This model of State/Sector partnership could be examined to provide a National Forest Policy Platform to ensure that this forest policy process is maintained and adaptive to changing circumstances.

We would like to acknowledge and thank the COFORD Forest Policy Review Group and all the stakeholders and others who contributed to this review of progress for their time, input, feedback and recommendations. This report with recommendations will be submitted to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Minister of State with responsibility for forestry. The COFORD Council is available to provide support in progressing the report’s recommendations.

Michael Lynn, Donal WhelanCOFORD Council Chairman COFORD Forest Policy Review Group Chairman

August 2018

vi | COFORD Forest Policy Review Group Report on ‘Forests, products and people - Ireland’s forest policy – a renewed vision’(2014)

Forest Dawn

A Report on Policy Implementation with Recommendations | vii

Executive Summary

Forests, products and people - Ireland’s forest policy – a renewed vision adopted by the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine (DAFM) in 2014 highlighted the need to track progress on the implementation of policy actions. The COFORD Forest Policy Review Group was established by the COFORD Council in 2016 to track the implementation of the Forest Policy recommendations and monitor and report on progress in implementing the stated Strategic Actions. The accompanying stakeholder process which was embarked on as part of this review provided an enabling framework for stakeholders to participate in providing submissions, feedback and recommendations on the updating of forest policy.

In the five years since the Forest Policy process was completed, and the four years since its formal adoption, there has been a number of emerging issues globally and nationally that will impact directly on forests and forest policy. Such emerging issues include; the FoodWise 2025 process, the new Forestry Act 2014, the Forestry Programme 2014 – 2020, Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 and associated National Mitigation Plan and Adaptation Framework, the Draft Bioenergy Plan, UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2017 – 2030, EU Forest Strategy 2014, EU Climate and Energy Framework, EU 2020 and 2030 Renewable Targets, the emergence of the Bioeconomy and Brexit, amongst others.

It is important that the social, environmental and economic contributions of our forest ecosystems are considered in policy. New accounting systems have been developed in many countries to account for environmental services provided to society which look to quantify the value of public goods benefits of ecological systems such as woodlands. The Irish forest industry comprising, growing, harvesting and processing of forest products makes a significant and increasing contribution to the Irish economy with roundwood volumes available forecast to double over the period to 2035. Forests mitigate against climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and provide the largest outdoor area in the State for recreational use. There is significant potential for wood fuel to displace fossil fuels, particularly in the generation of heat in industrial, commercial, domestic and institutional markets. This contribution of the forestry sector to our environment and the national economy was reflected in this review process.

The Stakeholder Group met on six occasions between 21st March and 14th September 2017 under the chairmanship of Mr Donal Whelan and examined each of the thirteen chapter headings in the Policy document. In addition, as part of the stakeholder consultation process, there was a public call for submissions advertised in the national media and included on the DAFM website ending on the 16th March 2017 with submissions received from representative organisations, NGOs, Local Authorities and members of the public.

During this review, recurring cross cutting themes were identified from the stakeholder meetings. These included; 1. The need to continue to improve communications and coordination within the sector and with other related

sectors and stakeholders;2. The importance of establishing a national forest policy platform, such as a Forest Council, to ensure that forest

policy progress is maintained and measured against agreed indicators and adaptive to changing circumstances; and

3. The importance of the future use of technology across the sector.

To ensure that a forest policy process is maintained and adaptive to changing circumstances, many countries have set up national forest policy platforms, forest forums or similar mechanisms. These facilitate continuing communication and coordination among different stakeholders, response to emerging issues and integration of experiences or new initiatives in policy adaptation. This best practice as outlined by the FAO1 forms a fundamental part of the recommendations arising from this Review.

Progress was noted against a wide ranging series of recommendations across all thirteen chapters including (a) introduction of a unified premium rate for afforestation, (b) the establishment of a National Forest Inventory and Management Planning Unit, (c) reintroduction of the Native Woodland Establishment and Conservation Scheme

1 FAO 2012. Developing effective forest policy. A guide. FAO Forestry Paper 161. Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations, Rome

Figure 1: Forest policy formulation

viii | COFORD Forest Policy Review Group Report on ‘Forests, products and people - Ireland’s forest policy – a renewed vision’(2014)

and proposed new Woodland Enhancement and Environmental Scheme, (d) the establishment of a Forest Genetics resource working group, (e) publication of All Ireland forecast and associated GIS tool, (f) publication of the Wood Mobilisation Report and the Bioeconomy Report (g) new Forest Management Plan template developed, (h) the Strategic Research Agenda developed and published, (i) Forest Programme 2014 - 2020 developed and under implementation, (j) removal of high income threshold in 2016 Budget, (k) Forestry Act 2014 commenced and national implementing legislation for the EU Timber regulation introduced (SI NO 316 of 2014), (l) Forest Certification initiative, (m) provision of training under a number of headings e.g. habitat assessment – afforestation, (n) DAFM publication of Felling and Reforestation Policy and (o) ongoing COFORD funded research projects.

Limited progress was expressed by stakeholders against strategic actions addressing (a) the national afforestation programme, (b) the need for greater integration between afforestation and agricultural schemes, (c) unified consent system for forest roads and entrances, (d) incentivising active forest management among private forest owners, (e) improved communication with sector stakeholders and forest owners, (f) control of deer and associated measures, (g) action on Invasive Alien Species (IAS) and (h) funding procedures for forest research.

No progress was noted against a small number of strategic actions notably (a) the establishment of overarching forest body e.g. Forest Council and (b) establishment of a Task Force to consider a standalone body for the sector.

New strategic actions were identified to address changes in the operational environment notably relating to (a) communications and awareness within the sector and with related sectors, (b) survey of harvesting infrastructure, (c) lack of capacity in forest pathology and entomology, (d) Centre of Operations Excellence to support seed innovation and to promote market-led new product/systems development, (e) guidance on biosecurity, (f) guidance on harvesting of brash, (g) improved health and safety awareness, (h) guidance on fire/pest control measures, (i) harmonisation of tax treatment between forestry and agriculture, (j) national standard for timber measurement/removals and security in timber sales, (k) encouragement of more balanced gender diversity in the sector and (l) communication on mission and wider role and responsibilities of the Forestry Divisions within DAFM.

Forests have the potential to mitigate against climate change and also positively contribute to our biodiversity, recreation, water protection and flood prevention, renewable energy, air filtration/pollution removal and also Ireland’s economy. With our low forest cover of 11%, there is scope for sustainable expansion of our forest area. In addition, output from our forests including timber, biomass, goods and particularly public goods and services is forecast to grow significantly in the coming years. It is hoped that this Forest Policy Review will contribute to achieving the full potential of Ireland’s forestry sector.

A Report on Policy Implementation with Recommendations | 1

Forest Policy

Background

Forests and their products and services are key to the well-being of society. They help mitigate the impacts of climate change, provide fuelwood for energy, timber for construction and furniture, living space and food. They also protect soil from erosion, house valuable biodiversity, are sources of income for individuals and families and offer recreation opportunities. With changing societal demands, forest policies and practices have evolved considerably over time and must continue to do so to remain relevant, useful and responsive to society’s changing demands2.

A number of developments have affected the way forests are governed, ranging from globalization, decentralisation and privatisation to changing demand for forest products and services from a growing and often more urbanized population. Other factors include heightened awareness of the role of forests in regulating climate and in providing other environmental services; greater recognition of the multi-functionality of forests; and a shift from timber-centred to people/service-centred forest management. International forest-related conventions, agreements and initiatives also contribute to bringing about change, the most recent being the UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2017-20303.

The ultimate responsibility, authority and accountability for national forest policy rests with national governments and the stakeholders who help to develop and implement it – and whose actions make up the de facto policy.

Policies should facilitate sound decisions on forests and trees and their sustainable use – decisions that provide the benefits that society expects. Such policies must be designed to respond to the changing needs of different groups and to emerging challenges e.g. climate change and opportunities.

Figure 1 illustrates the traditional and modern vs. modern approach to forest policy formulation.

What is Forest Policy?

Two definitions of forest policy illustrate the changing attitude to and expectations from forests in recent years. The first relates to how forests were perceived during the majority of the last century

- A definite course or method of action from amongst alternatives and in the light of given conditions to guide and usually determine future decisions regarding the conservation, use and management of forests4.

A more recent and widely accepted definition is provided by the UN FAO

- A negotiated agreement between government and stakeholders (i.e. all those who depend on or benefit from forests or who decide on, control or regulate access to these resources) on the orientations and principles of actions they adopt, in harmony with national socioeconomic and environmental policies, to guide and determine decisions on the sustainable use and conservation of forest and tree resources for the benefit of society.

2 FAO 2012. Developing effective forest policy, a guide. FAO Forestry Paper 161. Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations, Rome3 General Assembly resolution 71/285, United Nations strategic plan for forests 2017–2030, (A/71/L.63) (27th April 2017), available from undocs.org/ A/RES/71/2854 Hummel, F.C. Policy Formulation in Forest Policy A contribution to resource development. Edited by Hummel, FC. Marrtinus Nijhoff/Dr W Junk Publishers, The Hague.

1984

Forest Sector

Forest Policy

Forest Strategy

Action Plan

TraditionalApproach

Related Sectors•Agriculture•Environment•Industry

Monitoring&

Evaluation

GlobalInternational agreements International bodies

European / RegionalForest EuropeEU Forest Strategy

Modern Approach

FIGURE 1: Forest policy formulation.

2 | COFORD Forest Policy Review Group Report on ‘Forests, products and people - Ireland’s forest policy – a renewed vision’(2014)

This FAO definition reflects the policy formulation and consultation process which supported the development of Forests, products and people, Irelands revised forest policy published in 2014 and also this policy review process.

Overall, the most frequently addressed issues are components of the seven thematic elements of sustainable forest management (SFM), as acknowledged by the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF)5: extent of forest resources; forest biological diversity; forest health and vitality; productive functions of forest resources; protective functions of forest resources; socio-economic functions of forests; and legal, policy and institutional framework.

Forest policy-makers have become increasingly aware, especially over the past decade, that forests cannot be managed sustainably if other land and natural resource users do not recognize the importance of these resources. One reason for poor policy implementation and a lack of impact of many beautifully written policies and plans in the past was that they often were out of touch with the realities around forests and the wider societal developments. This emphasises the need to link forest policies with and to incorporate forest aspects into wider national policies – so as to make forest policies relevant and to enhance society’s recognition of the value and benefits of forests and sustainable forest management. In this regard Forests, products and people took on board Food Harvest 2020, the EU Policy Framework (Including Europe 2020, A Strategy for Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth, EU Forest Strategy, EU Biodiversity Strategy, EU-2020 renewable energy and greenhouse gas emission targets, etc.).

Forest Policy Review

Policy-making is an iterative (repetitive) process, and it is important to view it in this light for two reasons. First, in an iterative process experiences and lessons learned can be more easily considered to inform and improve coordination. Second, iteration helps to maintain a dialogue on the policy and its implementation after the process of developing a formal policy has concluded. Ongoing dialogue, and an established platform for it is often a crucial component in implementing policies, as many concrete details in the implementation of the national forest policy need to be discussed or negotiated after it has been adopted. Established mechanisms for dialogue also make it easier to benefit from diverse lessons and experiences in implementing agreed policies and to coordinate subsequent planning.

To ensure that a forest policy process is maintained and adaptive to changing circumstances, many countries have set up national forest policy platforms, forest forums or similar mechanisms. These facilitate continuing communication and coordination among different stakeholders, response to emerging issues and integration of experiences or new initiatives in policy adaptation.

A policy review usually covers current forest policies, strategies, programmes, work plans and action plans, as well as their implementation. It identifies what worked well and what did not: whether goals were adequately set; if incentives and restrictions were counterproductive or conflicted with other instruments or goals; and if the conditions under which policies would be implemented were sufficiently considered. A review helps to draw lessons for improving forest policies and arrangements for their future implementation.

However, many reviews have failed to consider adequately the linkages with other government policies that touch on forests. Including the most relevant linkages in the review helps to reveal where policy coordination and integration of forest aspects into other policies have been effective, where they have not, and why. It also helps to prioritise areas in need of improvement in this regard under new policy goals.

Policy Implementation

With conventional policy settings and institutional arrangements, governments tend to rely on regulations, control and policing for implementation. However, this approach is often incompatible with the wish and need to involve stakeholders. Command-and-control measures alone have also been found to be ineffective in the management

5 General Assembly resolution 62/98, United Nations Non-legally binding instrument on all types of forests, (A/C.2/62/L.5) (17th December 2007), available from undocs.org/ A/RES/62/98


of valuable protected areas. New instruments, such as voluntary agreements, public-private partnerships and market-based approaches, have surfaced over the past few decades. These not only have the potential to make implementation more efficient but may also, at times, help avoid the marginalization of governmental forest administrations.

Regulation in support of forest policy must be effective i.e. responsive, evidence based and commensurate with risk. Undifferentiated approaches to regulation can impede development and the achievement of key targets. Furthermore, it results in often scarce regulatory resources being spread more thinly causing delays and potentially distracting attention from real risks which warrant closer attention and careful management.

A mix of policy instruments is normally used to reach objectives, and it is often necessary to adjust the objectives to maximize the effectiveness of the instruments (Figure 2). While the latter need to be coherent and mutually reinforcing, the choice of which to use will affect different groups to different degrees. For example, tax exemptions for establishing plantations would not be an incentive for people who do not pay taxes. Thus, the calculation of costs and benefits by a stakeholder group will influence its support for a specific policy objective and its implementation.

The conventional reliance on regulations, control and policing is often incompatible with practical realities or the desire to involve stakeholders, such as small tree growers or NGOs, in policy implementation. Wherever the capacity to enforce regulations is limited, this approach alone is ineffective, e.g. in protecting areas of high conservation values. Thus, in many cases, measures that go beyond command and- control practices and that involve the private sector are devised.

Forests, products and people uses a broad mix of policy instruments across the four broad categories with the emphasis on financial, persuasion and market instruments as opposed to legal regulations.

Forest Sector

The forest sector is relatively young but is increasingly important in the national economy and has a vital role to play in the context of rural development, renewable energy and climate change mitigation. Over the past decade, the importance of wood processing as a component of the sector has greatly increased, as levels of roundwood output have grown and the return on state and private investment in afforestation and related areas become more tangible. This trend will continue as the scope of forest policy broadens, with increasing attention being paid to competitiveness in the growing and processing forest products, and to Ireland’s comparative advantage in growing wood.

The national forest estate has increased from a modest 89,000 hectares (ha) in 19286 to 770,020 ha by the end of 2017, an area which represents 11% of the land of the country (DAFM, 2018). Approximately 46% is privately owned while the remaining 54% is publicly-owned, primarily by Coillte Teoranta. Up to the 1980s, almost all afforestation was undertaken by the State. It was not until the introduction of the State/EU funded forestry grant and annual payment/premium schemes that private landowners, mainly farmers, began to plant significant amounts of forest.

6 Minister for Lands and Agriculture, Dáil Éireann, Volume 23, 3rd May, 1928

Legal

Financial

Market

Persuasion

Legally binding international conventions + EU Directives

Property rights

Regulations (SI)Standards and licencesCodes of practicePlanning

Compensation

Incentives and grants to production processes

Taxes and tax incentives

Incentives and grants to innovation (R&D)

Prices, marketing boards, tariffs, duties

Negotiated management agreements and covenants

Negotiated international agreements (joint implementation)

Marketing Marketing of EGSInternational trade of obligations / permitsMarketing of traditional products linked to environmental quality, certification

Non legally binding international conventions

Information

Advice

Extension

Mandatory Voluntary

Complem

entary

FIGURE 2: Policy instruments.


Non-native species represent 76.2% of the forest area and native species 23.8% (Figure 3). The total growing stock is estimated at 70 million cubic metres, with 74% being in publicly-owned forests. The average growing stock is 112 cubic metres per ha, which is low in comparison with many European countries (MCPFE 2007) and is a reflection of the young age structure of the forest estate with 65% of forests still in the first rotation.

Roundwood Production - Roundwood production from Irish forests is forecast to double from 3.95 million cubic metres in 2016 to 7.86 million cubic metres by 2035 with almost all of the increase expected to come from the private sector (COFORD 2016). This increase in volume production reflects the developing maturity of privately owned forests. Spruce species are estimated to comprise 85.9% of the forecast total volume production over the next two decades, Lodgepole pine and other conifers account for 4.8% and 6.7% respectively, and the remaining 2.9%, equivalent to 3.34 million cubic metres coming from broadleaves over the forecast period.

Employment - There are no national statistics on employment in the forest sector. However, a study completed on behalf of COFORD in 2006 (Ní Dhubháin et al. 2006) concluded that for every 100 jobs in the forestry sub-sector, another 90 full-time equivalent jobs are provided within the economy, giving a multiplier effect of 1.9. In 2010, direct employment in the forest sector was 7,032. Accounting for the induced and indirect effects, the total employment supported by the forest sector was estimated to be circa 12,000 (FORECON 2011, IFFPA 2016).

Contribution to the national economy - The forest industry, comprising growing, harvesting and processing of forest products makes a significant and increasing contribution to the Irish economy and in 2015 accounted for 1% GDP (IFFPA 2016).

Forest Industry and Markets - The sawmilling sector encompasses a large number of relatively small sawmills and a small number of medium to large sized mills.

There are three panel manufacturing mills in the Republic of Ireland (ROI), the two largest of which (SmartPly and Medite) are now owned by Coillte. In 2016, sawmills processed 2.14 million cubic metres of roundwood, generating 0.99 million cubic metres of sawn timber of which 81% was exported (COFORD Woodflow 2016t), mainly to the UK.

In 2016, exports of forest products were valued at €380 million, up €77 million on 2012. Wood based panels accounted for €206 million. The balance comprised paper (€51 million) and sawn timber exports (€122 million) (COFORD 2017a)). In 2010 Ireland became a net exporter of sawn timber in value terms for the first time since statistics were compiled in 1961.

Energy - After wind energy, wood fuels are the largest contributor to renewable energy generation in Ireland – contributing about 4.7 PJ7 annually to energy use. The largest single use of wood for energy is within the forest products sector itself. There are three commercial wood fuelled biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plants in Ireland with a combined installed capacity of 7.7 MWe8 (Phillips 2011). In 2016, 34% of the roundwood used in the Republic of Ireland was for energy generation, mainly within the forest products sector.

7 Peta Joules 8 Megawatts of electricity

Species composition (%) in Ireland’s forest estate

Sitka spruce

Sitka spruce, 52.4

Norway spruce, 4.1Scots pine, 1.3

Other pines, 9.7

Douglas fir, 1.6

larch spp., 4.4

other conifers, 0.6

ses. & ped. oak, 2.6

beech, 1.5

ash, 3.2

sycamore, 1.5

birch spp., 5.9

alder, 2.4

OLL broadleaves, 1.5

OSL broadleaves, 7.3

Norway spruce

Scots pine

Other pines

Douglas fir

FIGURE 3: Percentage of the stocked forest area by species (DAFM, 2018).


Bluebell Woodland.


Environment and Public Goods

Environment - Forestry contributes much to the health and diversity of Ireland’s natural environment. Irish forest management practices have impacts on water quality, habitats and ecosystems. Greater diversity of forest resources and forest management models, combined with improved environmental protection measures throughout forest planning and management cycles, can contribute to national, EU and international environmental objectives and obligations.

Climate Change - Mitigation and adaptation and the role of forests and forest policy.According to the Fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), the main mitigation options within agriculture, forestry and other land use sectors (AFOLU) involve one or more of three strategies9: each of which is important in the Irish policy context:1. Reduction/prevention of emissions to the atmosphere by conserving existing carbon pools in soils or vegetation

that would otherwise be lost or by reducing emissions of CH4 and N2O;2. Enhancing the uptake of carbon in terrestrial reservoirs, and thereby removing CO2 from the atmosphere; and 3. Reducing CO2 emissions by substitution of biological products for fossil fuels or energy-intensive products.

Conserving forest cover and the avoidance of deforestation are underlying principles of the 2014 Forestry Act. Furthermore, the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 places Ireland’s national climate policy on a statutory basis for the first time. Specifically, Ireland has committed to an approach to carbon neutrality in the agriculture and land use sector, including forestry, which does not compromise capacity for sustainable food production.

The National Mitigation Plan10 2017 represents Ireland’s planned actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the non Emissions Trading Sector, in the context of Ireland’s emission reduction target of 30% on 2005 levels by 2030, under the EU’s proposed Effort Sharing Regulation. The plan estimates the marginal abatement cost of afforestation to be ca €20/t CO2 and follows the same general analytical approach used in the cost benefit analysis in Appendix 2 of Forests, products and people.

Policies and measures to encourage the greater use of wood products in the built environment as a mitigation tool are as yet not well developed in Ireland. Use of forest-based biomass in heating and power generation is not included in the forest sector but as the replacement of fossil fuels in the energy sector. This provides the policy incentive to reduce fossil fuel combustion through demand side measures such as the Support Scheme for Renewable Heat (SSRH), and on the supply side by supporting the afforestation scheme and related measures such as the forest road grant scheme and supports for forest management planning.

At the international level, the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change recognises the important role that forests play in climate change mitigation. In the lead up to the agreement the EU pledged a ‘binding target of an at least 40% domestic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 1990.11. Forests are now included in the EU’s proposed economy wide-target, with afforestation receiving specific recognition in the LULUCF and Effort Sharing Proposals. This policy development should ensure that forests and the use of forest products are more widely recognised in the national policy context.

In relation to adaptation to climate change, forests are vulnerable to forecasted increases in summer droughts, any increase in the level of storm surges and other climate events as outlined by Nolan (2015)12 and as summarised in the DAFM report, Adaptation Planning - Developing Resilience to Climate Change in the Irish Agriculture and Forest Sector13. The report outlines a number of potential impacts of climate change on the forest sector and increased risks of: • Windthrow in forest plantations;• Large pine weevil damage at reforestation stage;• Soil moisture deficits impacting on growth in certain regions; and• Forest fires.

9 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCCC). 2014: Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. et al. (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.

10 Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment.(2017). National Mitigation Plan. 29/31 Adelaide Road, Dublin D02 X285. Available from dccae.gov.ie 11 Submission by Latvia and the European Commission on behalf of the European Union and its Member States 2015. Available from www.unfccc.int 12 Nolan, P. 2015. Ensemble of regional climate model projections for Ireland, Report No. 159, Environmental Protection Authority.13 DAFM. 2017. Adaptation Planning - Developing Resilience to Climate Change in the Irish Agriculture and Forest. Department Of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Kildare

St. Dublin 2, Ireland. Available from www.agriculture.gov.ie.


The adaptation framework goes on to state: All policies, strategies, plans and measures for, or related to, agriculture and forests must be informed of the need to adapt to the potential impacts of climate change. A series of adaption options are set out in Table 3 of the DAFM report. An extract is provided in Appendix 3 in this report of those measures that deal with land use in general and with the forest sector in particular.

Biodiversity - Biodiversity describes the variability among living organisms and the ecosystems of which they are part. Ireland is committed to the principles of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) and inherent to these are the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity in forests through improved planning, training and management practices. The scarcity of natural woodlands in Ireland means that plantations have the potential to provide important habitats for populations of some forest species that would otherwise be even scarcer. Managed forests can provide important habitats for a range of native species and may provide habitat for threatened populations of forest specialists including rare plants, animals and fungi. Forestry plantations can make a significant positive contribution to biodiversity in the landscape when properly planned and managed, but can impact negatively in the absence of good management practices (BioForest Report, EPA, 2006).

Biodiversity benefit from the existing forest estate was valued at €5.6 million per annum over the best alternative land use (assumed to be Rural Environmental Protection Scheme (REPS)), but with the potential to increase by €1.6 million per annum under the planned afforestation targets (Bacon 2004). Using the benefit transfer approach an annual willingness to pay value (WTP) per person for forest biodiversity was estimated to be €19.78. This was then expanded across the adult population of Ireland of 3,439,565 suggesting that the annual value of forest biodiversity is €68 million (ECOVALUE 2015).

Water quality and hydrology– Forests, where well managed, can play an important positive role in the maintenance and enhancement of water quality. The ECOVALUE project concluded that as quantitative data on the flood mitigation services of Irish forests is lacking, it is impossible to assign a value to this service (ECOVALUE 2015). Updated environmental guidelines will facilitate the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD).

Recreation - Forests provide the venue for a wide variety of outdoor recreational activities. The monetary value of the recreational use of forests and trails has been examined in a number of studies. Fitzpatrick and Associates (2005) in their analysis of the Coillte estate estimated that annual visits were 18 million14 and provided a non-market value of €97 million annually. More recently the number of visits to forests was estimated to be 29,105,759 per annum and combining this with the WTP estimate gives an annual value of €179 million for forest recreation (ECOVALUE 2015). The benefits from recreating in forests can be both physical and mental. Walking tourism and mountain bike trails in forests (Ticknock, Ballyhoura and planned trail in Collaney) have expanded significantly in recent years. A recent major development is the planned Centre Park in Longford. Outdoor recreation contributes €1.5 billion to the economy and further investment in outdoor infrastructure has the potential to underpin the creation of 2,500 jobs in the tourism related sector (Anon 2017).

Air Filtration/Pollution removal – Maintaining our standard of air quality in Ireland is a growing challenge and is taking on an increased importance with further understanding of the links between poor air quality and human health. Forests can make a valuable contribution in mitigating these negative effects. The European Environment Agency (EEA) has estimated a figure of 1,510 premature deaths in Ireland in 2014 (EEA 2017) directly attributable to air quality. World Health Organisation (WHO) guideline values were exceeded at a number of monitoring sites in Ireland for particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), ozone, SO2 and NO2

15: Forests remove harmful pollution from the environment and this is becoming increasingly well recognised. In the UK Environmental Accounts for woodland ecosystems, it is estimated that UK woodlands removed more harmful pollution and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than any other habitat, valued at £1.8 billion in 2015. UK woodlands removed 292,000 tonnes of air pollution in 2015 and the value of woodland vegetation removing such harmful pollution was estimated to be £767 million in 201516).

14 Based on an adult population of 3 million and six visits annually as was found in the Great Britain Day Survey of 6,600 people. A value of €5.40 per visit was used based on survey data.

15 EPA. 2016 Air Quality in Ireland 2016. Indicators of Air Quality. Johnstown Castle Estate County Wexford, Y35 W821, Ireland. Available from www.epa.ie16 UK natural capital: ecosystem accounts for freshwater, farmland and woodland. Office of National Statistics, July 2017


Review Process

Background

A fundamental recommendation in Forests, products and people - Ireland’s forest policy – a renewed vision, was the need to track the progress on implementation of the identified actions and measures under each of the chapter headings. The COFORD Forest Policy Review Group (CFPRG) was established by the COFORD Council to facilitate in addressing this recommendation. The terms of reference (ToR) for the group were; 1. Monitor the progress on implementation of the recommendations in Forests, products and people - Ireland’s

forest policy – a renewed vision;2. From information and data to be provided by bodies charged with progressing individual Strategic Actions

(employing indicators and criteria referenced in the policy document), report to the COFORD Council, the Minister with responsibility for Forestry, the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine and the Forest Sector on progress in achieving the stated Strategic Actions, with observations and/or recommendations as considered appropriate by the CFPRG; and

3. With stakeholder input provide feedback and recommendations on an approach to updating of Forest Policy/Strategic Actions to the COFORD Council, Minister with responsibility for Forestry, Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine (DAFM) and the Forest Sector.

The CFPRG comprised representatives from across the sector including COFORD, Coillte, Enterprise Ireland, the Irish Farmers Association (IFA), the Irish Forestry and Forest Products Association (IFFPA), Teagasc, the Irish Timber Council (ITC) and the Irish Timber Growers Association (ITGA) (see Appendix 5). Representatives from Woodlands of Ireland (WOI), the Environmental Pillar, the Association of Irish Forestry Consultants (AIFC), None so Hardy Nurseries, BirdWatch Ireland and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) amongst others, were invited to attend stakeholder meetings as part of the stakeholder consultation process in the policy review. Staff from the DAFM participated in the meetings and provided clarification on regulatory and technical issues and information on recent developments and planned future actions by DAFM. Members were provided with background and supporting documentation to facilitate the review process. Technical consultancy support was provided and DAFM provided secretarial support. The recommendations in this report are those of the industry and in this context will be considered by the Department following formal submission to the Minister.

The Stakeholder Group met on six occasions between 21st March and 14th September 2017 under the chairmanship of Mr Donal Whelan and examined each of the thirteen chapter headings in the Policy document. In addition, as part of the stakeholder consultation process, there was a public call for submissions advertised in the national media and included on the DAFM website ending on the 16th March 2017 with submissions received from representative organisations, NGOs, Local Authorities and members of the public. A list of submissions received is included in Appendix 1.

Three recurring cross cutting themes were identified from the submissions received and the CFPRG Stakeholder meetings based on the discussions on each of the policy headings:a) The need to continue to improve communications and coordination within the sector and with other related

sectors and stakeholders;b) The importance of establishing a national forest policy platform, such as a Forest Council, to ensure that forest

policy progress is maintained and measured against agreed indicators and adaptive to changing circumstances; and

c) The importance of the use of technology across the sector in achieving policy aims.

In the three years since the formal adoption of Forests, products and people - Ireland’s forest policy – a renewed vision, good progress has been made in addressing policy actions. A summary of progress to date on all of the 107 strategic actions contained in Forests, products and people - Ireland’s forest policy – a renewed vision and any changes to these strategic actions or new strategic actions proposed in this review are provided in Appendix 2.


Developments since the publication of Forests, products and people of relevance to Policy Review

There has been a number of significant developments since publication of Forests, products and people in 2014 which impact on forest policy and its implementation. These include:-

Brexit: -Currency exchange rate with knock on effects on price and volumes coming to market. Import of round logs from outside the EU. Impact on timber exports (excluding price).

Foodwise 2025: Summary Foodwise 2025 Recommendations and Actions for the Forestry sector:

Increase the forest area in accordance with SFM principles, to support long term sustainable roundwood supply through an increase in the annual afforestation level to 15,000 ha from 2021, subject to demand and the availability of funding. Sustainably manage the forest resource, including genetic resources through the introduction of a national forest management planning system and state support for seed stand management and the establishment of seed orchards thereby ensuring the provision of a full range of timber and other benefits. Ensure that afforestation, management of existing forests and the development of the forest sector are undertaken in a manner that enhances their contribution to the environment, takes account of the Environmental Report of the Forestry Programme 2014-2020, and fulfils their capacity to provide public goods and services Develop a flexible and environmentally responsible roundwood supply chain to enhance the competitiveness of the processing sector and the production of high value products. Support the development of a competitive, innovative, value-added and market focused sector. Ensure that the tax treatment of forestry does not act as a disincentive for the achievement of national policy goals in particular forest cover, roundwood supply to industry and climate change mitigation.

Maintain a healthy forest environment through sustainable forest management and through early detection and control measures for pests and diseases. Ensure the availability of suitable programmes of education and training across the sector and research programmes targeted at identified needs. The importance of investment in training, research and development are recognised and the strategic actions focus on a more co-ordinated overall approach in these important areas Forest products, forest services and the management of the forest resource must have a strong, market-led, quality focus.

Forestry Act 2014: Impact on permitting procedures and on forest activities.

Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015: The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 provides the statutory basis for the national transition objective laid out in the national policy position. The Act provides that the first National Mitigation Plan and National Adaption Framework were submitted to Government in 2017 (which includes actions by the forestry sector).

Forestry Programme 2014 - 2020: Impact on achievement of targets set out in Forests, products and people and progressing strategic actions.

DAFM (Forest Service) Environmental Requirements for Afforestation: Impact on afforestation. Impact on water quality and biodiversity.

Support Scheme for Renewable Heat (SSRH): Impact on demand for and price of biomass. Supply/demand balance.

EU Forest Strategy 2014: The Strategy highlights that forests are not only important for rural development, but also for the environment - especially for biodiversity; for forest-based industries; bioenergy; and in the fight against climate change. It advocates a holistic approach, encompassing impacts of other policies on forests as well as developments taking place beyond forest boundaries. It underlines that forest-linked EU policies should fully be taken into account in national forest policies.

EU Climate and Energy Framework: Proposed to integrate greenhouse gas emissions and removals from land use, land use-change and forestry (LULUCF) into the 2030 climate and energy framework. This is in line with the Paris Agreement, which points out the critical role of the land use sector in reaching our long-term climate mitigation objectives.


EU 2020 and 2030 Renewable Targets: Delivery of 12% of final heating demand from renewable sources by 2020. 40% emissions reduction in GHG by 2030 and 27% target for renewable energy.

UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2017 - 2030: Forest contribution to achievement of sustainable development goals (SDG). Forestry Instrument - formerly Non Legally Binding Instrument.

Natural Capital Accounting: Assessing the status and trends of natural capital, in particular, ecosystem services, is a significant challenge in view of the enormous scale and diversity of environmental stocks and flows. The EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 is an important policy driver of improved knowledge of ecosystems and their services. Key actions include mapping and assessing ecosystems and their services, assessing the economic value of such services, and promoting the integration of these values into accounting and reporting systems at the EU and national levels by 2020.

Draft National Bioenergy Plan: The Draft Bioenergy Plan, published in 2014, sets out the broader context for the development of Ireland’s bioenergy sector, and the current status with regard to the range of policy areas that must be coordinated in order to create the conditions necessary to support its development. The forestry sector can play an important part in the development of the bioenergy sector.

Bioeconomy: At EU and national level, the bioeconomy is becoming increasingly important not only in terms of contribution to climate change but also rural development and the sustainable and wise use of natural resources17. The bioeconomy comprises those parts of the economy that use renewable biological resources from land and sea to produce food, feed, biomaterials, chemicals, pulp and paper, energy and fuels. Developments will impact on how forest resources are managed. The recent Bioeconomy Working Group Report entitled ‘Growing the Irish Forest Bioeconomy’, highlights the potential contribution of the forestry sector to the emerging bioeconomy (COFORD 2017b). The report outlines the opportunity to position forestry as a central pillar of Ireland’s National Policy on Bioeconomy with twelve proposals for growing a vibrant forest bioeconomy.

17 Department of the Taoiseach.2017. Discussion document for the preparation of a National Policy Statement on the Bioeconomy. Department of the Taoiseach, Government Buildings, Upper Merrion Street, Dublin 2, Ireland. Available from www.taoiseach.gov.ie


Farm Meets Forest.


Review of progress to date

Expansion of the forest resource

Progress and developments

A full listing of progress against each of the eighteen strategic actions addressing the expansion of the forest resource is included in Appendix 2. The most significant development has been the introduction of the Forestry Programme 2014-2020. Key aspects of the Forestry Programme include; a) The payment of 15 premiums instead of 20 under the previous Afforestation Scheme; b) The significant budget increase for native woodland conservation, and increased focus on its application in

relation to important native woodland types and opportunities for habitat linkage, and on environmentally sensitive areas, with a view to realising wider eco-system services such as water protection;

c) A requirement within various water sensitive areas to include a Native Woodland Establishment plot alongside watercourses within conifer plantation design;

d) The introduction of a single premium rate (i.e. no distinction between farmers and non-farmers); ande) 5% increase in fixed afforestation grant rates; an increase in the premium rate of 20% to address the reduced

number of premiums; and the availability of a special construction grant for forest road construction.

Progress in achieving the targets in the Forestry Programme has been mixed (see Table 1).

Other significant developments include the re-launching of the Neighbourwood Scheme and Native Woodland Conservation Scheme in 2015, the occurrence and spread of Hymenoscyphus fraxineus and Phytophthora ramorum with the resultant delisting of ash and larch species for afforestation.

CAP Post 2020 and the review of State aid rules will have a significant influence on measures and targets contained in the next forestry programme. It is vital that provisions for continued support of Ireland’s Forestry Sector are maintained particularly in the area of farm forestry and timber mobilisation. Closer alignment of agricultural schemes such as agri environment with afforestation is important if the full potential of forestry in climate change mitigation is to be realised.

Issues

Stakeholders expressed a number of issues of concern, most notably:-a) A need for more flexibility in how targets can be met e.g. species and silvicultural systems;b) Need for greater integration between afforestation and agricultural schemes e.g. GLAS and for integration of

afforestation into whole farm planning as a viable enterprise;c) Lack of resources/expertise in NPWS to implement Native Woodland Conservation Scheme and other aspects

relating to broadleaf species;d) Need to review cost basis for schemes especially professional fees;e) Need for improved communication and engagement (including the use of social media) with the younger

population to help develop an overall forest culture;f) Publication of Environmental Requirements for Afforestation (2016);g) The Forestry Programme afforestation targets are less than set out in the Policy document with consequent

implications for sustainable volume supply post 2030; andh) A significant decrease in afforestation in 2017.


TABLE 1: Forestry Programme - Implementation Progress.

Need Measure SchemesMid Term Targets

(2015 - 2016)Outturn

(2015 - 2016)

Increase the level of forest cover to support increased wood production and the provision of environmental services Measure

1

Afforestation

Planting (ha) 12,660 12,793

Avg size(ha) 7.2 6.4

NWS (Est) GPC 9 & 10 Planting(ha) 900 293

Agro Forestry Planting(ha) 30 0.6

Measure 4 Reconstitution Replanting

(ha) 400 113

Increase supply of forestry biomass to bridge expected supply gap by 2020

Measure 1 Forestry for Fibre Planting

(ha) 300 0

Measure 3

Forest Roads Building(Km) 220 127

Special construction works IndividualSCW 200 2

To support private forest holders in actively managing their forests

Measure 7

Knowledge Transfer andInformation Actions (KTGs)

No. ofParticip. 200 24

no. ofgroups 5 2

Continuous ProfessionalDevelopment Established Yes No

Targeted Training No. OfCourses 10 2

Advisory services

Visits 300 973

Phoneconsult. 1,750 7,293

Field Days 10 50

Measure 8

Setting up of ProducerGroups

No. ofGroups 5 0

Measure 9

Innovative ForestTechnology

No. ofProjects 90 0

Measure11 Forest management plans No. of

Plans 1,000 491

Enhance the environmental and social benefits of new and existing forests

Measure 1 Afforestation %

broadleaf 30% 20%

Measure 2 Neighbourwood scheme Projects 30 2

Measure 5

WIS (Thinning and Tendingof Broadleaves)

Ha thinned 3,000 1,421

Environmental Enhancementof forests

Haenhanced 400 0

Measure 6

Private NWS (Conservation) Ha 160 0

Native Emergent Woodland Ha 100 0

Public NWS (Conservation) Ha 340 0

Measure 10

Forest reproductive material(Seed Stands) Ha 75 0

Forest reproductive material(Seed Orchards)

No.Supported 2 2


Recommendations

1. The current afforestation policy targets to be retained (SA 1.1);2. Review current schemes to incorporate greater flexibility in how targets can be achieved with particular

reference to species diversity and silvicultural systems (SA 1.1);3. DAFM to address greater integration between afforestation and agricultural schemes e.g. GLAS; (SA 1.2);4. Lack of expertise and knowledge in State organisations and local authorities to be addressed (SA 1.4 and SA 1.5);5. Greater emphasis on establishing riparian woodlands and their benefits (SA 1.18);6. Review the costs basis for current schemes in particular professional fees (SA 1.8); and7. New strategic action to ensure that future promotional campaigns include a focus on the younger generation

using social media (new SA 1.19).

Management of the forest resource


Many of the strategic actions under this heading are on-going reflecting the long-term nature of forest management. A full listing of progress against each of the thirteen strategic actions addressing the management of the forest resource is included in Appendix 2. The most significant developments include:-a) Development of a new and improved Forest Management Plan (FMP) template;b) Establishment of a national forest inventory (NFI) and forecasting unit in DAFM ;c) Publication of the 2016 All Ireland Roundwood Forecast which utilised advanced forest management and

forecasting software;d) Development of spatial forecasting and felling decision tools hosted on the DAFM website;e) Establishment of Knowledge Transfer Groups (KTG) for private forest owners;f) Re-introduction of Native Woodland and Conservation Scheme;g) Establishment of the Forest Genetics Working Group;h) Commencement of the 2014 Forestry Act; andi) DAFM publication of Felling and Reforestation Policy (2017).

The occurrence and spread of Hymenoscyphus fraxineus and Phytophthora ramorum has had a dramatic impact on the management of many important tree species while the impact of storm Darwin (2014) has had repercussions for the future management (thinning and rotation length) and stability of conifer crops not only in the southwest of the country but across all regions. More recently, the establishment of the financial instruments (funds) to promote the development of the sector through the consolidated management of fragmented assets may facilitate more active management.

Issues

Stakeholders expressed a number of issues of concern, most notably:-a) Lack of a unified consent system for forest roads and entrances;b) Late timing of forest road construction;c) Need for more effective and timely communication with forest owners on a range of issues;d) Lack of progress in implementation of Continuous Cover Forestry (CCF); ande) Lack of progress in incentivising active forest management among private forest owners.


Summer Stacks.


Recommendations

1. DAFM to consider grant aiding forest entrances at an earlier stage (SA 2.6);2. Implement a unified consent system for forest roads and entrances (SA 2.7);3. Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine to consider active communication with

forest owners and referencing owner database (SA 2.9);4. Improved collaboration between commercial and environmental sectors (SA 2.9);5. Provision of guidance on CCF (SA 2.10); and6. Reference climate change in relation to the Forest Genetics Working Group (SA 2.12).

Environment and public goods


A number of the strategic actions under this heading are on-going and long-term in nature reflecting the sustainable management approach being promoted and adopted. A full listing of progress against each of the twelve strategic actions dealing with the environment and public goods is included in Appendix 2. The most significant developments include:-a) DAFM publication of Environmental Requirements for Afforestation (2016);b) Publication of COFORD ECOVALUE report in 2015 quantifying the value of a number of environmental

services provided by forests e.g. recreation, biodiversity and carbon sequestration;c) Re-introduction of the Native Woodland and Conservation Scheme;d) DAFM publication of Felling and Reforestation Policy (2017);e) Publication of the HYDROFOR report (2016);f) Appropriate assessment procedures in place;g) Procedures for approvals/consents/licensing for afforestation, road construction, harvesting and aerial

fertilisation;h) Provision of training to Inspectors and registered foresters (habitat assessment - afforestation);i) The recent publication of the COFORD Bioeconomy Working Group Report entitled, ’Growing the Irish Forest

Bioeconomy’, which highlights the potential contribution of the forestry sector to the emerging bioeconomy; and

j) Publication of Outdoor Recreation Plan 2017 -2021 for public lands and waters.

There are still legacy issues with earlier afforestation on deep peats and what is the most appropriate land use for these sites. Societal expectations from forests are increasingly focussed on the range of environmental goods and services that forests can provide including recreation, biodiversity enhancement, water regulation and climate change mitigation18. Outdoor recreation contributes €1.5 billion to the economy and further investment in outdoor infrastructure has the potential to underpin the creation of 2,500 jobs in the tourism related sector (Anon 2017). Awareness of the potential adverse impact of inappropriate forest practices is increasing and there is an ongoing requirement that all practice guidance is science based using the most up to date information.

Interest and awareness of Natural Capital Accounting19 and its application to forestry are growing not only in Ireland but across the EU and worldwide with many relevant examples showing that timber production is not necessarily the most valuable benefit from forests.

The Citizens Assembly20 is a government initiative which established a public forum to reflect public attitude to important current issues. Recently, the Citizens Assembly met in relation to, “How the State Can Make Ireland a Leader in Tackling Climate Change,” which provides an insight to the public attitude to climate change and

18 Martínez de Arano, I (2017). Potential for innovative forest based products in Southern Europe. EFI Annual European Forest Institute (EFI). 2017. Annual Conference, Oslo, October 5, 2017. Proceedings available from www.efi.int

19 Natural capital accounting is the process of calculating the total stocks and flows of natural resources and services in a given ecosystem or region. Accounting for such goods may occur in physical or monetary terms.

20 The Citizens’ Assembly is an exercise in deliberative democracy, placing the citizen at the heart of important legal and policy issues facing Irish society today. With the benefit of expert, impartial and factual advice the 100 citizen members consider topics of national importance, and other matters that may be referred to them. Their conclusions will form the basis of a number of reports and recommendations that will be submitted to the Houses of the Oireachtas for further debate by our elected representatives.


in this context the importance of forests in relation to the environment and provider of public goods. Members of the Citizens’ Assembly voted overwhelmingly for a comprehensive Government regime to tackle climate change including the proposition that climate change should be at the centre of policy-making in Ireland. Having heard from numerous experts, the members recommended that there should be a tax on greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. This proposition also included a proposal that farmers would be rewarded for land measures that sequester carbon such as the planting of trees. In addition, 99% of Assembly members recommended that the State should review and revise supports for land use diversification with attention to supports for planting forests.

Issues

Stakeholders expressed a number of issues of concern, most notably:-a) Need to engage with Natural Capital Accounting and explore the potential that such accounting systems offer

to support/promote the case for sustainable forestry;b) Reports e.g. HYDROFOR and guidance often fail to understand the forestry context and provide broad based

recommendations lacking appropriate scientific basis and/or timely data;c) Lack of good baseline information relating to forests and water quality and impact on the environment;d) Belief that forestry, in particular the Native Woodland Conservation scheme, does not get sufficient credit for

the positive impact on water regulation and water quality;e) Lack of awareness among sector stakeholders of the full range of reports relating to forestry and the environment

and public goods; andf) While recognising that work is ongoing, the rate of progress on updating the Code of Best Forest Practice and

the suite of environmental guidelines is disappointing.

Recommendations

1. Forest sector to actively engage with the Natural Capital Accounting movement with a view to development of an environmental accounting system including the consideration of habitat values both pre and post planting (SA 3.1);

2. Undertake measures to improve the quality and timeliness of baseline data used to update guidance and environmental guidelines. (SA 3.3);

3. Consider actions to support the monitoring of water quality in relation to the Native Woodland Conservation Scheme (SA 3.11);

4. Initiatives and measures which aim to enhance the water and wetland benefits of forests to be considered under all afforestation schemes (SA 3.12);

5. Review the science behind the HYDROFOR report addressing identified gaps and updating findings and recommendations accordingly (new SA 3.13); and

6. Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine to put in place system to notify stakeholders and registered foresters when a new document/report is hosted on its website (new SA 3.14).

Supply Chain


The majority of the strategic actions under this heading are on-going. A full listing of progress against each of the eleven strategic actions addressing the forestry supply chain is included in Appendix 2 while Appendix 4 provides details of the overall forest industry supply chain as prepared by Enterprise Ireland21. The most significant developments include:-a) Establishment of the COFORD Wood Mobilisation and Production Forecasting Working Group;b) Publication of the COFORD Wood Mobilisation Report (COFORD 2015);c) Publication of Managing Timber Transport - Good Practice Guide (FITG 2014);

21 Forest Industries Ireland “Worth Defending”. Presentation by Neil Kerrigan, Enterprise Ireland, 12th December 2017.


Finished Product.


d) Roading grants for collaborative roading projects;e) Development of Teagasc Ballyhaise harvester course and installation of harvest machine simulator;f) Establishment of two certification groups and completion of certification templates; andg) MARRT project is developing a GIS based agreed routes map.

The 2016 All Ireland forecast identifies that the doubling of roundwood supply by 2035 is dependent on the private sector. This presents a significant challenge due to the fragmented nature of the resource and the number of forest owners. This is especially so as the supply chain up to now has dealt primarily with a single owner i.e. Coillte. With increasing supply from the private sector, the processing sector is approaching the limit for controlled wood to ensure continued compliance with certification and chain of custody requirements which has implications for the entire supply chain.

Issues

Stakeholders expressed a number of issues of concern, most notably:-a) Lack of reliable and detailed information on the harvesting and transport infrastructure;b) Mobilising supply from the private sector in a sustained and balanced manner;c) Lack of suitable machines suited to smaller scale of private forests;d) Concern regarding timber security especially in private forests;e) No national standard system for timber measurement and removals;f) Lack of appropriate guidance on the recovery of harvesting residues for energy; andg) Concern regarding contractors’ security of work and ongoing training.

Recommendations

1. Undertake a national survey of forest machine and transport infrastructure and collate with CSO data on machinery imports and Coillte’s machinery database (new SA 4.2a);

2. DAFM in collaboration with sector stakeholders to support measures to address improved security of timber and the development of a national timber sales system including use of technology (SA 4.5 and new SA 4.3a) and;

3. DAFM to prepare guidance note on the recovery of harvesting residues (SA 4.11).

Wood processing and wood based panels sector


A number of the strategic actions under this heading are on-going. A full listing of progress against each of the six strategic actions dealing with the processing sector is included in Appendix 2. The most significant developments include:-a) Establishment of the COFORD Wood Mobilisation and Production Forecasting Working Group (CWMPFWG);b) Start of the COFORD funded Exploitation and Realisation of Thinnings from Hardwoods (EARTH) project; c) Current All Ireland forecasts provide volume by top diameter category and not by product category;d) Commencement of the COFORD funded Commercialisation of Irish Cross-Laminated Timber (CICLT)

project;e) Use of Remsoft in producing the 2016 All Ireland Roundwood Forecast;f) Spatial roundwood forecasting tool hosted on DAFM website; andg) Commencement of the COFORD funded FORECASTMODEL project.

The CWMPFG is an implementation group focussing on identifying barriers and solutions and while its report is imminent, many issues will require further time for analysis and resolution. Despite the advances in the processing of domestic softwoods, there are still misconceptions amongst some timber specifiers regarding their quality and the use of timber in construction. The sector exhibits low investment in research development and innovation.


Developing premium products is required to maintain existing markets and achieve diversification and productivity performance. Further penetration of export markets and investment and innovation in timber products is essential if the forecast increasing supply of raw material is to be brought to market and processed.

Issues

Stakeholders expressed a number of issues of concern, most notably:-a) Impact of Brexit on wood processing sector;b) The sector currently lacks an industry led Centre of Technology and Marketing Excellence to underpin and

support market led product and systems development;c) Need to develop higher value market than firewood for broadleaved resource which comprises circa 35,000 ha

of pure grant aided and 80,000 ha private woodland;d) Lack of knowledge on the fire risk aspects of timber in construction resulting in over specification or use of

alternative materials;e) Need to increase the uses of timber in building and construction; andf) Capacity to meet targets under the Renewable Energy Directive given the forecasted potential supply of wood

fibre in the All Ireland Forecast 2016-2035;

Recommendations

1. DAFM in collaboration with Wood Technology Ireland (WTI) to undertake awareness programme for Local Authorities on use of timber in buildings and fire risk (new SA 5.7);

2. Enterprise Ireland to facilitate an industry led discussion to understand the need and to potentially scope the requirements for developing an end market strategy and a Centre of Operations Excellence to support seed innovation in the sector and supply chain and to promote market-led new product/systems development. (New SA 5.9)

3. DAFM in collaboration with WTI and wood processing sector to actively engage with the construction sector on the promotion of increased use of timber (new SA 5.8);

4. Future All Ireland Forecasts to provide estimates of volume information by main product category (new SA 5.4a);

5. Continue with actions to add value to broadleaves (SA 5.3); and6. Continue with work on development of growth models (SA 5.4).

Forest protection and health


A number of the strategic actions under this heading are on-going. A full listing of progress against each of the twelve strategic actions is included in Appendix 2. The most significant developments include:-a) Irish Deer Management Forum (IDMF) established;b) FORDEER project completed but report not yet issued;c) Widespread forest fires in 2017 causing extensive damage;d) Pest risk assessment (PRA) underway for Sitka spruce;e) DAHG Invasive Species Working Group (ISWG) established in 2016;f) DAFM reported to Government Task Force (GTF) on emergency planning on the spate of forest and land fires

in early 2017. Following this, DAFM hosted a cross Departmental/Agency meeting and produced a report for the GTF outlining progress on fire prevention and preparedness recommendations. ; and

g) Spread of Hymenoscyphus fraxineus and Phytophthora ramorum and delisting of ash and larch species for afforestation.

The stated policy in relation to deer management was to establish a National Deer Management Unit (NDMU) with overall responsibility for deer but as an alternative the Irish Deer Management Forum (IDMF) was set up


and has issued a framework for action report. Deer are an increasing problem and can cause significant damage to forests. The NPWS role is conservation and not population control where concerted action is now required. However, DAFM in partnership with DCHG has gone out to tender to establish a number of deer management units in County Wicklow to cover a three year timeframe. The aim will be to help manage deer populations at sustainable levels in the greater Wicklow region.

Disease resistance trials for Ash dieback (Hymenoscyphus fraxineus) have been established and progress in developing disease resistant strains is underway.

Issues

Stakeholders expressed a number of issues of concern, most notably:-a) The IDMF has little authority or budget to implement recommendations and stakeholders believed full time

NDMU if established would overcome these shortcomings;b) Deer populations out of control in hotspots across the country;c) Deer are protected species under Wildlife Act but specific species are not identified;d) Climate change and globalisation will result in increasing threats from pests and diseases;e) Lack of capacity in the fields of forest pathology and forest entomology including on-going resource capacity

for horizon scanning;f) Burden of proof for forest fires too onerous however burden of proof is a legal issue;g) Lack of knowledge on what is the best practice in relation to ash crops infected with Hymenoscyphus fraxineus;h) Lack of progress, communication and action on IAS; andi) Globalisation and EU membership trade rules has increased Ireland’s exposure to damaging insects and diseases.

Recommendations

1. Strategic action 6.1, that a full-time National Deer Management Unit (NDMU) be established to coordinate deer management, policy development and implementation, in consultation with stakeholders, and to lead the development of a professional deer management culture in Ireland be implemented in full. (Legal basis around control of deer rests with DCHG)

2. In light of increasing biotic threats due to climate change and globalisation, DAFM to employ dedicated forest pathologist/entomologist to improve detection and response to pests and diseases (new SA 6.4a)

3. DAFM/Teagasc to develop and implement a training programme for private forest owners on fire prevention and control measures (new SA 6.5a).

4. DAFM to develop and disseminate guidance on forest bio-security (new SA 6.13)5. DAFM to develop guidance on the management of diseased/pest infected crops e.g. ash dieback (new SA 6.14)6. DAHG/DAFM in association with forest sector stakeholders to actively communicate with the sector regarding

IAS and their potential impact on forests and the environment (new SA 6.15)

Support - education, training and research


The majority of the strategic actions under this heading are on-going. A full listing of progress against each of the eleven strategic actions addressing education, training and research is included in Appendix 2. The most significant developments include:-a) Publication of the Strategic Research Agenda for Forestry in Ireland “Forest Research Ireland (FORI) –

meeting the needs of Ireland’s forest sector to 2017 and beyond through research and innovation” in 2014 by the COFORD Council;

b) Support for the Society of Irish Foresters new continuous professional development (CPD) programme which commenced in 2016;

c) Establishment of Wood Technology Ireland to deal with wood products and standards;


Happy Days.


d) The Forestry Programme 2014-2020 provides flexibility for funding for a wide range of training;e) The Forest Certification initiative under implementation;f) Irish forest owners: The role of knowledge transfer and social networks (FOROWN) project under

implementation;g) Long Term Forest Research (LTFR) workshop held in 2017; andh) A wide range of COFORD projects both completed and on-going are noted under respective chapter headings.

The stated policy in SA 7.1 was to establish an overarching forest sector body which will guide and co-ordinate activities relating to research and development, training and education across the sector with a focus on innovation, added value and increased competitiveness. The Forestry Act allows the Minister to appoint Committees and while this might have potential, the general view was that a structure with some statutory basis would be better as currently the sector is fragmented with a lot of initiatives and projects and lacks overall guidance. DAFM are of the view that sufficient structures are already in place and focus on any new structure might divert efforts noting the amount of work that had been achieved to date.

Issues

Stakeholders expressed a number of issues of concern, most notably:-a) Lack of overarching forest sector body to guide and co-ordinate activities relating to research and development,

training, leadership and education;b) Current funding procedures for research are short term and not suited to long term forestry research;c) The sector should have a more active role in raising health and safety (H&S) awareness issues and play a role

in co-ordination/collaboration of H&S across the sector;d) Not all accidents or near misses are recorded/reported and there is no sharing of information in this regard;e) Insufficient collaboration with relevant EU research projects; andf) Gender balance is lacking within the industry as a whole.

Recommendations

1. Strategic action 7.1 to establish an overarching forest sector body which will guide and co-ordinate activities relating to research and development, training and education to be implemented;

2. DAFM to facilitate health and safety (H&S) awareness by supporting the development of a system for recording accidents and near misses across the sector and using lessons learned to improve H&S practices (new SA 7.5a);

3. DAFM to examine models for funding research elsewhere and their relevance to Ireland (SA 7.2); and4. DAFM and sector stakeholders to encourage more balanced gender diversity through actively promoting

forest training and education and career options (new SA 7.12).

Quality standards and certification


There are only two strategic actions under this heading both of which are on-going. The most significant developments include:-a) DAFM’s forest certification initiative has resulted in the establishment of two Certification Groups to help

foster a national certification network. Certification templates have also been delivered as part of this initiative. Ongoing support for growing membership of certification groups is being considered by the Department;

b) Sustainable Forest Management Ireland, formerly FSC Ireland, was established in 2016; c) The COFORD funded, Commercialisation of Irish Cross-Laminated Timber (CICLT) project is under

implementation; andd) Wood Technology Ireland (WTI), which provides technical support for the specification and use of wood

products in construction and other areas, was established.


Scale is an important factor in relation to the certification of private forests. The general stakeholder view was that established certification schemes should be encouraged to make certification more viable for small forest owners. DAFM supports the Irish Bioenergy Association’s Wood Fuel Quality Assurance Scheme and the Irish Timber Research and Innovation Centre at NUIG. DAFM and other stakeholders are supporting Sustainable Forest Management Ireland (SFMI) initiative. Operator training course at Teagasc Ballyhaise College will be to City & Guilds Standard. DAFM to work with Enterprise Ireland and other Agencies with regard to product development and accessing funds under Horizon 2020.

Issues

Stakeholders expressed issues of concern, notably-a) With increasing supply from the private sector, the processing sector is approaching the limit for controlled

wood to ensure continued compliance with certification and chain of custody; andb) Established certification schemes should be encouraged to make forest certification more viable for small

forest owners.

Recommendations

Existing Strategic Actions to be further progressed taking into consideration the issues of concern above.

Policy implementation and review


There are four strategic actions under this heading. The most significant developments include:-a) Development and implementation of the 2014-2020 Forestry Programme; andb) Recommendations of the BIOFOREST report incorporated into new environmental requirements for

afforestation

No progress has been made on the main strategic action 9.1, i.e. to establish a Forest Council, representative of the forest and related sectors, with a permanent secretariat.... and is still under consideration by DAFM. Consensus that the action should be progressed with a view to establishing a statutory body with broad stakeholder representation.

Issues

Stakeholders expressed a number of issues of concern, notably:-a) No progress on establishing a Forest Council under SA 9.1;b) No progress on establishing a Task Force under SA 9.2; andc) The EPA BioForest report (2006) findings and recommendations need to be updated in light of new research.d) Regulation of the sector may not always be commensurate with risk, potentially resulting in undifferentiated

approaches which could undermine the development of the sector.

Recommendations

1. Strategic action 9.1 to establish a Forest Council to be prioritised and implemented.2. Strategic action 9.2 to establish a Task Force to consider the establishment of a stand-alone government body

or agency which could have the responsibility of addressing development and promotion of the forest sector and forest products nationally and internationally be progressed and implemented.

3. DAFM to liaise with the EPA to ensure that the BioForest Report (2006) findings and recommendations are updated in light of new research and to include forestry expertise in the process. (New SA 9.5)


Cost appraisal and funding


The majority of strategic actions under this heading have been completed. A full listing of progress against each of the six strategic actions is included in Appendix 2. The most significant developments include:-a) Removal of the high income threshold in Budget 2016 for those active in forestry;b) Corporate social responsibility initiative with forest industry for the planting of broadleaves launched;c) Development and implementation of the 2014-2020 Forestry Programme; andd) Decision taken at a senior level within DAFM that the Forestry Programme would be 100% financed through

the exchequer.

DAFM are looking at a forestry fund for native woodlands and expect to develop the concept over the next 12 months. Institutional investment has been mainly in the secondary market and the development of the secondary market has impacted on afforestation as the valuation of broadleaves by such investors does not reflect their capacity to deliver a range of environmental services.

While it could be possible to link environmental services (ES) and carbon to the premium payments, it was suggested that best not to confuse issues to the detriment of the afforestation programme. The encouragement of stronger markets for ES and broadleaves could underpin the value of embedded carbon in products.

Issues

Stakeholders expressed concern on one issue:-a) The anomalies between tax treatment of forestry and farming regarding capital gains tax (CGT) and capital

acquisitions tax (CAT) reliefs should be addressed.

Recommendations

1. Harmonise the tax treatment of forestry and agriculture regarding eligibility for retirement relief (CGT) and business relief (CAT) (new SA 10.7).

Legislation


The majority of strategic actions under this heading have been completed. A full listing of progress against each of the five strategic actions is included in Appendix 2. The most significant developments include:-a) The 2014 Forestry Act has been commenced and it allows the Minister to require an owner to submit a Forest

Management Plan;b) The 2014 Forestry Act contains provision for a transparent appeals structure;c) National implementing legislation for the EU Timber regulation has been introduced (SI NO 316 of 2014);d) DAFM in communications with Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government on a single consent

system for forest entrances; ande) Publication of Felling and Reforestation Policy (2017).

The unified consent system for forest road entrances is not yet in place. Under section 10 of the Forest Act 2014, provisions were introduced that give the Minister powers to require an owner of a forest to submit a forest management plan. The Act, however, does not make it mandatory for forest owners to prepare a forest management plan even in the context of applying for a felling licence. While the new Act allows for deforestation, the policy of replanting still remains and is set out in the Felling and Reforestation Policy (DAFM 2017) and greater flexibility in this regard is unlikely.


Roadside Roundwood.


Issues

Stakeholders expressed issues of concern, notably:-a) Unified consent system for forest roads and entrances remains outstanding; andb) Need for a more flexible approach to the removal of areas from forestry to other land use types has not been

addressed.

Recommendation

1. DAFM to re-examine a more flexible approach to the removal of areas from forestry to other land use types (SA 11.4).

Coillte


The majority of strategic actions under this heading are ongoing. A full listing of progress against each of the four strategic actions is included in Appendix 2. The most significant developments include:-a) Decision by Government not to sell state forestry assets;b) Proposals for licensed third party use of Coillte roads at draft stage;c) Increased use of technology for timber measurement and sale security e.g. Blue Tree System used by Coillte;

andd) COFORD Wood Mobilisation Group established to assist in implementing mobilisation report recommendations.

The context for two of the strategic actions has changed with the decision not to sell state forest assets. While there has been progress in putting in place a more unified timber measurement and removals e.g. electronic dockets, there is still a long way to go before a national system could be implemented with the private sector.

Issues

Stakeholders issue of concern:-a) There continues to be a need for a national standard system of timber measurement and sale removals.

Recommendation

1. Establish a COFORD initiative to progress a national standard system for timber measurement and removals (new SA 12.2a).


Institutional arrangements


There are only three strategic actions under this heading, which have yet to be completed. A full listing of progress against each of the three strategic actions is included in Appendix 2. The most significant developments include:-a) A high level organisational review has been undertaken by DAFM and its recommendations are being

implemented; andb) DAFM commenced an annual report on Ireland’s Forests - Annual Statistics in 2017 which encompasses the

forest estate and the forest industry in Ireland.

The functional and efficiency review under SA 13.1 has not yet been undertaken and to some degree may have been misinterpreted. What was proposed was a functional analysis which is essentially an exercise in decomposing the work of an organisation into its component parts, the outputs from which contribute to improved service delivery and more efficient use of resources.

Issues

Stakeholders expressed a number of issues of concern, including:-a) Lack of knowledge within the sector regarding the role and functional units within the Forestry Divisions

within DAFM andb) Annual report has been improved, however, it is lacking in a number of areas, particularly in relation to Key

Performance Indicators (KPIs) and policy deliverables.

Recommendations

1. DAFM to clearly outline the mission, functional units and the roles and responsibilities and reporting arrangements of the Forestry Divisions within DAFM (new SA 13.4);

2. Include more up to date data on employment, contribution to GDP, etc in the annual report (SA 13.3); and3. DAFM to amend the format of Ireland’s Forests - Annual Statistics report to include policy deliverables and

KPIs (SA 13.3).


Old Natives.


References

Anon (2017). Outdoor Recreation Plan for Public Lands and Waters in Ireland 2017-2021. Report commissioned by pubic landowners. Available from www.coillte.ie

Bacon, P & Associates Economic Consultants (In Association with Deloitte), (2004). A Review and Appraisal of Ireland’s Forestry Development Strategy, Stationery Office, Dublin.

BioForest Report (2006). Environmental Protection Agency. EPA Headquarters, Johnstown Castle, Wexford. Available from www.epa.ie.

COFORD (2015). Mobilising Ireland’s forest resource. Authored by the COFORD Wood Mobilisation Group. COFORD, DAFM, Dublin Ireland. Available from www.coford.ie

COFORD (2016). All Ireland Roundwood Production Forecast 2016 - 2035. COFORD, DAFM, Dublin Ireland. Available from www.coford.ie

COFORD (2017a). Woodflow and forest-based biomass energy use on the island of Ireland (2016). COFORD, DAFM, Dublin Ireland. Available from www.coford.ie

COFORD (2017b). Growing the Irish Forest Bioeconomy. COFORD, DAFM, Dublin Ireland. Available from www.coford.ie

Coillte. (2014). Managing Timber Transport - Good Practice Guide (2014). Coillte, Newtownmountkennedy, Co. Wicklow. Available from www.coillte.ie/

DAFM (2013). The Second National Forest Inventory. Republic of Ireland - Main Findings. Forest Service, DAFM, Johnstown Castle, Wexford, Ireland.

DAFM (2015a). Deer Management in Ireland A Framework for Action. DAFM, Kildare St. Dublin Ireland. available from www.agriculture.gov.ie.

DAFM (2015b). Forestry Programme 2014 – 2020: IRELAND. DAFM, Kildare St. Dublin Ireland. available from www.agriculture.gov.ie.

DAFM (2016). Environmental Requirements for Afforestation Water. DAFM, Kildare St. Dublin, Ireland. available from www.agriculture.gov.ie.

DAFM (2017a). Felling and Reforestation Policy. DAFM, Kildare St. Dublin, Ireland. available from www.agriculture.gov.ie.

DAFM (2017b). Adaptation Planning - Developing Resilience to Climate Change in the Irish Agriculture and Forest. Department Of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Kildare St. Dublin 2, Ireland. Available from www.agriculture.gov.ie.

DCCAE (2017). National Mitigation Plan. 29/31 Adelaide Road, Dublin D02 X285. Available from www.dccae.gov.ie

Department of the Taoiseach (2017). Discussion document for the preparation of a National Policy Statement on the Bioeconomy. Department of the Taoiseach, Government Buildings, Upper Merrion Street, Dublin 2, Ireland. Available from www.taoiseach.gov.ie

ECOVALUE (2015). Valuing the Ecosystem Services of Irish Forests. Teagasc, Athenry, co. Galway. available from www.teagasc.ie.

EEA (2017). Air quality in Europe - 2016 report. European Environmental Agency, Denmark.

EPA (2016). Air Quality in Ireland 2016. Indicators of Air Quality. EPA Headquarters, Johnstown Castle, Wexford. Available from www.epa.ie

FAO (2012). Developing effective forest policy, a guide. FAO Forestry Paper 161. Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations, Rome, Italy.


Fitzpatrick Associates (2005). Economic value of trails and forest recreation in Ireland. Report commissioned by Coillte and the Irish Sports Council. Fitzpatrick Associates, Dublin 2, Ireland.

FITG (2014). Managing Timber Transport. Good Practice Guide. Forest Industry Transport Group.

FORECON (2011). An economic evaluation of the market and non-market functions of forestry. COFORD, DAFM, Dublin Ireland. Available from www.coford.ie.

Forestry Act 2014. Dublin: Stationery Office. available:http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2013/si/21/[accessed 25 Sept 2018].

General Assembly resolution 62/98, United Nations Non-legally binding instrument on all types of forests, (A/C.2/62/L.5) (17th December 2007), available from undocs.org/ A/RES/62/98

General Assembly resolution 71/285, United Nations strategic plan for forests 2017–2030, (A/71/L.63) (27th April 2017), available from undocs.org/ A/RES/71/285

Hummel, F.C. 19834. Policy Formulation in Forest Policy, a contribution to resource development. Edited by Hummel, FC. Marrtinus Nijhoff/Dr W Junk Publishers, The Hague. 1984

HYDROFOR (2015): Assessment of the Impacts of Forest Operations on the Ecological Quality of Water. EPA headquarters, Johnstown Castle, Wexford. Available from www.epa.ie

IFFPA. (2016). An overview of the Irish forestry and forest products sector 2016. IBEC Head Office, Dublin 2, Ireland. Available from www.iffpa.ie

IPCCC. (2014). Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. et al. (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.

Kerrigan, K. (2017). Forest Industries Ireland “Worth Defending”. Presentation by Neil Kerrigan, Enterprise Ireland, to the COFORD Forest Policy Review Group (CFPRG), 12th December 2017.

MCPFE (2007) State of Europe’s Forests 2007. The MCPFE report on sustainable forest management in Europe. Jointly prepared by the MCPFE Liaison Unit Warsaw, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Nolan, P. (2015). Ensemble of regional climate model projections for Ireland, Report No. 159, Environmental Protection Authority

Martínez de Arano, I (2017) Potential for innovative forest based products in Southern Europe. EFI Annual European Forest Institute (EFI). 2017. Annual Conference, Oslo, October 5, 2017. Proceedings available from www.efi.int

Ní Dhubháin, Á., Fléchard, M-C., Moloney, R., O’Connor, D. and Crowley, T. (2006) The socio-economic contribution of forestry in Ireland. COFORD, DAFM, Dublin Ireland. Available from www.coford.ie.

Phillips, H. (2011). All Ireland Round Production Forecast 2011-2028. COFORD, DAFM, Dublin Ireland. Available from www.coford.ie.


Big is Beautiful.


Appendix 1 - List of submissions received within deadline22

Submission from Coillte in relation to the Forests, Policy, Products and People - A renewed version (pdf 126Kb)

Teagasc Response to Forest Policy Review (pdf 1,034Kb)

Submission from Mr Geoffrey H T Fitzjohn in relation to the Forests, Products, People - Irelands Forest Policy - a renewed vision (pdf 63Kb)

DAHG response re planned review of Forests products and people Irelands forest policy a renewed vision (pdf 178Kb)

Macra na Feirme - Review of Forests products and people Irelands forest policy a renewed vision (pdf 857Kb)

Macra na Feirme Afforestation Policy (pdf 553Kb)

WoI NW Strategy - Forest Policy Review (pdf 697Kb)

Submission from Dr G Gallagher - Forest Policy review (email)

Submission from Donal Magner in relation to Forests, Products and People - Ireland’s Forest Policy. An industry stakeholder proposal (pdf 178Kb)

22 DAFM. (2017). Public Consultation, Calls for Submissions of Forestry, Products and People - Irelands Forestry Policy - A renewed Vision. DAFM, Kildare St. Dublin 2, Ireland. Available from www.agriculture.gov.ie


Appendix 2 - Progress on implementing strategic actions No

.Or

igina

l Stra

tegic

Actio

nCh

ange

s Req

uired

(See

als

o minu

tes of

mee

tings

)Pr

ogre

ss an

d Dev

elopm

ents

to D

ateRe

sear

ch &

Dev

elopm

ent in

Sup

port

of S

trateg

ic Ac

tions

1To

incre

ase t

he fo

rest a

rea, in

acco

rdanc

e with

SFM

pri

ncipl

es, in

orde

r to su

pport

a lon

g term

susta

inable

rou

ndwo

od su

pply

of 7 t

o 8 m

illion c

ubic

metre

s per

annu

m1.1

The a

ffores

tation

targe

t will b

e 10,0

00 ha

per a

nnum

up

to 20

15 an

d 15,0

00 ha

per a

nnum

there

after

to 20

46.

This

will,

with

refore

statio

n of c

learfe

ll area

s, pro

vide a

for

est c

over

of 18

%. T

argets

will b

e rev

iewed

by D

AFM

every

five y

ears

begin

ning i

n 201

6 in t

he co

ntext

of lon

g ter

m su

staina

ble ro

undw

ood s

upply

and o

ther p

olicy

co

nside

ration

s.

Limite

d prog

ress -

Grea

ter

flexib

ility in

how

targe

ts ca

n be

achie

ved

In 20

12 th

e Nati

onal

Fores

t Inve

ntory

(NFI)

estim

ated t

otal fo

rest

cove

r at 7

31,65

0 ha;

affore

statio

n from

2012

-201

5 ave

raged

just

over

6,0

00ha

per a

nnum

; and

new

planti

ng ta

rgets

have

been

set in

the

fores

try pr

ogram

me up

to 20

20. T

he ta

rget o

f 18%

fores

t cov

er by

2046

no

w ne

eds t

o be r

eview

ed. B

ased

on a

planti

ng ta

rget o

f 15,0

00ha

per

annu

m fro

m 20

20 an

d refo

restat

ion of

clea

rfell a

reas,

the es

timate

d ye

ar of

achie

ving 1

8% fo

rest c

over

is no

w 20

50 or

if cu

rrent

rate o

f 7,0

00 ha

per a

nnum

, was

achie

ved t

hen 2

087.

A prom

otion

camp

aign

supp

orted

by in

dustr

y and

Teag

asc i

n con

juncti

on w

ith D

AFM

has b

een

deve

loped

to in

creas

e awa

renes

s lev

els an

d pos

itivity

, and

prom

ote

multip

le be

nefits

asso

ciated

with

fores

try en

terpri

ses.

1.2W

ithin

the co

ntext

of thi

s poli

cy an

d Foo

d Harv

est 2

020

(Foo

d Wise

2025

), DAF

M to

deve

lop an

integ

rated

ap

proac

h to t

he ac

hieve

ment

of the

se ta

rgets

acros

s lan

d us

es an

d sch

emes

.

Work

ongo

ing - N

eed f

or

greate

r integ

ration

betw

een

sche

mes e

.g. fo

restry

and

Glas

The P

romoti

on C

ampa

ign fo

r fores

try ca

lls fo

r link

ages

to be

crea

ted

betw

een f

orestr

y and

decis

ion m

aking

with

in ge

neral

agric

ulture

at a

whole

farm

leve

l. This

could

inclu

de fo

r exa

mple

areas

such

as fa

rm

mana

geme

nt, bu

sines

s plan

ning,

retire

ment

plann

ing an

d suc

cess

ion.

Decis

ions t

hat n

eed t

o be t

aken

in th

ese a

reas c

ould

for ex

ample

inc

lude f

orestr

y as p

art of

the m

ix wh

en co

mpati

ble w

ith ov

erall f

arm

family

requ

ireme

nts.

1.3Th

e broa

dleaf

targe

t rema

ins at

an ar

ea eq

uivale

nt to

30%

of th

e ann

ual a

ffores

tation

prog

ramme

. To

broad

en th

e sco

pe an

d res

pons

ibility

for in

creas

ing th

e are

a of b

roadle

aves

, DAF

M wi

ll intro

duce

an ov

erall

indica

tive n

ation

al tar

get le

vel o

f 10%

broa

dleaf

spec

ies

in ref

oresta

tion,

taking

into

acco

unt e

cono

mic a

nd si

te su

itabil

ity co

nside

ration

s. Th

is wi

ll be m

onito

red an

d rev

iewed

perio

dicall

y.

Being

imple

mente

d -

Grea

ter fle

xibility

(meth

ods)

to fac

ilitate

meeti

ng ta

rget.

Addre

ss sk

ills de

ficit

Fores

try Ac

t 201

4 - R

eplan

ting c

ondit

ions a

ttach

ed to

Fellin

g Lice

nces

iss

ued.

Look

at ne

w FL

Sys

tem an

d work

at a

lands

cape

leve

l.

1.4DA

FM to

enco

urage

Stat

e orga

nisati

ons a

nd Lo

cal

Autho

rities

to co

nvert

part o

f their

land

bank

holdi

ngs t

o pu

blic p

urpos

e fore

stry a

nd in

partic

ular n

ative

woo

dland

s.

Work

ongo

ing - L

ack o

f ex

pertis

e and

know

ledge

to

be ad

dress

ed

Re-la

unch

ing an

d prom

oting

of N

eighb

ourw

ood S

chem

e and

Nati

ve

Woo

dland

Sch

emes

by D

AFM

- Loc

al Au

thoriti

es be

ginnin

g to a

pply.

1.5DA

FM in

colla

borat

ion w

ith th

e Nati

onal

Parks

and

Wild

life S

ervice

of th

e Dep

artme

nt of

Arts,

Heri

tage a

nd

the G

aelta

cht (D

AHG)

to es

tablis

h an a

pprop

riate

annu

al tar

get (m

inimu

m 15

0 ha)

for th

e res

torati

on an

d exp

ansio

n of

nativ

e woo

dland

s foc

ussin

g on a

lluvia

l and

sess

ile

oak w

oodla

nds.

The e

xpan

sion o

f nati

ve w

oodla

nds i

s ad

dition

al to

the af

fores

tation

targe

t abo

ve

Lack

of re

sourc

es an

d ex

pertis

e to b

e add

resse

dCo

vered

in N

ative

Woo

dland

Esta

blish

ment

and C

onse

rvatio

n sc

heme

s and

prop

osed

new

Woo

dland

Impro

veme

nt Sc

heme

- Env

ironm

ental

Enh

ance

ment

Sche

me.

Annu

al NW

Affor

estat

ion &

Res

torati

on fig

ures (

Has)

Targ

ets in

Fo

restry

Prog

ramme

(see

https

://www

.agric

ulture

.gov.i

e/me

dia/m

igrati

on/fo

restry

/fores

trypro

gramm

e201

4-202

0/IR

ELAN

DFore

stryP

rogram

me20

1420

2023

0215

.pdf )

and o

utline

of

recen

t acti

vity.

1.6

DAFM

to co

mmiss

ion a

study

in 20

14 to

exam

ine

the im

plica

tions

of fo

rest s

uppo

rt pay

ments

linke

d to

mana

geme

nt int

erven

tions

and t

he de

livery

of pr

oduc

ts/se

rvice

s.

No C

hang

eDe

velop

ment

of a n

ew Fo

rest M

anag

emen

t and

Cert

ificati

on S

chem

e is

unde

rway

. The

aim

of thi

s sch

eme w

ill be t

o sup

port p

rivate

fores

t ow

ners

is ac

hievin

g cert

ificati

on fo

r their

fores

ts.


1.7DA

FM to

intro

duce

, as p

art of

the a

ffores

tation

gran

t ap

plica

tion a

nd fo

rest m

anag

emen

t plan

ning p

roces

s, a

templa

te se

tting o

ut ow

ner a

nd S

tate o

bjecti

ves,

outpu

ts an

d lev

els of

supp

ort, w

hich w

ould

facilita

te ea

rly ow

ner

involv

emen

t/awa

renes

s and

serve

as a

basis

for o

ngoin

g ma

nage

ment

review

(by t

he ow

ner)

and p

relim

inary

input

to the

prop

osed

Fores

t Man

agem

ent P

lannin

g proc

ess

(see a

lso 2.

1).

Comp

leted

A new

Fores

t Man

agem

ent P

lan (F

MP) te

mplat

e des

igned

by th

e CO

FORD

Fores

t Man

agem

ent P

lannin

g Grou

p has

been

inco

rporat

ed

into t

he su

ite of

Fores

t cert

ificati

on te

mplat

es. T

his ne

w FM

P w

ill rep

lace t

he ex

isting

FMP

which

mea

ns th

at for

est o

wners

who

co

mplet

e this

temp

late w

ill hav

e star

ted w

ork on

achie

ving f

orest

certifi

catio

n for

their f

orests

. The

new

FMP

will b

e inc

orpora

ted in

to the

De

partm

ents

new

Gene

ric La

nd M

anag

emen

t Sys

tem (G

LAMS

).

The r

ecen

t COF

ORD

funde

d Iris

h priv

ate fo

rest o

wners

: The

role

of kn

owled

ge tra

nsfer

and s

ocial

netw

orks (

FORO

WN)

Proj

ect,

led by

UCD

, is lo

oking

at un

derst

andin

g the

exten

t of fo

rest o

wner

’ en

gage

ment

in ma

nage

ment

and t

he fa

ctors

that in

fluen

ce it,

will a

ssist

in

addre

ssing

this

Strat

egic

Actio

n.

1.8DA

FM to

perio

dicall

y rev

iew th

e cos

t bas

is for

gran

t su

pport

for a

ffores

tation

to en

sure

that e

fficien

cies a

nd

techn

ical a

dvan

ces a

re refl

ected

in th

e app

roved

rates

and

that th

e Stat

e obta

ins va

lue fo

r mon

ey. D

AFM

to ex

amine

the

impa

ct of

amen

ding f

uture

premi

um pa

ymen

ts an

d of

limitin

g prem

iums t

o 15 y

ears

with

partic

ular r

egard

to

achie

ving a

ffores

tation

targe

ts.

Overa

ll cos

ts, in

cludin

g pro

fessio

nal fe

es, to

be

review

ed on

the b

asis

of inv

oices

subm

itted

Revie

w of

cost

basis

of gr

ant s

uppo

rt und

ertak

en -

Annu

al pre

mium

s are

now

for 15

years

. Will b

e rev

iewed

in th

e con

text o

f the m

id ter

m rev

iew.

The C

OFOR

D fun

ded E

COVA

LUE

Rese

arch P

rojec

t, ‘Va

luing

the

Ecos

ystem

Serv

ices o

f Fore

sts in

Irelan

d’ led

by U

CD ha

s rec

ently

be

en co

mplet

ed. T

he fin

al rep

ort is

curre

ntly i

n prep

aratio

n and

will

assis

t with

this

actio

n.

1.9DA

FM to

revie

w the

ince

ntive

s for

planti

ng la

rger a

reas a

nd

for co

nsoli

datin

g exis

ting f

orest

areas

to in

creas

e lon

g term

co

mpeti

tiven

ess a

nd ef

ficien

cy in

harve

sting

and t

ransp

ort.

Comp

leted

Cons

idered

durin

g prog

ramme

nego

tiatio

ns. K

nowl

edge

Tran

sfer

Grou

ps (K

TG) a

nd th

e esta

blish

ment

of a g

roup c

ertific

ation

netw

ork,

will s

uppo

rt fore

stry p

roduc

er gro

ups a

nd en

coura

ge co

opera

tion

betw

een s

mall f

orest

owne

rs. Th

e fore

stry p

rogram

me 20

14-20

20

soug

ht to

enco

urage

priva

te ins

titutio

nal in

vestm

ent. I

n this

rega

rd,

a num

ber o

f new

fores

try in

vestm

ent fu

nd ha

ve be

en es

tablis

hed,

includ

ing a

fund i

nvolv

ing th

e Euro

pean

Inve

stmen

t Ban

k (EI

B), th

e Ire

land S

trateg

ic Inv

estm

ent F

und (

ISIF)

and D

ASOS

Cap

ital, i

n ad

dition

to ex

isting

fund

s, aim

s to a

ssist

with

fores

try de

velop

ment

throu

gh co

nsoli

datio

n of fr

agme

nted f

orests

. Mid

term

review

of th

e Fo

restry

Prog

ramme

incre

ased

prem

iums f

or pla

ntatio

ns gr

eater

than

10

ha fo

r plan

tation

s esta

blish

ed in

2018

1.1

0DA

FM to

redu

ce th

e diffe

rentia

l betw

een f

armer

and

non-f

armer

premi

ums a

nd re

view

annu

ally t

o dete

rmine

wh

ether

furthe

r diffe

rentia

l adju

stmen

ts are

warr

anted

to

mobil

ise pr

ivate

secto

r and

insti

tution

al inv

estm

ent.

Mainl

y com

plete

- no

chan

geSin

gle ra

te int

roduc

ed as

part o

f Fore

stry P

rogram

me 20

14 - 2

020.

NewE

RA in

vited

to lo

ok at

mob

ilising

insti

tution

al inv

estm

ent.

1.11

DAFM

in co

llabo

ration

with

the w

ood p

roduc

ts an

d woo

d en

ergy s

ector

s and

othe

r stak

ehold

ers sh

ould

regula

rly

review

the m

ost a

pprop

riate

spec

ies m

ix to

meet

expe

cted

marke

t nee

ds ta

king i

nto ac

coun

t sus

taina

ble fo

rest

mana

geme

nt an

d clim

ate ch

ange

adap

tation

need

s.

No ch

ange

- ong

oing

Revie

w of

spec

ies lis

t was

unde

rtake

n. Th

e Fore

stry f

or Fib

re me

asure

inc

ludes

euca

lyptus

, asp

en an

d othe

r spe

cies.

Woo

d prod

ucts

and

wood

energ

y sec

tors s

hould

take

the l

ead o

n this

topic

. New

spec

ies

list is

sued

unde

r circ

ular 5

of 20

16 al

so co

ntribu

tes to

this

actio

n. Te

agas

c ‘Alt

ernati

ve C

onife

r’ Proj

ect is

inve

stiga

ting p

otenti

al of

spec

ies

- see

https

://www

.teag

asc.i

e/crop

s/fore

stry/r

esea

rch/po

tentia

l-of-m

inor-

conif

er-sp

ecies

/. Mid

term

review

of th

e Mid

term

review

of th

e Fore

stry

Prog

ramme

incre

ased

gran

ts an

d exte

nded

the p

remium

paym

ents

from

10 to

15 ye

ars pr

emium

s for

fibre

crops

.

The D

AFM-

funde

d SHO

RTFO

R pro

ject is

explo

ring t

he po

tentia

l of

short

rotat

ion fo

restry

(SRF

) crop

s for

bioma

ss w

hich m

ay ha

ve so

me

poten

tial to

offse

t som

e of th

e pred

icted

short

fall in

supp

ly of

timbe

r for

biom

ass a

nd as

sist in

achie

ving r

enew

able

energ

y targ

ets. h

ttps:/

/ww

w.tea

gasc

.ie/cr

ops/f

orestr

y/res

earch

/short

for-pr

oject/


No.

Origi

nal S

trateg

ic Ac

tion

Chan

ges R

equir

ed (S

ee

also m

inutes

of m

eetin

gs)

Prog

ress

and D

evelo

pmen

ts to

Date

Rese

arch

& D

evelo

pmen

t in S

uppo

rt of

Stra

tegic

Actio

ns1.1

2DA

FM to

mon

itor a

nd, in

cons

ultati

on w

ith st

akeh

olders

, pe

riodic

ally r

eview

the o

veral

l ave

rage y

ield c

lass f

or

affore

statio

n as s

et ou

t in G

rowing

for th

e Futu

re in

the lig

ht of

the qu

ality

of lan

d bein

g affo

rested

and t

he m

ore w

idesp

read

use o

f gen

etica

lly im

prove

d plan

ting s

tock w

ith a

view

to inc

reasin

g both

the m

inimu

m an

d ave

rage p

roduc

tivity

leve

ls.

No ch

ange

- ong

oing

The n

ew “L

and T

ypes

for A

ffores

tation

” doc

umen

t has

the p

otenti

al to

increa

se th

e ava

ilabil

ity of

land

whic

h wou

ld pre

vious

ly ha

ve be

en ex

clude

d fro

m the

affor

estat

ion sc

heme

. Whil

e yiel

d clas

s 14 S

itka s

pruce

is st

ill the

mi

nimum

prod

uctiv

ity th

resho

ld for

all la

nd, th

e ove

rall im

pact

on yi

eld cl

ass

as a

result

of th

is de

velop

ment

will n

eed t

o be

monit

ored.

Seed

Stan

d an

d see

d orch

ard gr

ant s

chem

e intr

oduc

ed to

impro

ve pl

antin

g stoc

k. Pr

ogram

me m

akes

prov

ision

for p

romoti

ng im

prove

d plan

ting s

tock.

The C

OFOR

D fun

ded F

ORGE

N Pr

oject,

on th

e lon

g-term

optio

n for

im

prove

d fore

st pro

ducti

vity a

nd tim

ber q

uality

in Ire

land h

as re

centl

y bee

n co

mplet

ed by

UCD

and w

ill ass

ist in

supp

orting

this

actio

n. Th

e FOR

GEN

report

is cu

rrentl

y bein

g fina

lised

. Tea

gasc

‘Grow

ing fo

r Profi

t’ res

earch

pro

ject s

uppo

rts th

is ini

tiativ

e by l

ookin

g at th

e lon

g term

effec

t of d

ifferen

t thi

nning

type

s, thi

nning

inten

sities

and t

heir e

ffect

on vo

lume p

roduc

tion,

rotati

on le

ngth

and p

rofitab

ility. T

his re

searc

h aim

s to g

uide b

est p

ractic

e mo

dels

to su

pport

inten

sifica

tion o

f thinn

ing pr

actic

e and

asse

ss m

ethod

s for

thinn

ing co

ntrol

linke

d to s

ite sp

ecific

volum

e prod

uctio

n. Th

e COF

ORD

funde

d FOR

M Pr

oject,

Fores

t Man

agem

ent R

esea

rch to

enha

nce

produ

ctivit

y and

pest

contr

ol an

d dise

ases

resis

tance

in ke

y fore

st sp

ecies

ha

s rec

ently

comm

ence

d in U

CD an

d will a

ssist

in dr

awing

up fu

ture

Fores

t Prot

ectio

n Guid

eline

s and

in m

aking

reco

mmen

datio

ns on

the u

se

of sp

ecies

and p

roven

ance

s with

prov

en di

seas

e res

istan

ce.

1.13

With

a vie

w to

achie

ving t

he na

tiona

l affo

restat

ion ta

rget

and r

ound

wood

supp

ly po

tentia

l and

the d

evelo

pmen

t of a

for

est c

ulture

amon

g farm

ers an

d othe

r land

owne

rs, D

AFM

to un

derta

ke a

conc

erted

two y

ear p

romoti

on ca

mpaig

n to

enco

urage

affor

estat

ion an

d more

activ

e fore

st ma

nage

ment

in co

llabo

ration

with

Teag

asc,

fores

t com

panie

s and

owne

rs rep

resen

tative

orga

nisati

ons i

nclud

ing fo

r exa

mple

harve

sting

de

mons

tratio

ns an

d field

days

whic

h sho

w the

impa

ct of

fores

t ma

nage

ment

activ

ities o

n cas

hflow

s.

Includ

e foc

us on

youn

ger

audie

nce e

.g. M

acra

An af

fores

tation

Prom

otion

Cam

paign

Prop

osal

has b

een p

repare

d by

Teag

asc i

n con

juncti

on w

ith D

AFM

and i

ndus

try re

prese

ntativ

e grou

ps.

Initia

tives

with

in thi

s prop

osal

have

been

infor

med b

y rec

omme

ndati

ons o

f the

Fores

t Lan

d Ava

ilabil

ity Im

pleme

ntatio

n Grou

p (FL

AIG)

. The

new

KTG

sche

me fo

r fores

try al

ong w

ith th

e Fore

st Ma

nage

ment

and C

ertific

ation

sc

heme

will p

romote

more

activ

e fore

st ma

nage

ment.

The r

ecen

t COF

ORD

funde

d Iris

h priv

ate fo

rest o

wners

: The

role

of kn

owled

ge tra

nsfer

and s

ocial

netw

orks (

FORO

WN)

Proj

ect le

d by U

CD

lookin

g at u

nders

tandin

g the

exten

t of fo

rest o

wner

’ eng

agem

ent in

ma

nage

ment

and t

he fa

ctors

that in

fluen

ce it,

will a

ssist

in ad

dress

ing th

is St

rateg

ic Ac

tion.

1.14

The u

se of

gene

ticall

y imp

roved

plan

ting m

ateria

l (see

Gl

ossa

ry for

defin

ition)

e.g. im

prove

d Sitk

a spru

ce, a

s dist

inct

from

gene

ticall

y mod

ified m

ateria

l, whic

h will d

elive

r impro

ved

timbe

r qua

lity an

d tim

ber w

ood v

olume

s will b

e sup

porte

d

No C

hang

e work

ongo

ingRe

feren

ce to

impro

ved S

itka s

pruce

can b

e fou

nd in

circu

lar 5

of 20

13,

Acce

pted t

ree sp

ecies

for th

e affo

restat

ion sc

heme

. Furt

her m

onito

ring,

togeth

er wi

th pe

rform

ance

testi

ng ac

ross a

wide

r ran

ge of

site

types

inc

orpora

ting i

mprov

ed W

ashin

gton s

eedli

ng m

ateria

l from

the I

rish

impro

veme

nt pro

gramm

e are

requir

ed. T

eaga

sc ha

s bee

n dev

elopin

g im

prove

d sou

rces o

f syc

amore

, ash

, birc

h and

alde

r for d

eploy

ment

in the

Iris

h fore

st se

ctor. T

he S

eed s

tand a

nd S

eed o

rchard

sche

me la

unch

ed in

20

15 is

desig

ned t

o tak

e this

rese

arch t

o a co

mmerc

ial le

vel. C

oford

funde

d FO

RM pr

oject

will a

lso lo

ok at

dev

elopin

g dise

ase r

esist

ant s

ource

s of

Ash.

The C

OFOR

D Fo

rest G

eneti

c Res

ource

s Work

ing G

roup i

s curr

ently

es

tablis

hing S

itka s

pruce

Gen

etic G

ain Fi

eld E

xperi

ments

. The

se tri

als w

ill pro

vide i

nform

ation

on th

e lev

el of

gene

tic ga

in fro

m ma

terial

from

the Iri

sh

tree i

mprov

emen

t prog

ramme

and t

he pe

rform

ance

of th

e ran

ge of

seed

so

urces

that

are cu

rrentl

y plan

ted on

the n

ation

al es

tate.

The C

OFOR

D fun

ded F

ORGE

N Pr

oject,

rese

archin

g the

long

-term

optio

n for

impro

ved f

orest

produ

ctivit

y and

timbe

r qua

lity in

Irelan

d has

rece

ntly

been

comp

leted

by U

CD an

d will a

ssist

in su

pport

ing th

is ac

tion.

The

FORG

EN re

port i

s curr

ently

being

finali

sed.

Also,

the C

OFOR

D fun

ded

FORM

Proj

ect, F

orest

Mana

geme

nt Re

searc

h to e

nhan

ce pr

oduc

tivity

an

d pes

t con

trol a

nd di

seas

e res

istan

ce in

key f

orest

spec

ies ha

s rec

ently

co

mmen

ced i

n UCD

and w

ill ass

ist in

mak

ing re

comm

enda

tions

on th

e us

e of s

pecie

s and

prov

enan

ces.


1.15

The p

otenti

al for

sequ

ester

ed ca

rbon t

o fina

nce f

uture

aff

oresta

tion w

ill be i

nves

tigate

d and

, if ap

propri

ate, a

carbo

n aff

oresta

tion s

chem

e whic

h fav

ours

mana

geme

nt sy

stems

an

d spe

cies w

ith go

od lo

ng-te

rm se

ques

tratio

n pote

ntial

will

be co

nside

red.

Work

ongo

ing - M

ore

discu

ssion

requ

ired

A pri

vatel

y fun

ded,

volun

tary c

arbon

sche

me ha

s bee

n in o

perat

ion in

the

UK fo

r a nu

mber

of ye

ars w

ith m

odes

t suc

cess

. Emp

loying

gran

t aide

d for

ests

and t

he w

ood p

roduc

ts de

rived

from

such

fores

ts for

clim

ate ch

ange

mi

tigati

on is

one o

f the p

olicy

drive

rs for

the c

urren

t affo

restat

ion sc

heme

.

The c

urren

t COF

ORD

funde

d CAS

WOO

D Pr

oject

led by

Univ

ersity

of

Limeri

ck is

look

ing at

the e

cono

mic a

nd en

viron

menta

l map

ping

of ca

scad

e use

of w

ood.

The d

ata an

d para

meter

s ide

ntifie

d und

er

CASW

OOD

will p

rovide

the f

ound

ation

for a

n algo

rithm-

base

d com

puter

mo

del o

f fores

t and

fores

t-bas

ed pr

oduc

ts ca

pable

of fo

recas

ting

altern

ative

scen

arios

for m

ateria

l flow

s to o

ptimi

ze ca

rbon s

torag

e an

d biom

ass w

hile m

axim

izing

econ

omic

value

. This

will e

nable

polic

y to

deve

lop m

ore st

rateg

ic, ev

idenc

e-bas

ed gu

idelin

es fo

r fores

t and

for

est-b

ased

reso

urce m

anag

emen

t. Also

, the c

urren

t COF

ORD

funde

d CF

ORRE

P Pr

oject

led by

UCD

is de

velop

ing ad

dition

s to t

he Iri

sh

fores

t carb

on ac

coun

ting a

nd re

portin

g too

l (see

www

.ucd.i

e/cfor

rep/).

The C

OFOR

D fun

ded E

COVA

LUE

Rese

arch P

rojec

t, ‘Va

luing

the

Ecos

ystem

Serv

ices o

f Fore

sts in

Irelan

d’ led

by U

CD ha

s rec

ently

be

en co

mplet

ed an

d will a

ssist

in ad

dress

ing th

is ac

tion.

The fi

nal re

port

unde

r prep

aratio

n. SE

AI is

invo

lved i

n res

earch

that

has r

eleva

nce i

n thi

s area

, see

infor

matio

n on T

ask 4

2 on b

io refi

ning h

ttp://w

ww.ie

a-bio

energ

y.tas

k42-b

iorefi

nerie

s.com

/en/ie

abior

efine

ry.htm

Th

e rec

ent

COFO

RD fu

nded

Irish

Land

Use

Emi

ssion

and S

eque

strati

on S

uppo

rt To

ol (IR

ISHL

ANDU

SES)

Proj

ect le

d by T

eaga

sc w

ith th

e key

objec

tive t

o de

velop

a mo

dellin

g cap

acity

to ex

amine

futur

e sce

nario

s for

agric

ultura

l gre

enho

use g

as em

ission

s and

carbo

n seq

uestr

ation

by fo

restry

in Ire

land

will a

ssist

in ad

dress

ing th

is str

ategic

actio

n. Th

e ultim

ate pr

oject

aim is

to

assis

t poli

cy m

akers

in de

liveri

ng po

licy w

hich c

an ge

nerat

e des

irable

ec

onom

ic an

d env

ironm

ental

land

use o

utcom

es in

Irelan

d. 1.1

6DA

FM in

colla

borat

ion w

ith th

e Dep

artme

nt of

Comm

unica

tions

, Ene

rgy an

d Natu

ral R

esou

rces t

o und

ertak

e an

appra

isal o

f the a

pprop

riate

balan

ce be

twee

n affo

restat

ion

includ

ing sh

ort ro

tation

fores

try, b

iomas

s sup

port s

chem

es

and o

ther r

elated

mea

sures

such

as ag

rofore

stry i

n mee

ting

renew

able

energ

y, cli

mate

chan

ge m

itigati

on an

d fore

st ind

ustry

raw

mater

ial ne

eds,

in the

conte

xt of

the ov

erall le

vel

of rou

ndwo

od av

ailab

ility.

No ch

ange

- ong

oing

This

actio

n was

also

refer

red to

in th

e COF

ORD

Woo

d Mob

ilisati

on

Repo

rt, inc

luding

reco

mmen

datio

ns 34

and 3

5 and

is be

ing fo

llowe

d up

by th

e COF

ORD

Woo

d Mob

ilisati

on an

d Prod

uctio

n Fore

casti

ng

Grou

p in t

he co

ntext

of the

Sup

port S

chem

e for

Rene

wable

He

at (S

SRH)

and o

ther s

uppo

rt mea

sures

. To d

ate th

e dem

and

for th

e Fore

stry f

or Fib

re sc

heme

has b

een l

ow. S

ee Fo

restry

Pr

ogram

me ta

rgets

for th

ese s

chem

es (s

ee ht

tps://w

ww.ag

ricult

ure.

gov.i

e/med

ia/mi

gratio

n/fore

stry/f

orestr

yprog

ramme

2014

-2020

/IR

ELAN

DFore

stryP

rogram

me20

1420

2023

0215

.pdf ).

Fores

t res

earch

into

the sh

ort ro

tation

fores

try fu

nded

by D

AFM

is un

derw

ay.

(14

/9/20

16-F

orestr

y for

Fibre;

3 ap

plica

tions

, 1 ap

prove

d (0.6

ha), 1

ref

used

and 1

in pr

ogres

s) Ag

rofore

stry;

6 app

licati

ons r

eceiv

ed (3

2ha),

4 ap

prove

d, 2 b

eing p

roces

sed )

.

The C

OFOR

D fun

ded S

HORT

FOR

Proje

ct led

by U

CD is

ongo

ing

and i

s res

earch

ing bi

omas

s and

rene

wable

energ

y from

short

rotat

ion

fores

try. T

his pr

oject

involv

es Te

agas

c and

othe

r part

ners.

The C

OFOR

D fun

ded C

FORR

EP P

rojec

t is de

velop

ing ad

dition

s to t

he Iri

sh fo

rest

carbo

n acc

ounti

ng an

d rep

orting

tool

(see w

ww.uc

d.ie/c

forrep

/). Th

e on

going

COF

ORD

funde

d CAS

WOO

D Pr

oject

in Un

iversi

ty of

Limeri

ck

is ex

amini

ng th

e eco

nomi

c and

envir

onme

ntal m

appin

g of c

asca

de

use o

f woo

d. Th

e COF

ORD

funde

d ECO

VALU

E Re

searc

h Proj

ect,

‘Valui

ng th

e Eco

syste

m Se

rvice

s of F

orests

in Ire

land’

in UC

D ha

s bee

n co

mplet

ed. T

he fin

al rep

ort is

unde

r prep

aratio

n and

will a

ssist

with

this

actio

n. Th

e pote

ntial

for an

Env

ironm

ental

Acco

untin

g Sys

tem fo

r fores

try

will b

e inv

estig

ated o

n foo

t of th

is rep

ort. T

he on

going

COF

ORD

funde

d FO

RESI

TE P

rojec

t in U

CD lo

oking

at M

onito

ring a

nd As

sess

ment

of Cr

itical

Bioma

ss R

emov

al in

Irish F

orests

will a

lso as

sist w

ith th

is ac

tion.

Fores

try fo

r Fibr

e and

Agrof

orestr

y sch

emes

have

been

laun

ched

by

DAF

M. S

EAI is

invo

lved i

n a re

searc

h tas

k tha

t has

relev

ance

i.e.

Task

43 of

the I

EA bi

oene

rgy Te

chnic

al Co

llabo

ration

Plat

form

(TCP

) de

als w

ith B

iomas

s Fee

dstoc

ks fo

r Ene

rgy M

arkets

, see

http:

//www

.iea

bioen

ergyta

sk43

.org/

1.17

DAFM

to co

ntinu

e to s

uppo

rt the

diss

emina

tion o

f the

CLIM

ADAP

T spe

cies s

electi

on to

ol an

d any

nece

ssary

up

dates

.

No ch

ange

No ch

ange

to re

cord

again

st thi

s acti

on. P

ossib

ly dis

semi

nate

inform

ation

on

CLIM

ADAP

T as p

art of

prom

otion

camp

aign.

The r

ecen

t COF

ORD

funde

d Iris

h Lan

d Use

Emi

ssion

and S

eque

strati

on

Supp

ort To

ol (IR

ISHL

ANDU

SES)

Proj

ect le

d by T

eaga

sc w

ith th

e key

ob

jectiv

e to d

evelo

p a m

odell

ing ca

pacit

y to e

xami

ne fu

ture s

cena

rios

for ag

ricult

ural g

reenh

ouse

gas e

miss

ions a

nd ca

rbon s

eque

strati

on by

for

estry

in Ire

land w

ill ass

ist in

addre

ssing

this

strate

gic ac

tion.


No.

Origi

nal S

trateg

ic Ac

tion

Chan

ges R

equir

ed (S

ee

also m

inutes

of m

eetin

gs)

Prog

ress

and D

evelo

pmen

ts to

Date

Rese

arch

& D

evelo

pmen

t in S

uppo

rt of

Stra

tegic

Actio

ns1.1

8DA

FM w

ill con

sider

propo

sals

for th

e esta

blish

ment

of rip

arian

wo

odlan

ds w

ith a

view

to the

ir fun

ction

in m

itigati

ng flo

oding

an

d enh

ancin

g wate

r qua

lity (s

ee al

so 3.

12).

Grea

ter em

phas

is on

es

tablis

hing r

iparia

n wo

odlan

ds an

d on t

heir

bene

fits

Nativ

e Woo

dland

estab

lishm

ent a

nd co

nserv

ation

sche

me la

unch

ed.

Planti

ng re

quire

ment

of na

tive s

pecie

s alon

g sen

sitive

wate

rway

s. Pr

opos

ed ne

w W

oodla

nd Im

prove

ment

- Env

ironm

ental

Enh

ance

ment

Sche

me.

The C

OFOR

D fun

ded C

ROW

and H

YDRO

FOR

Rese

arch

Proje

cts w

ill inp

ut int

o rec

omme

ndati

ons f

or thi

s acti

on. T

he C

ROW

proje

ct loo

ked a

t com

bined

rese

arch o

n Ripa

rian w

oodla

nds.

The H

YDRO

FOR

projec

t inve

stiga

ted th

e effe

cts of

conif

erous

fores

ts an

d fore

stry o

perat

ions

on Ire

land’s

surfa

ce w

ater q

uality

and a

quati

c eco

logy.

Both

projec

ts we

re

led by

Dr M

ary K

elly Q

uinn o

f UCD

and h

ave r

ecen

tly be

en co

mplet

ed.

1.19

Futur

e prom

otion

al ca

mpaig

n(s) to

inclu

de fo

cus o

n you

nger

ge

nerat

ion us

ing so

cial m

edia.

New

strate

gic ac

tion.

This

is als

o rele

vant

for m

anag

emen

t of th

e res

ource

.2

To en

sure

the su

staina

ble m

anag

emen

t of th

e fore

st res

ource

in

acco

rdanc

e with

best

practi

ce th

ereby

ensu

ring i

ts ca

pacit

y to

provid

e the

full r

ange

of tim

ber a

nd ot

her b

enefi

ts2.1

A sys

tem to

stan

dardi

se da

ta req

uirem

ents,

on an

elec

tronic

pla

tform

, for p

rivate

woo

dland

man

agers

/ own

ers sh

ould

be

introd

uced

from

2014

in co

nsult

ation

with

secto

r stak

ehold

ers.

This

would

inclu

de a

mand

atory

requir

emen

t for s

tanda

rdise

d Ma

nage

ment

Plans

for p

rivate

ly ow

ned w

oodla

nds,

with

a co

mmitm

ent fo

r prov

ision

and u

pdati

ng of

same

as a

cond

ition

of aff

oresta

tion f

rom 20

14 on

wards

and a

s a co

nditio

n of

roads

and o

ther s

uppo

rt mea

sures

as w

ell as

a pre

cond

ition

for fe

lling l

icenc

es fo

r thinn

ing. T

he cu

rrent

forma

t and

scop

e of

Mana

geme

nt Pla

ns w

ill be r

evise

d to s

uppo

rt SFM

, facil

itate

certifi

catio

n, the

forec

astin

g of fu

ture r

ound

wood

supp

ly, fe

lling

comp

lianc

e and

publi

c goo

d fun

ction

s and

inco

rporat

e the

ir de

sign,

subm

ission

, upd

ating

, revie

w an

d ana

lysis

into t

he

iFORI

S sy

stem

while

ensu

ring a

lignm

ent b

etwee

n priv

ate an

d pu

blic s

ector

man

agem

ent p

lannin

g sys

tems.

Ac

tivitie

s ong

oing t

o add

ress

SA

The C

OFOR

D Fo

rest M

anag

emen

t Plan

ning G

roup,

which

inclu

ded

repres

entat

ives f

rom ac

ross t

he fo

rest s

ector

, dev

elope

d a Fo

rest

Mana

geme

nt P

lan (F

MP) te

mplat

e whic

h will b

e mad

e ava

ilable

to th

e Se

ctor a

s part

of th

e new

Fores

t Man

agem

ent a

nd C

ertific

ation

sche

me.

The n

ew FM

P ha

s also

been

inco

rporat

ed in

to a s

uite o

f fores

t cert

ifiacti

on

templa

tes w

hich i

s ava

ilable

onlin

e. Ev

entua

lly th

e plan

is to

inclu

de th

e FM

P in

the D

epart

ment’

s new

Gen

eric L

and M

anag

ment

Syste

m, G

LAMS

. Fo

restry

Act 2

014 -

Fellin

g Lice

nce a

pplic

ation

proc

edure

and f

ormat

has

been

comp

leted

to in

corpo

rate m

uch o

f this

Strat

egic

Actio

n.

2.2DA

FM sh

ould

estab

lish a

Nati

onal

Fores

t Inve

ntory

and

Mana

geme

nt Pla

nning

Unit

with

resp

onsib

ility fo

r ong

oing

natio

nal in

vento

ry, co

llatio

n of p

rivate

inve

ntory

data,

SFM

rep

orting

, nati

onal

report

ing, n

ation

al for

ecas

ting a

nd th

e de

sign a

nd ap

prova

l of fo

rest m

anag

emen

t plan

s in t

he

conte

xt of

perm

itted a

ctivit

ies.

No ch

ange

- acti

on no

w co

mplet

eNa

tiona

l Fore

st Inv

entor

y and

Man

agem

ent P

lannin

g Unit

has b

een

estab

lishe

d with

resp

onsib

ility fo

r ong

oing n

ation

al inv

entor

y, co

llatio

n of

priva

te inv

entor

y data

, UNE

CE st

atisti

cal re

portin

g, na

tiona

l repo

rting

and n

ation

al for

ecas

ting.

The A

ll Irel

and R

ound

wood

Prod

uctio

n Fore

cast

2016

- 203

5 was

prod

uced

by C

OFOR

D du

ring 2

016 a

nd m

ade a

vaila

ble

to the

secto

r. Prod

uctio

n Fore

cast

data

was d

erive

d from

Coil

lte in

vento

ry,

priva

te se

ctor p

arcel

data

and c

ollab

oratio

n with

the N

IFS. T

he D

AFM

has d

evelo

ped a

web

-enab

led m

appin

g serv

ice fo

r pub

lishin

g this

na

tiona

l roun

dwoo

d fore

cast

to ex

terna

l stak

ehold

ers an

d to s

taff w

ithin

the D

epart

ment.

The o

bjecti

ve of

this

web m

appin

g sys

tem is

to en

able

users

to ge

nerat

e bes

poke

roun

dwoo

d tim

ber fo

recas

t infor

matio

n ba

sed o

n sele

cted m

ap lo

catio

n(s), s

ee ht

tps://w

ww.ag

ricult

ure.go

v.ie/

round

wood

produ

ction

forec

astsy

stem/

The c

urren

t COF

ORD

funde

d FOR

ECAS

TMOD

EL P

rojec

t led b

y Tea

gasc

ha

s the

objec

tive o

f impro

ving r

ound

wood

forec

astin

g in I

relan

d (se

e also

2.4

below

). The

curre

nt CO

FORD

fund

ed B

ETTE

RFOR

Proj

ect le

d by

UCD

is loo

king a

t eva

luatin

g and

refin

ing tim

ber fo

recas

ting t

ools

using

the

NFI

data.

Thes

e res

earch

proje

cts w

ill ass

ist th

e work

of th

e Nati

onal

Fores

t Inve

ntory

and M

anag

emen

t Plan

ning U

nit.


2.3Co

ntinu

e to r

epea

t the N

FI on

a 5-y

ear c

ycle,

and b

ased

on

activ

e eng

agem

ent w

ith th

e priv

ate se

ctor in

corpo

rate t

he

colle

ction

of ad

dition

al plo

t infor

matio

n whic

h will f

acilita

te the

us

e of N

FI da

ta for

repo

rting a

nd fo

recas

ting p

urpos

es

No ch

ange

- acti

vities

on

going

The N

FI is

ongo

ing an

d will b

e upd

ated o

n a 5

year

rollin

g bas

is.

The c

urren

t COF

ORD

funde

d BET

TERF

OR P

rojec

t in U

CD is

look

ing

at ev

aluati

ng an

d refi

ning t

imbe

r forec

astin

g too

ls us

ing th

e NFI

data.

A rec

ent s

tudy w

as ca

rried o

ut by

the F

orest

Servi

ce in

conju

nctio

n with

Co

illte an

d the

Finn

ish N

atural

Res

ource

s Ins

titute

(LUKE

) to lo

ok at

the

opera

tiona

l use

of E

arth o

bserv

ation

data

to en

hanc

e the

accu

racy a

nd

precis

ion of

NFI

data

at ge

ograp

hic sc

ales b

eyon

d wha

t was

origi

nally

int

ende

d. W

ork is

conti

nuing

on de

velop

ing th

e pote

ntial

of thi

s tec

hnolo

gy

for us

e with

curre

nt NF

I data

and i

n futu

re inv

entor

y cyc

les.

2.4Co

nside

ration

will b

e give

n to s

uppo

rt for

projec

ts an

d me

asure

s whic

h imp

rove t

he le

vel o

f acc

uracy

, relia

bility

and

relev

ance

of tim

ber fo

recas

ting.

No ch

ange

- acti

vities

on

going

The p

rivate

secto

r elem

ent o

f the 2

016-2

035 F

oreca

st wa

s prod

uced

us

ing R

emso

ft in c

ollab

oratio

n with

Coil

lte. D

AFM

has d

evelo

ped a

we

b-ena

bled m

appin

g serv

ice fo

r inter

rogati

ng th

e nati

onal

round

wood

for

ecas

t. The

objec

tive o

f this

web m

appin

g sys

tem is

to en

able

users

to ge

nerat

e bes

poke

roun

dwoo

d fore

cast

inform

ation

base

d on

selec

ted m

ap lo

catio

n(s), s

ee ht

tps://w

ww.ag

ricult

ure.go

v.ie/

round

wood

produ

ction

forec

astsy

stem/

As i

n 2.2

abov

e, the

Nati

onal

Fores

t Inv

entor

y Unit

has b

een e

stabli

shed

with

resp

onsib

ility fo

r ong

oing n

ation

al inv

entor

y, co

llatio

n of p

rivate

inve

ntory

data,

UNE

CE st

atisti

cal re

portin

g, na

tiona

l repo

rting a

nd na

tiona

l forec

astin

g.

The c

urren

t COF

ORD

funde

d FOR

ECAS

TMOD

EL P

rojec

t led b

y Te

agas

c has

the o

bjecti

ve of

impro

ving t

imbe

r forec

astin

g. Th

e proj

ect

is ex

amini

ng fo

rest g

rowth

and y

ield m

odell

ing ai

med a

t impro

ving t

he

priva

te se

ctor ti

mber

produ

ction

forec

ast b

y add

ressin

g key

comp

onen

ts of

the pr

oduc

tion f

oreca

sting

proc

ess.

How

inven

tory a

nd m

anag

emen

t data

fro

m fut

ure m

anag

emen

t plan

s cou

ld be

utilis

ed as

inpu

ts to

the na

tiona

l for

ecas

ting s

ystem

will b

e exp

lored

. This

FORE

CAST

MODE

L Proj

ect

will a

lso pr

ovide

furth

er inf

ormati

on on

acce

ssibi

lity of

priva

te pla

ntatio

ns

and m

anag

emen

t inten

tions

of pr

ivate

fores

t own

ers in

orde

r to de

rive a

mo

re rob

ust m

anag

emen

t regim

e for

forec

astin

g. Th

e curr

ent C

OFOR

D fun

ded B

ETTE

RFOR

Proj

ect is

look

ing at

evalu

ating

and r

efinin

g tim

ber

forec

astin

g too

ls us

ing th

e NFI

data.

2.5Co

llabo

rative

mec

hanis

ms fo

r the m

anag

emen

t of p

rivate

ly ow

ned f

orests

will b

e acti

vely

enco

urage

d and

their

use

to en

hanc

e the

deliv

ery of

the f

ull ra

nge o

f fores

t ben

efits

inves

tigate

d.

No ch

ange

- acti

vities

on

going

The s

uitab

ility of

the F

orest

Mana

geme

nt Pla

nning

gran

t to fa

cilita

te ge

neral

fores

t man

agem

ent d

ecisi

ons w

ill be i

nves

tigate

d. Pr

omoti

on

of Pr

oduc

er Gr

oups

and r

elated

work

s acti

vely

ongo

ing by

Teag

asc.

Colla

borat

ive Fo

rest R

oadin

g Gran

ts av

ailab

le to

growe

rs. P

ropos

ed

initia

tives

on G

roup F

orest

Certifi

catio

n and

KTG

’s on

mob

ilising

timbe

r and

bio

mass

are b

eing p

rogres

sed.

The r

ecen

t COF

ORD

funde

d Iris

h priv

ate fo

rest o

wners

: The

role

of kn

owled

ge tra

nsfer

and s

ocial

netw

orks (

FORO

WN)

Proj

ect le

d by U

CD

lookin

g at u

nders

tandin

g the

exten

t of fo

rest o

wner

’ eng

agem

ent in

ma

nage

ment

and t

he fa

ctors

that in

fluen

ce it,

will a

ssist

in ad

dress

ing th

is str

ategic

actio

n.

2.6Re

cogn

ising

the m

arket

failur

es w

hich w

ould

preve

nt ea

rly

produ

ction

from

priva

te for

ests

and t

he ec

onom

ic be

nefits

of

first (a

nd su

bseq

uent)

thinn

ings,

fundin

g for

two c

onse

cutiv

e pri

ority

5-yea

r harv

estin

g roa

ds pr

ogram

mes,

of at

least

45,00

0 ha a

nd 32

,000 h

a res

pecti

vely

for pr

ivatel

y own

ed

fores

ts wi

ll be p

rovide

d to e

nable

acce

ss to

and d

elive

ry of

the

forec

ast v

olume

s in t

he C

OFOR

D all

-Irela

nd fo

recas

t of n

et rea

lisab

le vo

lume 2

011-2

028.

Need

to co

nside

r fores

t en

tranc

es at

an ea

rlier s

tage-

ac

tivitie

s ong

oing b

ut up

date

forec

ast re

feren

ce

Road

ing sc

heme

inclu

ded i

n curr

ent F

orestr

y Prog

ramme

and a

ctive

ly pro

moted

by D

AFM

and T

eaga

sc. O

utline

road

ing gr

ant ta

rgets

in pro

gramm

e (se

e Fore

st Se

rvice

web

site).

2.7DA

FM to

work

with

the D

epart

ment

of the

Env

ironm

ent,

Comm

unity

and L

ocal

Gove

rnmen

t to en

sure

an ef

ficien

t im

pleme

ntatio

n of a

unifie

d con

sent

syste

m for

fores

t road

s an

d entr

ance

s tha

t sup

ports

timbe

r mob

ilisati

on an

d main

tains

the

comp

etitiv

enes

s of th

e sec

tor (s

ee al

so 11

.1). T

his sh

ould

be co

upled

with

upda

ting o

f relev

ant g

uideli

nes (

see a

lso 4.

9).

The i

mplem

entat

ion of

the E

nviro

nmen

tal (M

iscell

aneo

us

Prov

ision

s) Ac

t 201

1 nee

ds to

be re

viewe

d in t

erms o

f how

it is

appli

ed to

the s

ector

in or

der to

main

tain i

ts co

mpeti

vene

ss.

Await

ing le

gislat

ionW

ork is

ongo

ing on

imple

menti

ng a

single

cons

ent s

ystem

for n

ew

fores

t road

entra

nces

. Ame

ndme

nts to

be m

ade i

n the

Plan

ning a

nd

Deve

lopme

nt Ac

t in th

is reg

ard. N

ew Ap

peals

mec

hanis

m no

w in

place

. Re

vision

of Fo

rest R

oadin

g inc

luding

COF

ORD

Fores

t Roa

d Man

ual h

as

comm

ence

d and

the r

evise

d Affo

restat

ion E

nviro

nmen

tal R

equir

emen

ts are

now

in pla

ce.


No.

Origi

nal S

trateg

ic Ac

tion

Chan

ges R

equir

ed (S

ee

also m

inutes

of m

eetin

gs)

Prog

ress

and D

evelo

pmen

ts to

Date

Rese

arch

& D

evelo

pmen

t in S

uppo

rt of

Stra

tegic

Actio

ns2.8

DAFM

to ex

plore

ways

of lin

king e

xistin

g and

futur

e prem

ium

paym

ents

for pl

antat

ions o

ver te

n yea

rs wi

th sp

ecifie

d for

est a

ctivit

ies th

at pro

vide f

or the

activ

e man

agem

ent a

nd

protec

tion o

f the f

orest

resou

rce an

d the

envir

onme

nt an

d ap

propri

ate re

portin

g of ti

mber

inven

tory a

nd ot

her o

utputs

(se

e also

2.1)

Cons

ider r

ewriti

ng fo

r more

inc

entiv

ised a

pproa

chCu

rrentl

y inv

estig

ating

the s

uitab

ility of

the F

orest

Mana

geme

nt Pla

nning

gra

nt to

facilita

te for

est m

anag

emen

t dec

ision

s and

certifi

catio

n. CO

FORD

FM

P tem

plate

desig

ned.

Fores

try Ac

t 201

4 - Fe

lling L

icenc

e app

licati

on

proce

dure

and f

ormat

is be

ing fin

alise

d pote

ntiall

y to r

eport

on tim

ber

inven

tory.

2.9Th

e curr

ent m

echa

nisms

of in

formi

ng th

e fore

st se

ctor a

nd

in pa

rticula

r fores

t own

ers w

ill be r

eview

ed, a

nd w

here

ap

propri

ate m

ore ef

fectiv

e init

iative

s and

mea

sures

will b

e put

in pla

ce in

cludin

g more

direc

t coll

abora

tion w

ith st

akeh

older

rep

resen

tative

orga

nisati

ons.

Cons

ider r

eferen

cing

owne

r data

base

and

impro

ved c

ollab

oratio

n be

twee

n com

merci

al an

d en

viron

menta

l

Ongo

ing di

alogu

e and

regu

lar m

eetin

gs be

twee

n sec

tor an

d DAF

M on

im

porta

nt iss

ues.

Prop

osed

prom

otion

al ca

mpaig

n with

secto

r usin

g the

FLAI

G for

um. T

he Te

agas

c prom

otion

plan

for F

orestr

y 201

7-202

0 ha

s bee

n prep

ared a

nd w

ill inv

olve c

ollab

oratio

n with

DAF

M Pr

omoti

on

Camp

aign a

nd th

e ind

ustry

.

The r

ecen

t COF

ORD

funde

d Iris

h priv

ate fo

rest o

wners

: The

role

of kn

owled

ge tra

nsfer

and s

ocial

netw

orks (

FORO

WN)

Proj

ect le

d by U

CD

lookin

g at u

nders

tandin

g the

exten

t of fo

rest o

wner

’ eng

agem

ent in

ma

nage

ment

and t

he fa

ctors

that in

fluen

ce it,

will a

ssist

in ad

dress

ing th

is St

rateg

ic Ac

tion.

2.10

The c

onve

rsion

of pl

antat

ions t

o con

tinuo

us co

ver fo

rest

(CCF

) will b

e sup

porte

d by i

nitiat

ives a

nd m

easu

res to

he

ighten

aware

ness

of an

d/ or

promo

te alt

ernati

ve si

lvicu

ltural

sy

stems

.

Work

ongo

ing to

addre

ss S

A.

Includ

e prov

ision

of gu

idanc

ePr

opos

ed ne

w W

oodla

nd Im

prove

ment

-Env

ironm

ental

Enh

ance

ment

sche

me. N

ative

Woo

dland

Esta

blish

ment

and C

onse

rvatio

n sch

emes

and

also A

gro Fo

restry

sche

me (c

lose t

o natu

re sil

vicult

ure sc

heme

) prom

ote

CCF a

nd pr

ovide

d for

unde

r targe

ted tra

ining

.

The C

OFOR

D fun

ded l

ow im

pact

silvic

ultura

l sys

tems (

LISS)

Res

earch

Pr

oject,

led b

y UCD

has r

ecen

tly be

en co

mplet

ed. T

he fin

al rep

ort

will a

ssist

with

this

strate

gic ac

tion.

The n

ew Te

agas

c-fun

ded p

rojec

t, Tr

anSS

For, w

ill buil

d on t

he LI

SS pr

oject

and f

urthe

r inve

stiga

te the

im

pact

of thi

nning

treatm

ents

on th

e tran

sform

ation

of pu

re Sit

ka sp

ruce

stand

s to C

CF an

d prov

ide an

asse

ssme

nt of

poten

tial e

cono

mics

, stan

d sta

bility

and i

mpac

t on d

iversi

ty an

d crow

n cov

er of

using

such

treatm

ents.

htt

ps://w

ww.te

agas

c.ie/c

rops/f

orestr

y/res

earch

/trans

forma

tion-o

f-sitk

a-sp

ruce-t

o-ccf/

Teag

asc p

romote

s awa

renes

s of C

CF to

relev

ant fo

restry

sta

keho

lders

and h

as re

centl

y pub

lishe

d a ne

w CC

F boo

klet (T

eaga

sc

Farm

Fores

try S

eries

19). T

eaga

sc B

allyh

aise C

olleg

e offe

rs a Q

QI Le

vel

6 mino

r CCF

Award

as pa

rt of th

e QQI

leve

l 6 Ad

vanc

ed C

ertific

ate in

Fo

restry

. Five

year

plan t

o con

vert p

art of

Oak

Park

to C

CF m

anag

emen

t as

a de

mons

tratio

n and

educ

ation

al su

pport

and f

or res

earch

purpo

ses.

2.11

DAFM

will e

ncou

rage t

he m

anag

emen

t of a

ll broa

dleav

es

includ

ing na

tive w

oodla

nds f

or tim

ber p

roduc

tion a

nd

where

there

is a

partic

ular c

onse

rvatio

n or p

rotec

tion

requir

emen

t, sha

ll, in

coop

eratio

n with

the N

ation

al Pa

rks an

d W

ildlife

Serv

ice an

d othe

r Gov

ernme

nt ag

encie

s, fac

ilitate

mana

geme

nt tha

t is co

mpati

ble w

ith su

ch ob

jectiv

es.

See 2

.10Na

tive W

oodla

nds E

stabli

shme

nt an

d Con

serva

tion s

chem

es &

Woo

dland

Im

prove

ment

-Thin

ning &

Tend

ing sc

heme

in pl

ace a

nd a

propo

sed n

ew

Woo

dland

Impro

veme

nt - E

nviro

nmen

tal E

nhan

ceme

nt sc

heme

. Sele

ction

of

seed

stan

ds an

d see

d orch

ard gr

ant s

chem

es to

impro

ve th

e prod

uctiv

e po

tentia

l of n

ew br

oadle

aved

woo

dland

s. Ap

propri

ate As

sess

ment

Proc

edure

s ass

ist w

ith co

nserv

ation

and p

rotec

tion o

f broa

dleav

es in

as

socia

tion w

ith N

PWS

and o

ther s

tate a

genc

ies.

The C

OFOR

D fun

ded p

rojec

t BSI

LVRD

Proj

ect, B

roadle

af Sil

vicult

ure

Rese

arch &

Dev

elopm

ent P

rogram

me, re

centl

y com

pleted

by Te

agas

c an

d the

LISS

Res

earch

Proj

ect, o

n low

impa

ct sil

vicult

ural s

ystem

s led

by

UCD

will a

ssist

with

this

strate

gic ac

tion.

The r

ecen

t COF

ORD

funde

d Ex

ploita

tion a

nd R

ealis

ation

of Th

inning

s from

Hard

wood

s (EA

RTH)

Pr

oject

led by

NUI

Galw

ay w

ith th

e obje

ctive

of de

velop

ing kn

owled

ge on

the

woo

d qua

lity of

Irish

hardw

ood t

hinnin

gs an

d ide

ntifyi

ng po

ssibl

e end

-us

e app

licati

ons a

nd ne

w pro

ducts

will a

ssist

in ad

dress

ing th

is str

ategic

ac

tion a

s will t

he S

uppo

rting H

en H

arrier

in N

ovel

Envir

onme

nts (S

HINE

) Pr

oject,

led b

y UCC

with

the o

bjecti

ve of

inve

stiga

ting o

pport

unitie

s for

the e

xpan

sion o

f the f

orestr

y tha

t are

comp

atible

with

Hen

Harr

ier

cons

ervati

on an

d diss

emina

ting t

hese

resu

lts to

stak

ehold

ers.

2.12

DAFM

to es

tablis

h a re

prese

ntativ

e Nati

onal

Fores

t Gen

etic

Reso

urces

Advis

ory G

roup t

o guid

e all a

spec

ts of

future

ge

netic

requ

ireme

nts an

d adv

ice on

the m

anag

emen

t of

reprod

uctiv

e mate

rial a

nd tre

e imp

rovem

ent a

nd br

eedin

g pro

gramm

es in

cludin

g form

alisin

g the

natio

nal tr

ee

impro

veme

nt pro

gramm

e.

No ch

ange

but re

feren

ce

clima

te ch

ange

in te

xtCO

FORD

has

recen

tly es

tablis

hed a

Fores

t Gen

etic R

esou

rce W

orking

Gr

oup w

ith re

levan

t obje

ctive

s and

term

s of re

feren

ce.

The C

OFOR

D fun

ded F

ORGE

N Pr

oject,

on th

e lon

g-term

optio

ns fo

r im

prove

d fore

st pro

ducti

vity a

nd tim

ber q

uality

in Ire

land h

as re

centl

y bee

n co

mplet

ed by

UCD

and t

he fin

al rep

ort is

being

draft

ed. T

he pr

omoti

on

of FO

RGEN

rese

arch fi

nding

s as a

pprop

riate

by D

AFM/

Teag

asc t

o farm

for

estry

secto

r. Tea

gasc

conti

nues

to pr

omote

the u

se of

impro

ved p

lantin

g sto

ck.


2.13

Integ

rate a

nd de

velop

the c

urren

t mon

itorin

g sch

emes

on

fores

t hea

lth an

d biog

eoch

emist

ry, cl

imate

chan

ge

mitig

ation

and a

dapta

tion,

biodiv

ersity

, nutr

ient s

tatus

and

phon

ologic

al ob

serva

tions

with

in the

NFI

frame

work

and

use t

hem

to as

sess

biod

iversi

ty, an

d mon

itor th

e imp

acts

of cli

mate

chan

ge, th

ereby

contr

ibutin

g to t

he im

prove

d futu

re

mana

geme

nt of

the fo

rest re

sourc

e.

Comp

lete -

Addre

ssed

unde

r NF

I acti

ons

Vario

us C

OFOR

D Re

searc

h proj

ects

will c

ontrib

ute to

assis

ting w

ith

this a

ction

. The

BIO

PLAN

Res

earch

Proj

ect, o

n Imp

lemen

tation

of an

as

sess

ment

and m

onito

ring p

rogram

me fo

r Irish

and B

ritish

fores

ts, le

d by

UCC

has r

ecen

tly be

en co

mplet

ed. T

his w

ill ass

ist in

reco

mmen

datio

ns

for th

is ac

tion.

The A

DAPT

Res

earch

Proj

ect, ‘

Avian

Dive

rsity

and

affore

statio

n Plan

ning T

ools,

’ also

led b

y UCC

has r

ecen

tly be

en

comp

leted

. The

final

report

is cu

rrentl

y in p

repara

tion.

This

projec

t look

ed

at the

risks

pose

d by f

orest

planti

ng to

vulne

rable

habit

ats an

d bird

spec

ies

in Ire

land,

and t

o ens

ure th

at for

est e

xpan

sion t

argets

are m

et wi

thout

comp

romisi

ng vu

lnerab

le ha

bitats

or bi

rd sp

ecies

. The

GEO

FORE

ST

Rese

arch P

rojec

t, loo

king a

t the i

mpac

ts of

fores

t clea

rfellin

g on t

he

Kerry

slug

(Geo

malac

us M

aculo

sus),

led b

y NUI

G ha

s rec

ently

been

co

mplet

ed. T

he fin

al rep

ort is

curre

ntly i

n prep

aratio

n. Th

e FOR

MARR

Re

searc

h Proj

ect lo

oking

at fo

rest m

anag

emen

t for th

e Fres

hwate

r Pe

arl M

usse

l (FPM

), led

by TC

D, ha

s bee

n com

pleted

. The

final

report

is

curre

ntly i

n prep

aratio

n. Th

e abo

ve re

searc

h proj

ects

will a

ssist

with

Int

egrat

ing an

d dev

elopin

g the

curre

nt mo

nitori

ng sc

heme

s on f

orest

healt

h and

biog

eoch

emist

ry, cl

imate

chan

ge m

itigati

on an

d ada

ptatio

n, bio

divers

ity, n

utrien

t stat

us an

d pho

nolog

ical o

bserv

ation

s. Th

e rec

ent

COFO

RD fu

nded

Irish

Land

Use

Emi

ssion

and S

eque

strati

on S

uppo

rt To

ol (IR

ISHL

ANDU

SES)

Proj

ect le

d by T

eaga

sc w

ith th

e key

objec

tive t

o de

velop

a mo

dellin

g cap

acity

to ex

amine

futur

e sce

nario

s for

agric

ultura

l gre

enho

use g

as em

ission

s and

carbo

n seq

uestr

ation

by fo

restry

in Ire

land

will a

ssist

in ad

dress

ing th

is str

ategic

actio

n. 3

Envir

onme

nt an

d Pub

lic G

oods

To e

nsure

that

affore

statio

n, ma

nage

ment

of ex

isting

fores

ts an

d dev

elopm

ent o

f the

fores

t sec

tor ar

e und

ertak

en in

a ma

nner

that e

nsure

s co

mplia

nce w

ith en

viron

menta

l requ

ireme

nts an

d obje

ctive

s an

d enh

ance

s the

ir con

tributi

on to

the e

nviro

nmen

t and

their

ca

pacit

y for

the pr

ovisi

on of

publi

c goo

ds an

d serv

ices.

3.1Th

e valu

e of th

e com

plete

range

of no

n woo

d ben

efits

to be

qu

antifi

ed an

d inc

luded

in a

revise

d Cos

t Ben

efit A

nalys

is of

the pl

anne

d affo

restat

ion pr

ogram

me.

Fores

t sec

tor to

liaise

with

Na

tural

Capit

al Ac

coun

ting

(NCA

) mov

emen

t.

Need

to co

nside

r hab

itat

value

pre-f

orestr

y

The p

otenti

al for

an E

nviro

nmen

tal Ac

coun

ting S

ystem

for fo

restry

will b

e inv

estig

ated.

The C

OFOR

D fun

ded E

COVA

LUE

Rese

arch P

rojec

t, ‘Va

luing

the

Ecos

ystem

Serv

ices o

f Fore

sts in

Irelan

d’ led

by U

CD ha

s rec

ently

been

co

mplet

ed. T

he fin

al rep

ort is

in pr

epara

tion a

nd w

ill ass

ist w

ith th

is ac

tion.

SEAI

is in

volve

d in r

esea

rch th

at ha

s rele

vanc

e, se

e info

rmati

on on

task

42

on bi

o refi

ning h

ttp://w

ww.ie

a-bioe

nergy

.task

42-bi

orefin

eries

.com/

en/

ieabio

refine

ry.htm

3.2

All re

levan

t prop

osed

EU

regula

tions

, EU

Direc

tives

and

natio

nal le

gislat

ion sh

ould

be su

bject

to ful

l stak

ehold

er

cons

ultati

on an

d Reg

ulator

y Imp

act A

sses

smen

t (RIA

) as p

er

RIA g

uideli

nes.

Legis

lation

in pl

ace i

n this

rega

rd an

d DAF

M wi

ll com

ply w

ith al

l relev

ant

requir

emen

ts.


No.

Origi

nal S

trateg

ic Ac

tion

Chan

ges R

equir

ed (S

ee

also m

inutes

of m

eetin

gs)

Prog

ress

and D

evelo

pmen

ts to

Date

Rese

arch

& D

evelo

pmen

t in S

uppo

rt of

Stra

tegic

Actio

ns3.3

DAFM

in co

llabo

ration

with

the m

ain se

ctor s

takeh

olders

to

upda

te the

comp

lete s

et of

envir

onme

ntal g

uideli

nes

with

priori

ty giv

en to

guide

lines

that

addre

ss w

ater q

uality

, fer

tilisati

on an

d biod

iversi

ty. In

the r

evisi

on co

nside

ration

sh

ould

be gi

ven t

o stru

cturin

g the

guide

lines

so th

ey

can b

e use

d eith

er at

fores

t dev

elopm

ental

stag

es

(estab

lishm

ent, t

hinnin

g, ha

rvesti

ng) o

r them

atica

lly to

deal

with

water

, biod

iversi

ty etc

. The

revis

ed gu

idelin

es sh

ould

be co

mpreh

ensiv

e, pro

vide c

larity

rega

rding

requ

ireme

nts

includ

ing bu

ffer z

ones

as ap

propri

ate, p

ermit p

roced

ures

and f

acilita

te co

mplia

nce o

f fores

try ac

tivitie

s with

the o

veral

l en

viron

menta

l regu

latory

frame

work

includ

ing in

ter al

ia the

W

ater F

ramew

ork D

irecti

ve (in

cludin

g high

statu

s wate

rs), th

e EI

A Dire

ctive

, the B

irds D

irecti

ve an

d the

Hab

itats

Direc

tive.

Need

for g

ood

base

line i

nform

ation

DA

FM to

comp

ly wi

th DP

ER gu

idanc

e on p

ublic

co

nsult

ation

A pub

lic co

nsult

ation

proc

ess w

as un

derta

ken f

or the

docu

ment

to rep

lace t

he en

viron

menta

l guid

eline

s as t

hey a

pply

to aff

oresta

tion.

A ran

ge of

COF

ORD

funde

d Res

earch

proje

ct res

ults w

ill fee

d into

thes

e en

viron

menta

l guid

eline

s and

requ

ireme

nts (S

ee S

trateg

ic Ac

tion 1

.13,

etc).

3.4DA

FM to

upda

te the

Cod

e of B

est F

orest

Prac

tice a

nd th

e Na

tiona

l Fore

st St

anda

rd to

reflec

t cha

nges

in th

e suit

e of

envir

onme

ntal g

uideli

nes,

chan

ges i

n bes

t prac

tice,

chan

ges

in the

regu

latory

and c

ompli

ance

frame

work

and a

s a m

eans

to

supp

ort co

mplia

nce w

ith th

e prin

ciples

of su

staina

ble fo

rest

mana

geme

nt an

d the

ecos

ystem

appro

ach a

s elab

orated

in

the 20

08 M

CPFE

(now

Fores

t Euro

pe)/P

EBLD

S joi

ntly

adop

ted P

an-E

urope

an G

uideli

nes f

or Af

fores

tation

and

Refor

estat

ion

Ongo

ing - a

waitin

g new

gu

idelin

esCo

de of

Bes

t Fore

st Pr

actic

e and

the N

ation

al Fo

rest S

tanda

rd (N

FS) w

ill be

upda

ted to

refle

ct ch

ange

s in t

he su

ite of

Env

ironm

ental

Req

uirem

ents

when

all E

nviro

nmen

tal R

equir

emen

t hav

e bee

n draf

ted an

d the

publi

c co

nsult

ation

proc

ess i

s com

pleted

.

3.5Th

e Iris

h Nati

onal

Fores

t Stan

dard

will b

e use

d as t

he

basis

for r

eport

ing on

the s

tate o

f Irela

nd’s

fores

ts an

d on

susta

inable

fores

t man

agem

ent.

see 3

.4 ab

ove

3.6DA

FM, in

colla

borat

ion w

ith D

oECL

G, th

e NPW

S an

d sta

tutory

bodie

s to d

evelo

p a gu

idanc

e doc

umen

t outl

ining

the

natur

e and

use o

f curr

ent e

nviro

nmen

tal an

d bes

t prac

tice

comp

lianc

e req

uirem

ents.

Ongo

ing - a

waitin

g new

gu

idelin

esIni

tial w

ork ha

s com

menc

ed on

this

throu

gh on

going

upda

ting o

f En

viron

menta

l Req

uirem

ents/

Guide

lines

. Rev

ised A

ffores

tation

and

Envir

onme

ntal R

equir

emen

ts ha

ve be

en dr

afted

. Work

ongo

ing on

furth

er

Envir

onme

ntal R

equir

emen

ts for

vario

us fo

rest o

perat

ions.

3.7Tr

aining

will b

e prov

ided t

o Fore

stry I

nspe

ctors

in the

first

instan

ce; a

nd its

rollo

ut to

fores

try pr

actiti

oners

will b

e co

nside

red as

appro

priate

, to en

able

the as

sess

ment

of ha

bitat

types

in af

fores

tation

prop

osals

.

Ongo

ing - t

rainin

g bein

g pro

vided

Initia

l train

ing pr

ovide

d to i

nspe

ctors

and p

ractiti

oners

in 20

15-20

17.

The S

ociet

y of Ir

ish Fo

rester

s with

fund

ing fro

m the

Dep

artme

nt ha

ve

upgra

ded t

heir C

PD sy

stem.

Fund

s hav

e also

been

mad

e ava

ilable

to hi

re

admi

nistra

tive s

uppo

rt and

this

post

has b

een fi

lled.

The a

im of

the C

PD

progra

mme w

ill be t

o inc

lude a

ll reg

istere

d fore

sters

as pa

rticipa

nts an

d all

organ

isatio

ns pr

ovidi

ng fo

restry

traini

ng an

d hold

ing ev

ents.

This

syste

m wi

ll be o

nline

and w

ill inc

lude a

calen

dar s

howi

ng up

comi

ng co

urses

\ev

ents

and t

he po

ints w

ill tha

t be a

warde

d for

atten

ding t

hem.

Fores

ters

will r

egist

er on

line t

o atte

nd. T

he C

PD B

oard

will s

et the

traini

ng ag

enda

for

the co

ming

year

to refl

ect th

e nee

ds of

the i

ndus

try.

The l

ist of

Reg

istere

d for

ester

s will i

nclud

e a co

lumn t

hat w

ill ind

icate

if the

fores

ter is

CPD

ce

rtified

. Reg

istrat

ion be

gan i

n 201

7.


3.8Pr

oced

ures t

o be d

evelo

ped b

y DAF

M for

Appro

vals/

Cons

ents

and L

icenc

es fo

r affo

restat

ion, fo

rest ro

ad co

nstru

ction

and

harve

sting

to en

sure

that a

ll app

licati

ons i

n and

adjac

ent to

Na

tura 2

000 s

ites a

re su

bject

to an

appro

priate

asse

ssme

nt pro

cedu

re.

Comp

lete -

asse

ssme

nt pro

cedu

res in

plac

eAp

propri

ate As

sess

ment

Proc

edure

s hav

e bee

n draf

ted an

d imp

lemen

ted

to en

sure

that a

ll app

licati

ons i

n and

adjac

ent to

Natu

ra 20

00 si

tes

are su

bject

to the

se pr

oced

ures.

Thes

e proc

edure

s can

be fo

und a

t htt

p://w

ww.ag

ricult

ure.go

v.ie/m

edia/

migra

tion/f

orestr

y/pub

licati

ons/

Fores

tServ

iceAA

PInfo

rmati

onNo

teMarc

h12C

ONSO

LIDAT

ED06

0312

.pd

f. Tea

gasc

advis

ors di

ssem

inate

inform

ation

rega

rding

the p

roced

ures

to rel

evan

t clie

nts w

hen c

onsid

ering

affor

estat

ion ad

jacen

t to N

atura

20

00 si

tes. P

roced

ures h

ave b

een d

evelo

ped f

or ap

prova

ls/co

nsen

ts an

d lic

ence

s for

affore

statio

n, for

est ro

ad co

nstru

ction

, harv

estin

g/fell

ing an

d ae

rial fe

rtilisa

tion.

3.9Ini

tiativ

es an

d mea

sures

whic

h aim

to en

hanc

e prov

ision

of

recrea

tion/t

ouris

m an

d lan

dsca

pe be

nefits

from

fores

ts wi

ll be

supp

orted

.

Ongo

ingNe

ighbo

urwoo

d sch

eme h

as be

en im

pleme

nted.

Prop

osed

new

Woo

dland

Im

prove

ment

- Env

ironm

ental

Enh

ance

ment

sche

me to

be in

trodu

ced.

Impro

ved a

cces

s thro

ugh f

orest

roadin

g gran

ts. U

pdati

ng of

recre

ation

an

d fore

st vis

it stat

istics

is be

ing co

nside

red by

DAF

M thr

ough

COF

ORD

Rese

arch c

all.

3.10

Base

d on t

he fin

dings

of a

Work

ing G

roup t

o be e

stabli

shed

by

DAF

M in

colla

borat

ion w

ith C

oillte

and r

eleva

nt sta

keho

lders,

intro

duce

guida

nce a

nd cr

iteria

for th

e ide

ntific

ation

and f

uture

mana

geme

nt of

peat

areas

curre

ntly

affore

sted w

hich a

re to

be de

fores

ted to

mitig

ate co

ntinu

ed

envir

onme

ntal d

egrad

ation

. The

Work

ing G

roup w

ill also

pro

vide c

lear g

uidan

ce on

futur

e affo

restat

ion of

peat

soils

.

Ongo

ing bu

t main

ly co

mplet

edA n

ew Fe

lling a

nd R

efores

tation

polic

y doc

umen

t has

been

publi

shed

. This

po

licy d

eals

with

the ex

isting

fores

t esta

te inc

luding

thos

e on p

eatla

nds.

Th

e new

env

ironm

ental

requ

ireme

nts d

ocum

ent a

lso de

als w

ith

affore

statio

n on p

eatla

nds.

3.11

Facil

itate

the co

st-be

nefit

analy

sis pr

oces

s for

identi

fying

the

most

cost-

effec

tive m

easu

res fo

r com

plian

ce w

ith th

e Wate

r Fr

amew

ork D

irecti

ve

Cons

ider a

ction

on

monit

oring

of w

ater q

uality

in

relati

on to

Nati

ve W

oodla

nd

Sche

me

The C

OFOR

D fun

ded C

ROW

and H

YDRO

FOR

Rese

arch P

rojec

ts wi

ll inp

ut int

o rec

omme

ndati

ons t

o sup

port t

his ac

tion.

The C

ROW

proje

ct loo

ked a

t com

bined

rese

arch o

n Ripa

rian w

oodla

nds.

The H

YDRO

FOR

projec

t inve

stiga

ted th

e effe

cts of

conif

erous

fores

ts an

d fore

stry

opera

tions

on Ire

land’s

surfa

ce w

ater q

uality

and a

quati

c eco

logy.

Both

projec

ts we

re led

by U

CD an

d hav

e rec

ently

been

comp

leted

.3.1

2Ini

tiativ

es an

d mea

sures

whic

h aim

to en

hanc

e the

wate

r an

d wetl

ands

bene

fits of

fores

ts wi

ll be c

onsid

ered u

nder

the

Nativ

e Woo

dland

Esta

blish

ment

Sche

me.

Expa

nd ac

tion t

o inc

lude

bene

fits fro

m aff

oresta

tion

and n

on na

tive s

pecie

s

Nativ

e Woo

dland

estab

lishm

ent a

nd C

onse

rvatio

n sch

emes

laun

ched

an

d the

prop

osed

new

Woo

dland

Impro

veme

nt sc

heme

- Env

ironm

ental

En

hanc

emen

t sch

eme t

o be i

ntrod

uced

. App

ropria

te tra

ining

for th

ese

sche

mes w

ill be p

rovide

d by D

AFM.

The C

OFOR

D fun

ded C

ROW

and H

YDRO

FOR

Rese

arch P

rojec

ts wi

ll als

o inp

ut to

supp

ort th

is str

ategic

actio

n.

3.13

Revie

w the

scien

ce be

hind t

he H

YDRO

FOR

report

ad

dress

ing id

entifi

ed ga

ps an

d upd

ating

findin

gs an

d rec

omme

ndati

ons a

ccord

ingly

New

Strat

egic

Actio

n add

ed

28-08

3.14

Fores

t Serv

ice (D

AFM)

to pu

t in pl

ace s

ystem

to no

tify

stake

holde

rs an

d reg

istere

d fore

sters

when

a ne

w do

cume

nt/rep

ort ho

sted o

n its

webs

ite

New

Strat

egic

Actio

n


No.

Origi

nal S

trateg

ic Ac

tion

Chan

ges R

equir

ed (S

ee

also m

inutes

of m

eetin

gs)

Prog

ress

and D

evelo

pmen

ts to

Date

Rese

arch

& D

evelo

pmen

t in S

uppo

rt of

Stra

tegic

Actio

ns4

Supp

ly Ch

ain To

furth

er de

velop

an ef

ficien

t, sus

taina

ble an

d en

viron

menta

lly re

spon

sible

supp

ly ch

ain th

at is

comp

atible

wi

th for

ecas

t volu

mes,

which

will e

nhan

ce th

e com

petiv

enes

s of

the pr

oces

sing s

ector

and i

ts wo

od pa

ying c

apac

ity to

fores

t ow

ners.

4.1In

cons

ultati

on w

ith st

akeh

olders

, DAF

M wi

ll dev

elop a

Na

tiona

l Rou

ndwo

od M

obilis

ation

Stra

tegy t

o imp

lemen

t im

prove

d effic

iency

and l

ogist

ics al

ong t

he su

pply

chain

fro

m gro

wer to

final

end u

ser, b

earin

g in m

ind th

e inc

rease

d vo

lumes

that

will n

ow co

me fro

m the

priva

te se

ctor; a

nd ta

king

acco

unt o

f bes

t inter

natio

nal p

ractic

e.

No ch

ange

- work

ongo

ingCO

FORD

’s Mo

bilisa

tion o

f Irela

nds F

orest

Reso

urce r

eport

, laun

ched

in

March

2015

, has

gone

some

way

towa

rds m

aking

prog

ress o

n this

actio

n. A f

ollow

up C

OFOR

D W

ood M

obilis

ation

and P

roduc

tion F

oreca

sting

W

orking

Grou

p was

set u

p to r

eview

and r

eport

on th

e rec

omme

ndati

ons

conta

ined i

n this

Mob

ilising

Irelan

d’s Fo

rest R

esou

rce R

eport

and t

he

Roun

dwoo

d fore

casti

ng sy

stems

. This

will a

ssist

with

this

actio

n. Ma

nagin

g Tim

ber T

ransp

ort - G

ood P

ractic

e Guid

e was

laun

ched

in 20

14.

Rese

arch o

ngoin

g on h

aulag

e rou

te op

timisa

tion a

nd ty

re de

flatio

n sy

stems

on fo

rest ro

ads.

The c

urren

t COF

ORD

funde

d MAR

TT

Proje

ct led

by U

CD is

deve

loping

a GI

S ba

sed a

greed

route

s map

for

susta

inable

timbe

r tran

sport

in Ire

land a

nd al

so a

mobil

e App

‘Rou

te Ta

gger

’. SEA

I invo

lveme

nt in

resea

rch. T

ask 4

3 of th

e IEA

bioe

nergy

TC

P de

als w

ith B

iomas

s Fee

dstoc

ks fo

r Ene

rgy M

arkets

, see

http:

//www

.iea

bioen

ergyta

sk43

.org/

is al

so re

levan

t.4.2

Carry

out a

natio

nal s

urvey

of cu

rrent

harve

sting

and

trans

port i

nfras

tructu

re ca

pacit

y and

iden

tify th

e futu

re

capa

city r

equir

emen

t in lin

e with

the f

oreca

st vo

lumes

and t

he

increa

sed t

hinnin

g volu

mes f

rom th

e priv

ate se

ctor.

Unde

rtake

surve

y of fo

rest

mach

ine m

anufa

cturer

s/de

alers.

Coll

ate w

ith C

oillte

da

tabas

e and

mac

hine

impo

rt data

.

See C

SO da

ta on

roun

dwoo

d harv

estin

g mac

hinery

impo

rts ov

er pa

st 10

ye

ars an

d trac

k in f

uture.

Pote

ntial

surve

y to b

e con

sidere

d by D

AFM.

4.2a

Conti

nue t

o use

CSO

mac

hine i

mport

data

to as

sess

mark

et co

nditio

ns fo

r the p

urcha

se an

d rep

lacem

ent o

f harv

estin

g ma

chine

s.

New

actio

n aris

ing fro

m 4.2

ab

ove

4.3DA

FM to

comm

ission

a de

sk st

udy t

o rev

iew th

e prac

tice a

nd

cons

eque

nce o

f lice

nsing

/perm

itting

of ha

rvesti

ng co

ntrac

tors

in oth

er Eu

ropea

n cou

ntries

to de

termi

ne w

hethe

r suc

h sy

stems

have

any a

pplic

ation

unde

r Irish

cond

itions

.

No ch

ange

No pr

ogres

s - st

ill und

er co

nside

ration

4.3a

DAFM

in co

llabo

ration

with

secto

r stak

ehold

ers to

supp

ort

meas

ures t

o add

ress s

ecuri

ty of

timbe

r in sa

les in

cludin

g the

us

e of te

chno

logy

New

strate

gic ac

tion

4.4DA

FM sh

ould

initia

te dis

cuss

ions w

ith C

oillte

and o

ther fo

rest

owne

rs to

deve

lop a

frame

work

to all

ow sh

ared u

se of

fores

t roa

ds fo

r fores

t ope

ration

s (se

e also

12.3)

No ch

ange

- awa

iting C

oillte

lic

ence

proto

col

The T

eaga

sc B

allyh

aise h

arves

ter/fo

rward

er co

urse w

ith in

clude

s a

harve

sting

simu

lator

could

facil

itate

a lice

nsing

/perm

itting

syste

m if

introd

uced

. 4.5

DAFM

, in pa

rtners

hip w

ith gr

ower

repres

entat

ive

organ

isatio

ns, C

oillte

and t

he fo

rest in

dustr

y, sh

ould

facilita

te the

deve

lopme

nt of

a stan

dard

syste

m for

timbe

r me

asure

ment

and r

emov

als.

No ch

ange

- con

sens

us fo

r na

tiona

l stan

dardi

sed s

ystem

Stan

dard

syste

m for

timbe

r rem

ovals

/sales

in pr

ivate

secto

r to be

furth

er

deve

loped

utilis

ing ex

isting

syste

ms in

cludin

g the

Fores

t Men

surat

ion

Hand

book

publi

shed

with

DAF

M su

pport

. DAF

M wi

ll look

to ha

ving

spec

ificati

ons d

rafted

for p

ropos

al.4.6

DAFM

to in

vesti

gate

meas

ures w

hich w

ill sup

port t

he ph

ased

de

velop

ment

of the

harve

sting

infra

struc

ture.

No ch

ange

- work

ongo

ing S

ome L

eade

r initia

tives

have

prov

ided f

undin

g ass

istan

ce in

the p

ast fo

r for

est m

achin

ery pu

rchas

e by g

roups

. CSO

data

on ro

undw

ood h

arves

ting

mach

inery

impo

rts av

ailab

le ov

er pa

st 10

years

prov

ide in

dicati

on of

ca

pacit

y and

thes

e will b

e mon

itored

annu

ally.

Teag

asc B

allyh

aise t

o es

tablis

h a ha

rveste

r/forw

arder

cours

e whic

h inc

ludes

a ha

rvesti

ng

simula

tor.


4.7DA

FM w

ill sup

port m

easu

res th

at en

coura

ge co

llabo

rative

ac

tions

to im

prove

econ

omies

of sc

ale am

ong f

orest

owne

rs.No

chan

ge - w

ork on

going

Fores

t Cert

ificati

on in

itiativ

e by D

AFM

being

prog

resse

d inc

luding

new

sche

mes.

Road

ing gr

ants

for co

llabo

rative

road

ing pr

ojects

have

been

int

roduc

ed. P

romoti

on of

Prod

ucer

Grou

ps th

rough

Teag

asc.

Natio

nal K

TG

sche

me fo

r fores

try in

clude

d in m

idterm

revie

w of

fores

try pr

ogram

me.

The r

ecen

t COF

ORD

funde

d Iris

h priv

ate fo

rest o

wners

: The

role

of kn

owled

ge tra

nsfer

and s

ocial

netw

orks (

FORO

WN)

Proj

ect le

d by U

CD

lookin

g at u

nders

tandin

g the

exten

t of fo

rest o

wner

’ eng

agem

ent in

ma

nage

ment

and t

he fa

ctors

that in

fluen

ce it,

will a

ssist

in ad

dress

ing th

is str

ategic

actio

n. 4.8

Supp

ort th

e eva

luatio

n and

testi

ng of

small

scale

harve

sting

eq

uipme

nt for

the t

hinnin

g of p

rivate

ly ow

ned f

orests

Poten

tially

inve

stiga

te the

requ

ireme

nt for

small

scale

harve

sting

eq

uipme

nt thr

ough

appro

priate

stud

y/res

earch

. Tea

gasc

will c

ontin

ue to

inv

estig

ate an

d prom

ote th

e use

of ap

propri

ate ha

rvesti

ng te

chno

logy

includ

ing sm

all sc

ale ha

rvesti

ng te

chno

logy.

4.9Su

pport

mea

sures

, initia

tives

and a

waren

ess-r

aising

aime

d at

achie

ving g

ood p

ractic

e in r

ound

wood

haula

ge.

No ch

ange

- work

ongo

ingMa

nagin

g Tim

ber T

ransp

ort - G

ood P

ractic

e Guid

e was

supp

orted

by

DAFM

and l

aunc

hed i

n 201

4. Re

searc

h is o

ngoin

g on h

aulag

e rou

te op

timisa

tion.

Sche

me fo

r fund

ing ty

re de

flatio

n sys

tems o

n fore

st roa

ds

due f

or lau

nch s

oon a

nd fu

nding

has b

een a

pprov

ed to

draft

infor

matio

n bo

oklet

on H

ealth

and S

afety

in Ro

ad H

aulag

e.

The c

urren

t COF

ORD

funde

d MAR

TT P

rojec

t led b

y UCD

is de

velop

ing a

GIS

base

d agre

ed ro

utes m

ap fo

r sus

taina

ble tim

ber tr

ansp

ort in

Irelan

d an

d also

a mo

bile A

pp ‘R

oute

Tagg

er’ w

ill ass

ist in

achie

ving g

ood p

ractic

e in

round

wood

haula

ge.

4.10.

In co

nsult

ation

with

stak

ehold

ers, p

rovide

supp

ort m

easu

res

and i

nitiat

ives t

o ide

ntify

the m

ost s

uitab

le rou

ndwo

od

trans

port r

outes

and t

heir c

o-ordi

natio

n with

Loca

l Auth

oritie

s.

No ch

ange

- work

ongo

ingW

ork on

going

on pr

eferre

d rou

tes w

ith Lo

cal A

uthori

ties i

n the

conte

xt of

the si

ngle

cons

ent s

ystem

for fo

rest ro

ad en

tranc

es an

d Fell

ing Li

cenc

e ap

plica

tions

. The

curre

nt CO

FORD

fund

ed M

ARTT

Proj

ect is

deve

loping

the

conc

ept o

f GIS

base

d agre

ed ro

utes m

ap fo

r sus

taina

ble tim

ber

trans

port i

n Irel

and a

nd al

so a

mobil

e App

‘Rou

te Ta

gger

’. More

work

is

requir

ed to

comp

lete a

natio

nal a

greed

netw

ork of

prefe

rred r

outes

.4.1

1Su

pport

mea

sures

to op

timise

the e

nviro

nmen

tally

efficie

nt an

d sus

taina

ble re

cove

ry of

harve

sting

resid

ues f

or en

ergy.

No ch

ange

but g

uidan

ce

requir

edLo

ok at

gene

ral G

uidan

ce N

ote on

mea

sures

to op

timise

envir

onme

ntally

effi

cient

and s

ustai

nable

reco

very

of ha

rvesti

ng re

sidue

s for

energ

y.Th

e ong

oing C

OFOR

D fun

ded F

ORES

ITE P

rojec

t led b

y UCD

look

ing at

Mo

nitori

ng an

d Ass

essm

ent o

f Criti

cal B

iomas

s Rem

oval

in Iris

h Fore

sts

will a

ssist

with

a str

ategy

for o

ptimi

sing t

he en

viron

menta

lly ef

ficien

t and

su

staina

ble re

cove

ry of

harve

sting

resid

ues f

or en

ergy.

Also,

the C

OFOR

D fun

ded F

ORES

TENE

RGY

Proje

ct led

by W

IT loo

king a

t Harv

estin

g &

Proc

essin

g Fore

st Bio

mass

for E

nergy

Prod

uctio

n will a

ssist

with

a str

ategy

for s

ustai

nable

reco

very

of ha

rvesti

ng re

sidue

s for

energ

y. Th

e fin

al rep

ort fo

r this

projec

t is in

prep

aratio

n.

5To

supp

ort th

e dev

elopm

ent o

f a co

mpeti

tive,

innov

ative

, va

lue-ad

ded a

nd m

arket

focus

ed w

ood p

roces

sing s

ector

wh

ich pr

ovide

s sus

taina

ble so

lution

s to a

dive

rse po

rtfolio

of

users

in th

e con

struc

tion,

lifesty

le, re

newa

ble en

ergy,

furnit

ure

and r

elated

mark

ets.

5.1DA

FM to

facil

itate

a rev

iew of

the w

ood p

roces

sing a

nd

wood

base

d pan

els se

ctor w

ith a

view

to im

provin

g lon

g ter

m su

staina

ble ro

undw

ood s

upply

from

both

the pr

ivate

secto

r and

Coil

lte, id

entify

ing ar

eas w

here

colla

borat

ion ca

n co

ntribu

te to

realis

ing in

creas

ed le

vels

of su

pply

from

the

priva

te se

ctor.

No ch

ange

- work

ongo

ingCO

FORD

’s Mo

bilisa

tion I

relan

ds Fo

rest R

esou

rce re

port (

March

2015

) ha

s gon

e a lo

ng w

ay in

prog

ressin

g this

actio

n. A f

ollow

up C

OFOR

D W

ood M

obilis

ation

and P

roduc

tion F

oreca

sting

Work

ing G

roup w

as se

t up

to rev

iew an

d rep

ort on

the r

ecom

mend

ation

s con

taine

d in t

he M

obilis

ing

Irelan

d’s Fo

rest R

esou

rce R

eport

and t

he R

ound

wood

forec

astin

g sys

tems

and o

utcom

es to

gethe

r with

revie

w an

d inp

ut to

Natio

nal R

enew

ables

Po

licy.

Work

is cu

rrentl

y ong

oing o

n upd

ating

the d

eman

d side

forec

ast to

20

20 an

d 202

5 to b

e com

pleted

in 20

17.


No.

Origi

nal S

trateg

ic Ac

tion

Chan

ges R

equir

ed (S

ee

also m

inutes

of m

eetin

gs)

Prog

ress

and D

evelo

pmen

ts to

Date

Rese

arch

& D

evelo

pmen

t in S

uppo

rt of

Stra

tegic

Actio

ns5.2

State

agen

cies i

nclud

ing E

nterpr

ise Ire

land w

ill sup

port

initia

tives

to ad

d valu

e, inc

luding

nich

e mark

ets, to

the

curre

nt ran

ge of

timbe

r prod

ucts

being

proc

esse

d and

to

the de

velop

ment

of ne

w an

d inn

ovati

ve pr

oduc

ts, in

cludin

g bio

fuels,

whic

h can

be m

anufa

ctured

from

exist

ing an

d futu

re

raw m

ateria

ls.

No ch

ange

- work

ongo

ingDA

FM w

ill liai

se w

ith E

nterpr

ise Ire

land i

n rela

tion t

o sup

portin

g init

iative

s to

add v

alue t

o the

curre

nt ran

ge of

timbe

r prod

ucts

includ

ing bi

ofuels

throu

gh

differ

ent fu

nding

prog

ramme

s suc

h as H

orizo

n 202

0.The

curre

nt CO

FORD

fun

ded I

rish T

imbe

r Res

earch

and I

nnov

ation

Cen

tre ba

sed i

n NUI

G wi

ll as

sist w

ith th

is aim

. DAF

M als

o prov

ides s

uppo

rt for

Woo

d Tec

hnolo

gy

Irelan

d whic

h prov

ides t

echn

ical s

uppo

rt for

the sp

ecific

ation

and u

se of

wo

od pr

oduc

ts in

cons

tructi

on an

d othe

r area

s. CO

FORD

has e

stabli

shed

a F

orestr

y and

Bio

econ

omy W

orking

Grou

p whic

h will a

ssist

with

prov

iding

inf

ormati

on to

addre

ss th

is ac

tion.

SEAI

is in

volve

d in r

esea

rch th

at ha

s rele

vanc

e in t

his ar

ea, s

ee

inform

ation

on ta

sk 42

on bi

orefin

ing ht

tp://w

ww.ie

a-bioe

nergy

.task

42-

biorefi

nerie

s.com

/en/ie

abior

efine

ry.htm

The

rece

nt CO

FORD

fund

ed

Explo

itatio

n and

Rea

lisati

on of

Thinn

ings f

rom H

ardwo

ods (

EART

H)

Proje

ct led

by N

UI G

alway

with

the o

bjecti

ve of

deve

loping

know

ledge

on

the w

ood q

uality

of Iri

sh ha

rdwoo

d thin

nings

and i

denti

fying

poss

ible

end-u

se ap

plica

tions

and n

ew pr

oduc

ts wi

ll ass

ist in

addre

ssing

this

SA. T

he re

cent

COFO

RD fu

nded

, Com

merci

alisa

tion o

f Irish

Cros

s-La

mina

ted Ti

mber

(CIC

LT) P

rojec

t, led

by N

UI G

alway

with

the o

bjecti

ve

of de

velop

ing th

e nec

essa

ry da

ta to

supp

ort th

e com

merci

alisa

tion o

f us

ing Iri

sh S

itka s

pruce

to m

anufa

cture

a cros

s-lam

inated

timbe

r mod

ular

floori

ng sy

stem

will s

uppo

rt add

ressin

g this

SA.

5.3

State

agen

cies w

ill sup

port m

easu

res ai

med a

t fores

t prod

uct

marke

t iden

tifica

tion a

nd ex

ploita

tion i

nclud

ing m

arkets

and

uses

for s

mall d

iamete

r hard

wood

s.

No ch

ange

- work

ongo

ingDA

FM/FS

has a

pprov

ed gr

ant a

id fun

ding f

or wo

rk on

the p

ropert

ies an

d uti

lisati

on of

home

grow

n hard

wood

s to b

e carr

ied ou

t in G

MIT L

etterf

rack,

Natio

nal C

entre

for E

xcell

ence

in Fu

rnitur

e Des

ign an

d Tec

hnolo

gy. D

AFM

supp

orts t

he Iri

sh B

ioene

rgy As

socia

tion’s

Woo

d Fue

l Qua

lity As

suran

ce

Sche

me an

d the

Irish

Timb

er Re

searc

h and

Inno

vatio

n Cen

tre at

NUI

G.

The r

ecen

t COF

ORD

funde

d Exp

loitat

ion an

d Rea

lisati

on of

Thinn

ings

from

Hardw

oods

(EAR

TH) P

rojec

t led b

y NUI

Galw

ay w

ith th

e obje

ctive

of

deve

loping

know

ledge

on th

e woo

d qua

lity of

Irish

hardw

ood t

hinnin

gs an

d ide

ntifyi

ng po

ssibl

e end

-use a

pplic

ation

s and

new

produ

cts w

ill ass

ist in

ad

dress

ing th

is str

ategic

actio

n. 5.4

DAFM

will f

acilita

te pro

jects

and m

easu

res w

hich l

ead t

o the

deve

lopme

nt of

more

reliab

le for

ecas

ting t

ools

and

metho

dolog

ies.

No ch

ange

- work

ongo

ingTh

e 201

6 COF

ORD

Roun

dwoo

d Prod

uctio

n Fore

casti

ng G

roup e

mploy

ed

Rems

oft so

ftware

to im

prove

forec

astin

g acc

uracy

in th

e 201

6-203

5 for

ecas

t. COF

ORD

Woo

d Mob

ilisati

on an

d Prod

uctio

n Fore

casti

ng

Work

ing G

roup w

as se

t up t

o rev

iew an

d rep

ort on

the r

ecom

mend

ation

s co

ntaine

d in t

he M

obilis

ing Ire

land’s

Fores

t Res

ource

Rep

ort. W

ork

on th

e Nati

onal

Fores

t Inve

ntory

(NFI)

is on

going

and t

he 3

rd cy

cle

was c

omple

ted in

2017

. Spa

tial ro

undw

ood f

oreca

sting

tool

has b

een

deve

loped

by D

AFM

to im

prove

regio

nal a

nd sp

atial

produ

ction

forec

astin

g an

d to i

mprov

e acc

ess t

o fore

casti

ng in

forma

tion a

nd te

chno

logy,

see

https

://www

.agric

ulture

.gov.i

e/rou

ndwo

odpro

ducti

onfor

ecas

tsyste

m/

GROW

FOR

Forec

astin

g Mod

els ar

e bein

g diss

emina

ted to

the s

ector

on

an on

going

basis

.

The c

urren

t COF

ORD

funde

d FOR

ECAS

TMOD

EL P

rojec

t led b

y Tea

gasc

ha

s the

objec

tive o

f impro

ving t

imbe

r forec

astin

g in I

relan

d. Th

e proj

ect

is ex

amini

ng fo

rest g

rowth

and m

odell

ing ai

med a

t impro

ving t

he pr

ivate

secto

r timb

er pro

ducti

on fo

recas

t by a

ddres

sing k

ey co

mpon

ents

of the

pro

ducti

on fo

recas

ting p

roces

s. Ho

w inv

entor

y and

man

agem

ent d

ata

from

future

man

agem

ent p

lans c

ould

be ut

ilised

as in

puts

to the

natio

nal

forec

astin

g sys

tem w

ill be e

xplor

ed. T

his FO

RECA

STMO

DEL P

rojec

t will

also p

rovide

furth

er inf

ormati

on on

acce

ssibi

lity of

priva

te pla

ntatio

ns an

d ma

nage

ment

inten

tions

of pr

ivate

fores

t own

ers in

orde

r to de

rive a

more

rob

ust m

anag

emen

t regim

e for

forec

astin

g. Als

o, the

curre

nt CO

FORD

fun

ded B

ETTE

RFOR

Proj

ect le

d by U

CD is

look

ing at

evalu

ating

and

refinin

g tim

ber fo

recas

ting t

ools

using

the N

FI da

ta.5.4

aFu

ture A

ll Irel

and F

oreca

sts to

prov

ide vo

lume i

nform

ation

by

main

produ

ct ca

tegory

New

strate

gic ac

tion

5.5DA

FM w

ill give

cons

iderat

ion to

supp

ort fo

r the s

upply

of

quali

ty an

d add

ed va

lue fu

els fro

m the

tend

ing of

broa

dleav

ed

spec

ies, e

spec

ially

where

this

involv

es lo

cally

orga

nised

pro

duce

r grou

ps.

No ch

ange

- work

ongo

ingW

oodla

nd Im

prove

ment

-Thin

ning &

Tend

ing sc

heme

in pl

ace.

Fores

t Ro

ad G

rant s

chem

e ava

ilable

. Tea

gasc

work

ing w

ith P

roduc

er Gr

oups

on

an on

going

basis

and c

ontin

ues t

o dev

elop a

nd pr

ovide

skills

traini

ng

and r

esea

rch ge

nerat

ed ad

vice t

o fore

st ow

ners.

Futur

e dev

elopm

ent o

f KT

G in

relati

on to

Woo

d Mob

ilisati

on. D

AFM

supp

orts t

he Iri

sh B

ioene

rgy

Asso

ciatio

n’s W

ood F

uel Q

uality

Assu

rance

sche

me.


5.6DA

FM, in

colla

borat

ion w

ith E

nterpr

ise Ire

land,

SEAI

and

secto

r stak

ehold

ers to

mon

itor th

e bala

nce b

etwee

n fore

cast

supp

ly an

d dem

and a

cross

the w

ood e

nergy

, woo

d bas

ed

pane

ls an

d saw

millin

g sec

tors.

No ch

ange

- work

ongo

ingW

ork is

curre

ntly o

ngoin

g on u

pdati

ng th

e dem

and s

ide fo

recas

t to

2020

and 2

025 a

nd is

now

comp

leted

. DAF

M/FS

is al

so w

orking

with

sta

keho

lders

and D

epart

ment

of Co

mmun

icatio

ns, E

nergy

and N

atural

Re

sourc

es on

the fi

nalis

ation

of th

e draf

t upd

ating

the B

ioene

rgy P

lan,

which

inclu

des w

ork on

the i

ntrod

uctio

n of a

SSR

H sc

heme

. COF

ORD’

s Mo

bilisa

tion I

relan

ds Fo

rest R

esou

rce re

port h

as go

ne so

me w

ay to

wards

ma

king p

rogres

s on t

his ac

tion.

A foll

ow up

COF

ORD

Woo

d Mob

ilisati

on

and P

roduc

tion F

oreca

sting

Work

ing G

roup w

as se

t up t

o rev

iew an

d rep

ort on

the r

ecom

mend

ation

s con

taine

d in t

his M

obilis

ing Ire

land’s

Fores

t Re

sourc

e Rep

ort an

d the

Rou

ndwo

od fo

recas

ting s

ystem

s.5.7

DAFM

in co

llabo

ration

with

Woo

d Tec

hnolo

gy Ire

land (

WTI)

to

unde

rtake

aware

ness

prog

ramme

for L

ocal

Autho

rities

on us

e of

timbe

r in bu

ilding

s and

fire r

isk

New

Strat

egic

Actio

n

5.8DA

FM in

colla

borat

ion w

ith W

TI an

d woo

d proc

essin

g se

ctor to

activ

ely en

gage

with

the c

onstr

uctio

n sec

tor on

the

promo

tion o

f incre

ased

use o

f timb

er

New

Strat

egic

Actio

n

5.9En

terpri

se Ire

land t

o fac

ilitate

an in

dustr

y led

disc

ussio

n and

to

poten

tially

scop

e the

requ

ireme

nts fo

r a C

entre

of O

perat

ions

Exce

llenc

e to s

uppo

rt see

d inn

ovati

on in

the s

ector

and t

o pro

mote

marke

t-led n

ew pr

oduc

t/sys

tems d

evelo

pmen

t

New

Strat

egic

Actio

n

6To

main

tain a

healt

hy fo

rest e

nviro

nmen

t throu

gh su

staina

ble

fores

t man

agem

ent a

nd ea

rly de

tectio

n and

contr

ol me

asure

s to

preve

nt the

intro

ducti

on an

d spre

ad of

harm

ful in

vasiv

e ali

en sp

ecies

, pes

ts an

d dise

ases

6.1A f

ull-tim

e Nati

onal

Deer

Mana

geme

nt Un

it (ND

MU) to

be

estab

lishe

d with

in DA

FM to

coord

inate

deer

mana

geme

nt po

licy d

evelo

pmen

t and

imple

menta

tion,

in co

nsult

ation

with

sta

keho

lders,

and t

o lea

d the

deve

lopme

nt of

a prof

essio

nal

deer

mana

geme

nt cu

lture

in Ire

land.

Leav

e acti

on as

is re

flecti

ng

cons

ensu

s of th

e mee

ting

Deer

Mana

geme

nt in

Irelan

d - A

Fram

ework

for A

ction

Rep

ort w

as

comp

leted

in 20

15. T

he Iri

sh D

eer M

anag

emen

t Foru

m (ID

MF) w

as

estab

lishe

d sho

rtly af

ter an

d inc

ludes

relev

ant s

takeh

olders

(DAF

M,

NPW

S, Te

agas

c, hu

nting

orga

nisati

ons,

farmi

ng an

d fore

stry s

ector

s rep

resen

tative

s, etc

) with

the o

bjecti

ve to

imple

ment

the re

comm

enda

tions

of

this R

eport

and d

eal w

ith or

mak

e rec

omme

ndati

ons o

n any

deer

rel

ated i

ssue

. A Fo

restry

and A

gricu

ltural

Impa

ct Gr

oup w

ill be e

stabli

shed

in

early

2017

for th

e purp

ose o

f kno

wled

ge tra

nsfer

, with

an em

phas

is on

man

agem

ent te

chniq

ues a

nd ac

credit

ed co

urses

aime

d at fo

restry

pro

fessio

nals/

land

man

agers

. (See

http

s://w

ww.ag

ricult

ure.go

v.ie/

fores

tservi

ce/fo

restse

rvice

gene

ralinf

ormati

on/de

erman

agem

ent/

irishd

eerm

anag

emen

tforum

/ ). D

AFM

in pa

rtners

hip w

ith D

CHG

have

ten

dered

to es

tablis

h a nu

mber

of De

er ma

nage

ment

units

in C

ounty

W

icklow

to co

ver a

three

year

timefr

ame T

he ai

m wi

ll be t

o help

man

age

deer

popu

lation

s at s

ustai

nable

leve

ls in

the gr

eater

Wick

low re

gion.


No.

Origi

nal S

trateg

ic Ac

tion

Chan

ges R

equir

ed (S

ee

also m

inutes

of m

eetin

gs)

Prog

ress

and D

evelo

pmen

ts to

Date

Rese

arch

& D

evelo

pmen

t in S

uppo

rt of

Stra

tegic

Actio

ns6.2

The N

DMU

to un

derta

ke a

natio

nal c

ensu

s of d

eer p

opula

tion

distrib

ution

and d

ensit

y and

base

d on t

his to

deve

lop an

ap

propri

ate cu

lling r

egim

e in t

he co

ntext

of a n

ation

al str

ategy

for

deer

mana

geme

nt, pa

rticula

rly in

fores

t area

s.

No ch

ange

- work

ongo

ingW

ork is

unde

rway

in th

is are

a; for

exam

ple a

hot s

pot m

ap ha

s bee

n pre

pared

show

ing de

er po

pulat

ion de

nsitie

s. Th

e COF

ORD

funde

d FO

RDEE

R pro

ject o

n the

use o

f fores

ts by

deer

in Ire

land w

ill also

assis

t in

deve

loping

an ap

propri

ate cu

lling r

egim

e. De

spite

sign

ifican

t num

bers

of de

er be

ing cu

lled e

ach y

ear (

12,00

0 in W

icklow

alon

e) the

fact

remain

s tha

t not

enou

gh de

er are

being

culle

d to m

aintai

n dam

age a

t acc

eptab

le lev

els. D

AFM

will li

aise w

ith th

e DMF

in ho

w the

Forum

will p

rogres

s a

natio

nal c

ensu

s of d

eer p

opula

tion d

istrib

ution

and d

ensit

y and

also

in

deve

loping

an ap

propri

ate cu

lling p

olicy

. The

estab

lishm

ent o

f a nu

mber

of

deer

mana

geme

nt un

its in

Cou

nty W

icklow

whe

re de

er ma

nage

ment

plans

will b

e dev

elope

d and

imple

mente

d sho

uld ge

nerat

e goo

d lea

rning

op

portu

nities

for p

rogres

sing a

cullin

g poli

cy an

d in c

arryin

g out

a dee

r ce

nsus

. 6.3

DAFM

to up

date

the fo

rmat

for th

e fore

st ma

nage

ment

plan

to inc

lude a

n ove

rall ri

sk as

sess

ment

(bioti

c and

abiot

ic)

and i

denti

ficati

on of

appro

priate

mitig

ation

and p

reven

tion

meas

ures.

Temp

late f

or HI

RA in

clude

d as a

nnex

to FM

P tem

plate.

Bas

ic sit

e risk

as

sess

ment

chec

klist

(bioti

c and

abiot

ic) an

d init

ial id

entifi

catio

n of

poten

tially

requ

ired a

pprop

riate

mitig

ation

and p

reven

tion m

easu

res ha

s be

en in

clude

d in t

he K

TG Fo

rest C

ertific

ation

Initia

tive.

Also w

ider K

TG

initia

tives

wou

ld pre

sent

a goo

d opp

ortun

ity fo

r fores

t own

ers to

learn

me

thods

of ov

erall r

isk as

sess

ment

(bioti

c and

abiot

ic) an

d ide

ntific

ation

of

appro

priate

mitig

ation

and p

reven

tion m

easu

res.

The o

ngoin

g COF

ORD

funde

d WIN

DRIS

K Pr

oject

on w

indthr

ow ris

k mo

dellin

g led

by U

CD w

ill ass

ist in

wind

throw

risk a

sses

smen

t. Th

e aim

of

the pr

oject

is to

deter

mine

the f

actor

s tha

t influ

ence

the r

isk of

wind

da

mage

and g

enera

te a m

odel

that c

an be

used

to as

sess

that

risk.

How

thinn

ing pr

actic

e and

fores

t des

ign in

fluen

ces r

isk w

ill also

be in

vesti

gated

an

d rec

omme

ndati

ons p

rovide

d as t

o how

to m

inimi

se ris

k. Th

e COF

ORD

funde

d MAS

AD pr

oject

on as

sess

ing Ire

land’s

risk t

o airb

orne s

pread

of

ash d

iebac

k dise

ase w

ith La

grang

ian st

ocha

stic m

odels

led b

y UCD

is

ongo

ing an

d may

assis

t in po

tentia

l iden

tifica

tion o

f app

ropria

te mi

tigati

on

meas

ures t

o red

uce t

he sp

read o

f ash

dieb

ack.

6.4

The F

orest

Prote

ction

Guid

eline

s and

Fores

try S

chem

es

Manu

al to

be up

dated

in lig

ht of

new

and e

mergi

ng th

reats

to for

ests

and s

uppo

rted w

here

appro

priate

with

publi

c aw

arene

ss ca

mpaig

ns an

d info

rmati

on ta

rgeted

at fo

rest

owne

rs, la

ndow

ners

and t

he ge

neral

publi

c.

Cons

ider n

ew ac

tion t

o ad

dress

lack

of de

dicate

d for

est e

ntomo

logist

and

fores

t path

ologis

t

Some

infor

matio

n on f

orest

pests

avail

able

on D

AFM,

Teag

asc a

nd

indus

try w

ebsit

es. R

econ

stitut

ion gr

ant s

chem

e for

Ash d

iebac

k is

curre

ntly a

vaila

ble an

d bein

g rev

ised.

Teag

asc a

nd gr

owers

orga

nisati

ons

activ

e in i

nform

ing gr

owers

of ne

w an

d pote

ntial

pests

and a

pprop

riate

mitig

ation

mea

sures

. Add

itiona

l infor

matio

n to b

e mad

e ava

ilable

with

pu

blic a

waren

ess c

ampa

igns a

nd in

forma

tion t

argete

d at fo

rest o

wners

, lan

down

ers an

d the

gene

ral pu

blic.

The C

OFOR

D fun

ded F

ORM

Proje

ct, Fo

rest M

anag

emen

t Res

earch

to

enha

nce p

roduc

tivity

and p

est c

ontro

l and

dise

ases

resis

tance

in ke

y for

est s

pecie

s has

rece

ntly c

omme

nced

in U

CD an

d will a

ssist

in dr

awing

up

futur

e Fore

st Pr

otecti

on G

uideli

nes a

nd in

mak

ing re

comm

enda

tions

on

the us

e of s

pecie

s and

prov

enan

ces w

ith pr

oven

dise

ase r

esist

ance

. The

CO

FORD

fund

ed M

ASAD

proje

ct on

Asse

ssing

Irelan

d’s ris

k to a

irborn

e sp

read o

f ash

dieb

ack d

iseas

e with

Lagra

ngian

stoc

hasti

c mod

els is

on

going

. The

COF

ORD

funde

d DAF

M PH

YTOF

OR P

rojec

t’s fin

al rep

ort

is in

prepa

ration

whic

h will a

ssist

with

detec

tion a

nd ep

idemi

ology

and

contr

ol of

Phyto

phtho

ra ram

orum

and P

hytop

hthora

kerno

viae.

The

COFO

RD fu

nded

WIG

S Pr

oject

in NU

IG on

the s

pread

of gr

ey sq

uirrel

to

the w

est o

f Irela

nd is

also

in fin

al pre

parat

ion an

d will a

id in

upda

ting f

orest

protec

tion g

uideli

nes.

6.4a

In lig

ht of

increa

sing b

iotic

threa

ts du

e to c

limate

chan

ge an

d glo

balis

ation

, DAF

M to

emplo

y ded

icated

fores

t path

ologis

t/en

tomolo

gist to

impro

ve de

tectio

n and

resp

onse

to pe

sts an

d dis

ease

s

New

strate

gic ac

tion


6.5Th

e curr

ent fo

rest fi

re wa

rning

risk a

sses

smen

t carr

ied ou

t by

Met O

ffice s

hould

be su

pport

ed. D

AFM

in co

llabo

ration

with

the

Loca

l Auth

oritie

s and

relev

ant s

takeh

olders

to pu

t in pl

ace

guida

nce,

in ord

er to

increa

se aw

arene

ss an

d red

uce t

he ris

k of

fores

t fires

, whic

h wou

ld fac

ilitate

a co-o

rdina

ted sy

stem

of fire

plan

s (inc

luding

deali

ng w

ith fir

e outb

reaks

) for fo

rest

planta

tions

and i

mplem

ent b

y 201

4 the

reco

mmen

datio

ns of

the

Land

and F

orest

Fires

Work

ing G

roup.

Cons

ider a

mend

ing or

new

actio

n to a

ddres

s iss

ues

aroun

d burd

en of

proo

f, lan

d eli

gibility

and t

rainin

g. No

te bu

rden o

f proo

f a le

gal is

sue

A rec

omme

ndati

on of

Land

and F

orest

Fires

Work

ing G

roup w

as

addre

ssed

by th

e pub

licati

on of

a se

t of g

uideli

nes t

o adv

ise fa

rmers

on

all as

pects

of co

ntroll

ed bu

rning

, inclu

ding p

lannin

g, sa

fety,

notifi

catio

n an

d the

lega

l requ

ireme

nts. A

‘Cod

e of P

ractic

e for

Pres

cribe

d Burn

ing’

was d

evelo

ped w

hich i

nclud

ed th

e pub

licati

on of

guide

lines

on co

ntroll

ed

burni

ng. A

colou

r cod

ed Fo

rest F

ire D

ange

r rati

ng w

arning

syste

m an

d the

ris

k ass

essm

ent n

otific

ation

by th

e Met

Offic

e are

in pla

ce. D

AFM,

Teag

asc

and g

rower

asso

ciatio

ns is

sue r

eleva

nt cir

cular

s on f

oot o

f this

inform

ation

wh

ich is

also

avail

able

on th

e DAF

M, Te

agas

c and

indu

stry w

ebsit

es.

Teag

asc i

n con

juncti

on w

ith th

e Fore

st Se

rvice

orga

nises

pres

cribe

d bu

rning

infor

matio

n day

s in h

igh ris

k area

s in c

oope

ration

with

othe

r org

anisa

tions

. The

Cork

Wild

fire C

o-ope

ration

Grou

p is b

een e

xpan

ded

from

one t

o fou

r Meit

heal

group

s, wi

th the

traini

ng of

key m

embe

rs in

conju

nctio

n with

the F

ire S

ervice

, with

a fur

ther tr

aining

even

t to be

org

anise

d in e

arly 2

017.

6.5a

DAFM

/Teag

asc t

o dev

elop a

nd im

pleme

nt a t

rainin

g pro

gramm

e for

priva

te for

est o

wners

on fir

e prev

entio

n and

co

ntrol

meas

ures

New

strate

gic ac

tion

6.6Th

e use

of sp

ecies

and p

roven

ance

s with

prov

en di

seas

e res

istan

ce to

be fa

voure

d in g

rant-a

ided a

ffores

tation

and

enco

urage

d in a

ll plan

ting.

No ch

ange

- work

ongo

ingDA

FM is

fund

ing tri

als in

the U

K on

Cha

lara r

esist

ance

in As

h. Ja

pane

se

Larch

and A

sh re

move

d from

the l

ist of

gran

t app

roved

spec

ies du

e to

disea

se ris

k.

The C

OFOR

D fun

ded F

ORM

Proje

ct, Fo

rest M

anag

emen

t Res

earch

to

enha

nce p

roduc

tivity

and p

est c

ontro

l and

dise

ase r

esist

ance

in ke

y for

est s

pecie

s has

rece

ntly c

omme

nced

in U

CD w

ill ass

ist in

mak

ing

recom

mend

ation

s on t

he us

e of s

pecie

s and

prov

enan

ces w

ith pr

oven

dis

ease

resis

tance

. Tea

gasc

also

invo

lved i

n res

earch

to fin

d Cha

lara

‘toler

ant’ a

sh (h

ttps:/

/www

.teag

asc.i

e/crop

s/fore

stry/r

esea

rch/as

h-res

istan

ce-to

-ash-d

iebac

k/) an

d res

earch

into

altern

ative

conif

er sp

ecies

to

enco

urage

a mo

re sp

ecies

dive

rse na

tiona

l fores

t esta

te.6.7

DAFM

to co

ntinu

e to i

denti

fy an

d ana

lyse f

orest

pest

and

disea

se ris

ks fro

m ab

road a

nd to

main

tain m

onito

ring,

bio

secu

rity an

d phy

tosan

itary

meas

ures t

o red

uce t

he ris

k of

entry

and e

stabli

shme

nt of

harm

ful no

n-nati

ve pe

sts, d

iseas

es

and i

nvas

ive al

ien sp

ecies

and,

depe

nding

on im

pend

ing

threa

ts, co

nside

r the e

stabli

shme

nt of

a Bio

secu

rity Ta

skfor

ce.

No ch

ange

- work

ongo

ingTh

e Fore

st Se

rvice

is re

spon

sible

for im

pleme

nting

the f

orestr

y asp

ects

of the

EU

Plant

Healt

h Dire

ctive

, Cou

ncil D

irecti

ve 20

00/29

/EC

on pr

otecti

ve

meas

ures a

gains

t the i

ntrod

uctio

n into

the C

ommu

nity o

f orga

nisms

ha

rmful

to pl

ants

or pla

nt pro

ducts

and a

gains

t their

sprea

d with

in the

Co

mmun

ity. T

he Fo

rest S

ervice

imple

ments

the p

rovisi

ons r

elatin

g to

timbe

r, woo

d pac

kagin

g mate

rial (p

allets

, crat

es et

c), fo

rest p

lants,

Ch

ristm

as tre

es an

d othe

r fores

t prod

ucts

and u

ndert

akes

surve

ys of

the

natio

nal fo

rest e

state

for qu

aranti

ne fo

rest p

ests

and d

iseas

es.

The C

OFOR

D fun

ded F

ORM

Proje

ct, Fo

rest M

anag

emen

t Res

earch

to

enha

nce p

roduc

tivity

and p

est c

ontro

l and

dise

ases

resis

tance

in

key f

orest

spec

ies ha

s rec

ently

comm

ence

d in U

CD in

asso

ciatio

n with

Te

agas

c and

othe

r part

ners

and w

ill ass

ist in

draw

ing up

futur

e Fore

st Pr

otecti

on G

uideli

nes a

nd in

mak

ing re

comm

enda

tions

on th

e use

of

spec

ies an

d prov

enan

ces w

ith pr

oven

dise

ase r

esist

ance

. The

COF

ORD

funde

d MAS

AD pr

oject

on As

sess

ing Ire

land’s

risk t

o airb

orne s

pread

of

ash d

iebac

k dise

ase w

ith La

grang

ian st

ocha

stic m

odels

is on

going

. Th

e COF

ORD

funde

d DAF

M PH

YTOF

OR P

rojec

t’s fin

al rep

ort is

in

prepa

ration

whic

h will a

ssist

with

detec

tion a

nd ep

idemi

ology

and c

ontro

l of

Phyto

phtho

ra ram

orum

and P

hytop

hthora

kerno

viae.

6.8

DAFM

/COF

ORD

to im

pleme

nt a d

ecisi

on su

pport

syste

m (D

SS) to

facil

itate

the se

lectio

n and

plan

ting o

f mos

t ap

propri

ate sp

ecies

in th

e ligh

t of th

e pote

ntial

impa

ct of

clima

te ch

ange

and t

o guid

e the

fores

t indu

stry a

ccord

ingly.

Comp

lete b

ut req

uiring

dis

semi

natio

nDA

FM to

conti

nue t

o sup

port t

he di

ssem

inatio

n of th

e CLIM

ADAP

T spe

cies

selec

tion t

ool a

nd an

y nec

essa

ry up

dates

. Diss

emina

te fur

ther in

forma

tion

on C

LIMAD

APT (

see a

lso 1.

17).

The c

urren

t COF

ORD

funde

d CFO

RREP

Proj

ect le

d by U

CD is

de

velop

ing ad

dition

s to t

he Iri

sh fo

rest c

arbon

acco

untin

g and

repo

rting

tool (s

ee w

ww.uc

d.ie/c

forrep

/) will a

ssist

with

this

actio

n. Te

agas

c res

earch

into

altern

ative

conif

er sp

ecies

to en

coura

ge a

more

spec

ies

divers

e nati

onal

fores

t esta

te (A

lterna

tive C

onife

r Proj

ect).T

he re

cent

COFO

RD fu

nded

Irish

Land

Use

Emi

ssion

and S

eque

strati

on S

uppo

rt To

ol (IR

ISHL

ANDU

SES)

Proj

ect le

d by T

eaga

sc w

ith th

e key

objec

tive t

o de

velop

a mo

dellin

g cap

acity

to ex

amine

futur

e sce

nario

s for

agric

ultura

l gre

enho

use g

as em

ission

s and

carbo

n seq

uestr

ation

by fo

restry

in Ire

land

will a

ssist

in ad

dress

ing th

is str

ategic

actio

n.


No.

Origi

nal S

trateg

ic Ac

tion

Chan

ges R

equir

ed (S

ee

also m

inutes

of m

eetin

gs)

Prog

ress

and D

evelo

pmen

ts to

Date

Rese

arch

& D

evelo

pmen

t in S

uppo

rt of

Stra

tegic

Actio

ns6.9

DAFM

/COF

ORD

to co

nside

r sup

port o

f field

scale

evalu

ation

of

non-c

hemi

cal m

easu

res in

cludin

g nem

atode

s, an

d sil

vicult

ural p

ractic

es an

d foll

owing

this

indica

te ap

propri

ate

meas

ures f

or the

contr

ol of

the la

rge pi

ne w

eevil

.

No ch

ange

- work

ongo

ingSe

e also

the F

orest

Rese

arch I

relan

d (FO

RI) r

eport

and c

urren

t rese

arch

progra

mme.

The C

OFOR

D fun

ded M

COP

Proje

ct loo

king a

t mult

i age

nt co

ntrol

optio

ns fo

r pine

wee

vil le

d by N

UIM

is on

going

and w

ill ass

ist in

indic

ating

ap

propri

ate m

easu

res fo

r the c

ontro

l of th

e larg

e pine

wee

vil.

6.10.

DAFM

to co

-ordin

ate ef

forts

acros

s the

fores

t sec

tor to

co

llabo

rate w

ith th

e NPW

S an

d othe

r orga

nisati

ons i

n the

ea

rly id

entifi

catio

n and

contr

ol of

invas

ive al

ien sp

ecies

wh

ich re

prese

nt a t

hreat

to for

est b

iodive

rsity

and e

cono

mic

deve

lopme

nt.

Nativ

e Woo

dland

Con

serva

tion s

chem

e gran

t aids

the r

emov

al of

some

inv

asive

alien

spec

ies. A

long w

ith H

orticu

lture

& Pla

nt He

alth D

ivisio

n and

the

Veter

inary

side,

the Fo

rest S

ervice

are D

AFM

memb

ers of

the D

AHG

Invas

ive Al

ien S

pecie

s (IA

S) S

takeh

older

Grou

p. Th

e NPW

S is

the le

ad

imple

menti

ng ag

ency

in re

lation

to IA

S. D

AHG

have

held

two o

f thes

e gro

up m

eetin

gs- t

he la

st on

9 Ma

rch 20

16. T

his gr

oup w

as se

t up b

y DA

HG w

ith re

gard

to the

imple

menta

tion o

f the n

ew E

U IA

S Re

gulat

ion.

The C

OFOR

D fun

ded R

HODO

Proj

ect o

n ach

ieving

effec

tive

Rhod

oden

dron c

ontro

l will a

ssist

in re

lation

to re

comm

enda

tions

on

Rhod

oden

dron c

ontro

l in fo

rests.

6.11

In the

light

of the

new

regula

tions

(SI 4

77 of

2011

), DAF

M to

cons

ider p

rovidi

ng su

pport

for th

e con

trol o

f rhod

oden

dron a

nd

other

IAS

in all

fores

ts an

d on l

ands

adjac

ent to

fores

ts wh

ich

act a

s a se

ed so

urce.

Whe

re ap

propri

ate, s

uppo

rt for

contr

ol sh

ould

be co

nside

red un

der th

e new

CAP

refor

m me

asure

s.

No ch

ange

- work

ongo

ingNa

tive W

oodla

nd C

onse

rvatio

n sch

eme p

rovide

s sup

port f

or rem

oval

of inv

asive

exoti

cs su

ch as

laure

l and

rhod

oden

dron.

Supp

ort is

prov

ided

unde

r the S

eed S

tand a

nd S

eed O

rchard

Sch

eme i

n the

man

agem

ent o

f Se

ed S

tands

whic

h inc

ludes

the r

emov

al of

IAS.

The C

OFOR

D fun

ded

RHOD

O Pr

oject

on ac

hievin

g effe

ctive

Rho

dode

ndron

contr

ol wi

ll sup

port

achie

ving t

his st

rateg

ic ac

tion.

6.12

DAFM

shou

ld ev

aluate

the o

ption

of lic

ensin

g the

cuttin

g and

us

e of rh

odod

endro

n for

deco

rative

purpo

ses,

espe

cially

in th

e are

a of ‘p

roof o

f orig

in’.

No le

gal b

asis

exist

s for

the cu

tting a

nd us

e of rh

odod

endro

n for

deco

rative

pu

rpose

s unle

ss a

new

SI is

intro

duce

d.

6.13

DAFM

to de

velop

and d

issem

inate

guida

nce o

n fore

st bio

secu

rityNe

w St

rateg

ic Ac

tion

6.14

DAFM

to de

velop

guida

nce o

n the

man

agem

ent o

f dise

ased

/pe

st inf

ected

crop

s e.g.

Ash a

nd C

halar

aNe

w St

rateg

ic Ac

tion

6.15

DAHG

/DAF

M in

asso

ciatio

n with

fores

t sec

tor st

akeh

olders

to

activ

ely co

mmun

icate

to the

secto

r reg

arding

IAS

and t

heir

poten

tial im

pact

on fo

rests

and t

he en

viron

ment

New

Strat

egic

Actio

n

7To

ensu

re the

avail

ability

of su

itable

prog

ramme

s of e

duca

tion

and t

rainin

g acro

ss th

e sec

tor an

d res

earch

prog

ramme

s tar

geted

at id

entifi

ed ne

eds.


7.1Su

pport

mea

sures

and i

nitiat

ives t

o esta

blish

an ov

erarch

ing

fores

t sec

tor bo

dy w

hich w

ill guid

e and

co-or

dinate

activ

ities

relati

ng to

rese

arch a

nd de

velop

ment,

traini

ng an

d edu

catio

n ac

ross t

he se

ctor w

ith a

focus

on in

nova

tion,

adde

d valu

e and

inc

rease

d com

petiti

vene

ss.

Ongo

ing - L

ittle p

rogres

sMa

ny su

pport

ing m

easu

res ha

ve al

ready

been

put in

plac

e as f

or ex

ample

, the

COF

ORD

Coun

cil pu

blish

ed in

Octo

ber 2

014 t

he S

trateg

ic Re

searc

h Ag

enda

for F

orestr

y in I

relan

d “Fo

rest R

esea

rch Ire

land (

FORI

) – m

eetin

g the

need

s of Ir

eland

’s for

est s

ector

to 20

17 an

d bey

ond t

hroug

h res

earch

an

d inn

ovati

on”,

which

give

s guid

ance

for fu

ture c

alls f

or res

earch

pro

posa

ls. In

the a

rea of

deve

lopme

nt, th

e COF

ORD

Coun

cil ar

e ad

dress

ing th

is thr

ough

the W

ood M

obilis

ation

Rep

ort an

d the

All Ir

eland

Ro

undw

ood P

roduc

tion F

oreca

st 20

16 -2

035.

With

rega

rd to

traini

ng th

is are

a is b

eing s

uppo

rted t

hroug

h the

Dep

artme

nt’s d

evelo

pmen

t of C

PD

with

the S

ociet

y of Ir

ish Fo

rester

s and

its w

ork w

ith th

e Fore

st Ma

chine

Op

erator

s Trai

ning G

roup.

Woo

d Prod

ucts

and S

tanda

rds ar

e bein

g ma

nage

d and

deve

loped

by th

e new

Woo

d Tec

hnolo

gy Ire

land g

roup.

(See

also

9.1 w

hich w

as pr

eviou

sly di

scus

sed)

Sinc

e 198

8 Tea

gasc

has

provid

ed vo

catio

nal fo

restry

educ

ation

and t

rainin

g and

rece

ntly a

cquir

ed a

harve

ster s

imula

tor an

d is w

ell pl

aced

to co

ntribu

te thr

ough

its ed

ucati

onal

progra

mme a

nd its

advis

ory an

d res

earch

prog

ramme

s.7.2

In ord

er to

increa

se th

e lev

el of

involv

emen

t of th

e fore

st se

ctor in

fund

ing re

searc

h DAF

M wi

ll exa

mine

the f

easib

ility of

the

secto

r part

-fund

ing na

tiona

l fores

t rese

arch.

DAFM

to ex

amine

mod

els fo

r fun

ding r

esea

rch el

sewh

ere

and t

heir r

eleva

nce t

o Irel

and

Refer

ence

to pr

ivate

secto

r fund

ing of

fores

t rese

arch i

s mad

e in s

ectio

ns

2.5.3

and 4

.3 of

the Fo

rest R

esea

rch Ire

land r

eport

(FOR

I). W

hile a

small

nu

mber

of res

earch

proje

cts ha

ve be

en jo

int fu

nded

with

the p

rivate

secto

r to

date,

it is

gene

rally

the ca

se th

at thi

s sup

port n

ormall

y com

es in

the f

orm

of Be

nefit

in Kin

d in t

erms o

f time

, use

of eq

uipme

nt etc

and r

arely

in the

for

m of

actua

l cas

h con

tributi

on to

the r

esea

rch pr

opos

ed.

7.3DA

FM w

ill eva

luate

the fin

dings

from

the 20

11 FT

EI tra

ining

ne

eds a

nalys

is for

the f

orest

secto

r and

issu

es ra

ised b

y the

Fa

rm S

afety

Partn

ership

Advis

ory C

ommi

ttee a

nd pr

epare

a p

hase

d imp

lemen

tation

plan

to ad

dress

prior

itised

need

s, inc

luding

comp

etenc

y bas

ed tra

ining

and c

ertific

ation

sy

stems

.

No ch

ange

- work

ongo

ingTh

e 20

11 FT

EI Tr

aining

need

s ana

lysis

was r

eview

ed as

part o

f de

velop

ing th

e fore

stry p

rogram

me 20

14 - 2

020 a

nd w

as re

cogn

ised a

s a

stren

gth in

the S

WOT

analy

sis of

the s

ector

. Mea

sure

7 of th

e prog

ramme

ca

lled K

nowl

edge

Tran

sfer a

nd In

forma

tion a

ction

s allo

cates

fund

ing to

ad

dress

the fi

nding

s of th

at rep

ort. T

rainin

g is

curre

ntly b

eing s

uppo

rted

throu

gh th

e Dep

artme

nt’s d

evelo

pmen

t of C

PD an

d its

work

with

the

Fores

t Mac

hine O

perat

ors Tr

aining

Grou

p. W

ood P

roduc

ts an

d Stan

dards

are

being

man

aged

and d

evelo

ped b

y the

new

Woo

d Tec

hnolo

gy Ire

land

Grou

p. Th

e Dep

artme

nt’s F

orest

Certifi

catio

n init

iative

will i

nclud

e rele

vant

certifi

catio

n sys

tems f

or gro

wers

group

s. Th

e Tea

gasc

educ

ation

al pro

gramm

e thro

ugh t

he Q

QI Le

vel 5

& 6

fores

try co

urses

prov

ide

comp

etenc

y bas

ed tra

ining

and c

ertific

ation

. Cha

insaw

skills

and p

estic

ides

appli

catio

n elem

ents

are al

ready

certifi

ed un

der Q

QI L5

and L

67.4

The w

ood i

ndus

try in

colla

borat

ion w

ith IF

FPA a

nd Iri

sh

Busin

ess a

nd E

mploy

ers C

onfed

eratio

n (IB

EC) s

hould

put

in pla

ce a

traini

ng pr

ogram

me, u

tilising

Skil

lnets

and o

ther

initia

tives

as ap

propri

ate, to

mee

t the n

eeds

of th

e woo

d ind

ustry

.

No pl

ans t

o imp

lemen

tAn

alter

nativ

e app

roach

to tra

ining

has b

een s

uppo

rted b

y the

Irish

Fo

restry

and F

orest

Prod

ucts

Asso

ciatio

n (IFF

PA) to

date.

This

includ

es

supp

ort fo

r the d

evelo

pmen

t of a

Fores

t Mac

hine O

perat

or co

urse a

nd

traini

ng co

urses

for fo

rester

s run

by Te

agas

c. Te

agas

c also

has a

fores

try

traini

ng pr

ogram

me in

plac

e, off

ering

QQI

Leve

l 5 &

Leve

l 6 aw

ards.

Includ

ed ar

e majo

r, mino

r and

skills

comp

onen

ts (ht

tp://q

searc

h.qqi.

ie/W

ebPa

rt/Awa

rdDeta

ils?a

wardC

ode=

5M34

25 &

http:

//qse

arch.q

qi.ie/

Web

Part/A

wardD

etails

?awa

rdCod

e=6M

4337

) whic

h are

review

ed

regula

rly th

rough

fores

try ed

ucati

onal

stake

holde

rs me

eting

s.


No.

Origi

nal S

trateg

ic Ac

tion

Chan

ges R

equir

ed (S

ee

also m

inutes

of m

eetin

gs)

Prog

ress

and D

evelo

pmen

ts to

Date

Rese

arch

& D

evelo

pmen

t in S

uppo

rt of

Stra

tegic

Actio

ns7.5

Teag

asc i

n coll

abora

tion w

ith th

e HSA

and o

ther p

ublic

bo

dies t

o heig

hten a

waren

ess a

mong

fores

t own

ers of

their

res

pons

ibility

rega

rding

emplo

ymen

t of c

ontra

ctors

and h

ealth

an

d safe

ty iss

ues.

Syste

m for

reco

rding

ac

ciden

ts an

d nea

r miss

es

acros

s sec

tor an

d usin

g les

sons

learn

ed to

impro

ve

H&S

practi

ces (

See n

ew S

A 7.5

a belo

w)

Teag

asc s

its on

the f

orestr

y HSA

subc

ommi

ttee a

nd th

ere is

HSA

rep

resen

tation

at Te

agas

c eve

nts (b

oth pr

actic

al de

mons

tratio

ns an

d inf

ormati

on). H

SA ar

e inv

ited (

and a

ttend

) Talk

ing Ti

mber

even

ts an

d othe

r for

estry

even

ts. Th

e Dep

artme

nt’s F

orest

Certifi

catio

n init

iative

will i

nclud

e rel

evan

t cert

ificati

on re

lated

syste

ms fo

r grow

ers gr

oups

. Und

er Te

agas

c’s

fores

try ed

ucati

onal

progra

mme a

spec

ific m

odule

is de

dicate

d to H

ealth

&

Safet

y (Fo

rest S

afety)

.Teag

asc F

orestr

y dev

elopm

ent o

fficers

prov

ide

advis

e and

guida

nce t

hroug

h site

visit

s, co

urses

, eve

nts, d

emon

strati

ons

and s

ocial

med

ia.

7.5 a

DAFM

to fa

cilita

te he

alth a

nd sa

fety (

H&S)

aware

ness

thr

ough

supp

orting

the d

evelo

pmen

t of a

syste

m for

reco

rding

ac

ciden

ts an

d nea

r miss

es ac

ross s

ector

and u

sing l

esso

ns

learne

d to i

mprov

e H&S

prac

tices

New

Strat

egic

Actio

n

7.6DA

FM to

cons

ider th

e pos

sibility

of su

pport

ing a

netw

ork of

for

estry

demo

nstra

tion f

arms.

Such

farm

s hav

e lim

ited l

ife.

May n

ot be

imple

mente

d as

drafte

d

Teag

asc h

ave a

numb

er of

well r

un fo

rests

that th

ey re

fer to

whe

n loo

king

for “b

est in

clas

s” ex

ample

s of fo

rest m

anag

emen

t. The

se w

ere us

ed in

the

Dep

artme

nts pr

omoti

onal

video

s for

fores

try. T

eaga

sc ar

e prep

aring

a pro

posa

l on d

emon

strati

on fo

rests

to pu

t thes

e fore

sts on

a mo

re for

mal

footin

g. Th

is wi

ll nee

d to c

onsid

er iss

ues t

hat m

ay ar

ise w

ith re

gard

to H&

S,

insura

nce c

over

and r

emun

eratio

n for

facilita

ting v

isits.

In 20

17, T

eaga

sc is

su

pport

ing th

e new

Farm

Fores

t cate

gory

in the

RDS

fores

try aw

ards.

The r

ecen

t COF

ORD

funde

d Iris

h priv

ate fo

rest o

wners

: The

role

of kn

owled

ge tra

nsfer

and s

ocial

netw

orks (

FORO

WN)

Proj

ect le

d by U

CD

lookin

g at u

nders

tandin

g the

exten

t of fo

rest o

wner

’ eng

agem

ent in

ma

nage

ment

and t

he fa

ctors

that in

fluen

ce it,

will a

ssist

in ad

dress

ing th

is str

ategic

actio

n.

7.7DA

FM to

main

tain,

in rea

l term

s, the

curre

nt lev

el of

State

-led

inves

tmen

t in fo

rest re

searc

h ove

r the c

oming

deca

de.

See 9

.1, 9.

2 and

9.4 w

hich w

ere pr

eviou

sly di

scus

sed.

7.8Na

tiona

l fores

t rese

arch a

nd de

velop

ment

priori

ties w

ill be

estab

lishe

d by D

AFM

in co

nsult

ation

with

the m

embe

rship

of CO

FORD

coun

cil, o

ther g

overn

ment

agen

cies a

nd

stake

holde

rs.

Comp

leted

but n

eed t

o rep

eat

This

has b

een a

ddres

sed b

y pub

licati

on in

Octo

ber 2

014 o

f the S

trateg

ic Re

searc

h Age

nda f

or Fo

restry

in Ire

land “

Fores

t Res

earch

Irelan

d (FO

RI)

– mee

ting t

he ne

eds o

f Irela

nd’s

fores

t sec

tor to

2017

and b

eyon

d thro

ugh

resea

rch an

d inn

ovati

on.”

7.9DA

FM, in

coop

eratio

n with

the C

OFOR

D Co

uncil

to ex

amine

the

feas

ibility

of es

tablis

hing l

ong-t

erm re

searc

h prog

ramme

s inv

olving

partn

ership

s betw

een S

tate a

genc

ies an

d thir

d lev

el ins

titutio

ns.

No ch

ange

- work

ongo

ingTh

is str

ategic

actio

n is s

hared

by D

AFM’

s Res

earch

Divi

sion a

nd is

ref

erenc

ed in

Sec

tion 2

.5.1 o

f the F

orest

Rese

arch I

relan

d Rep

ort (F

ORI).

Re

cogn

ising

the i

mport

ance

of a

long t

erm ap

proac

h to f

orest

resea

rch,

DAFM

inclu

ded a

Long

Term

Fores

t Res

earch

(LTF

R) In

itiativ

e in i

ts 20

14

call f

or pro

posa

ls. A

two s

tage a

pplic

ation

proc

ess w

as ad

opted

invo

lving

an

expre

ssion

of in

teres

t (EoI)

& su

bmiss

ion of

full p

ropos

als. A

large

co

nsort

ium w

ith w

ide ex

pertis

e suc

cess

fully

nego

tiated

stag

e 1 of

this

proce

ss. H

owev

er, th

e full

prop

osal

was u

nsuc

cess

ful th

rough

stag

e 2 of

the

proc

ess a

nd th

e prop

osal

was n

ot fun

ded o

n this

occa

sion.

DAFM

is

cons

iderin

g opti

ons i

n this

area

. Tea

gasc

has a

numb

er of

resea

rch pl

ots

that h

ave b

een d

esign

ed fo

r med

ium- to

long

-term

rese

arch.

Teag

asc w

ill su

pport

the f

acilita

tion o

f a lo

ng-te

rm re

searc

h prog

ramme

.


7.10

Ensu

re tha

t eco

logica

l and

envir

onme

ntal a

spec

ts of

fores

try

are ad

equa

tely c

overe

d in e

duca

tion a

nd tra

ining

cours

es.

No ch

ange

- work

ongo

ingEc

ologic

al an

d env

ironm

ental

aspe

cts of

fores

try w

ill be c

overe

d in

all re

levan

t train

ing co

urses

(see

7.3 a

bove

). Trai

ning u

nder

Nativ

e W

oodla

nds s

uppo

rts ec

ology

and w

ater v

alues

. KTG

initia

tives

will

assis

t in co

verin

g Hab

itats

Direc

tive a

nd W

ater F

ramew

ork D

irecti

ve an

d oth

er req

uirem

ents.

Und

er Te

agas

c’s Q

QI ce

rtified

fores

try ed

ucati

onal

progra

mme a

spec

ific aw

ard is

dedic

ated t

o Fore

stry a

nd th

e Env

ironm

ent.

Refer

ence

s to t

he en

viron

ment

and l

egisl

ation

are i

mbed

ded i

nto ot

her

relev

ant a

wards

such

as S

ustai

nable

Fores

try, S

ilvicu

lture,

etc.

7.11

The C

OFOR

D co

uncil

, in co

llabo

ration

with

fores

t indu

stry,

relev

ant S

tate a

genc

ies an

d sec

tor st

akeh

olders

to un

derta

ke

a rev

iew of

the S

trateg

ic Re

searc

h Age

nda w

ith a

view

to pri

oritis

ing ar

eas f

or inv

estm

ent in

rese

arch a

nd de

velop

ment

acros

s the

secto

r.

Comp

leted

but n

eed t

o rep

eat

This

has b

een a

ddres

sed t

hroug

h the

publi

catio

n and

laun

ch in

Octo

ber

2014

of th

e Stra

tegic

Rese

arch A

gend

a for

Fores

try in

Irelan

d “Fo

rest

Rese

arch I

relan

d (FO

RI) –

mee

ting t

he ne

eds o

f Irela

nd’s

fores

t sec

tor to

20

17 an

d bey

ond t

hroug

h res

earch

and i

nnov

ation

”

7.12

DAFM

and s

ector

stak

ehold

ers to

enco

urage

more

balan

ced

gend

er div

ersity

throu

gh ac

tively

prom

oting

fores

t train

ing an

d ed

ucati

on an

d care

er op

tions

New

strate

gic ac

tion

8Fo

rest p

roduc

ts, fo

rest s

ervice

s and

the m

anag

emen

t of th

e for

est re

sourc

e will h

ave a

stron

g, ma

rket-le

d, qu

ality

focus

.8.1

DAFM

to fa

cilita

te vo

luntar

y fore

st ce

rtifica

tion t

hroug

h the

str

uctur

e and

conte

nt of

envir

onme

ntal g

uideli

nes,

an up

dated

Co

de of

Bes

t Fore

st Pr

actic

e and

fores

t man

agem

ent

plann

ing sy

stems

, and

throu

gh ot

her m

easu

res, in

orde

r to

facilita

te ac

cess

to m

arket.

Ongo

ing &

certifi

catio

n sc

heme

s sho

uld be

en

coura

ged t

o mak

e fore

st ce

rtifica

tion m

ore vi

able

for

small

fores

t own

ers.

The f

orest

certifi

catio

n proj

ect h

as es

tablis

hed t

wo C

ertific

ation

Grou

ps to

he

lp fos

ter a

natio

nal c

ertific

ation

netw

ork. C

ertific

ation

temp

lates

have

also

be

en de

livere

d as p

art of

this

projec

t and

is ac

cess

ible t

o all.

Susta

inable

Fo

rest M

anag

emen

t Irela

nd (S

FMI),

forme

rly FS

C Ire

land,

was e

stabli

shed

in

2016

and h

eld a

succ

essfu

l con

feren

ce on

certifi

catio

n for

priva

te for

est

owne

rs. U

pdati

ng of

Env

ironm

ental

Guid

eline

s ong

oing -

Affor

estat

ion an

d En

viron

menta

l guid

eline

s draf

ted. C

OFOR

D FM

P tem

plate

unde

rtake

n. Up

date

of Co

de of

Bes

t Fore

st Pr

actic

e is c

urren

tly be

ing re

viewe

d by

DAFM

. Tea

gasc

is in

strum

ental

in th

e FSC

Irelan

d SDG

prop

osal

to FS

C Int

ernati

onal

and w

ill con

tribute

once

set u

p.8.2

DAFM

will e

ngag

e in a

nd su

pport

the d

evelo

pmen

t of fo

rest

produ

ct an

d othe

r stan

dards

of re

levan

ce to

the I

rish f

orest

secto

r.

Ongo

ingDA

FM pr

ovide

supp

ort fo

r Woo

d Tec

hnolo

gy Ire

land (

WTI)

whic

h pro

vides

tech

nical

supp

ort fo

r the s

pecifi

catio

n and

use o

f woo

d prod

ucts

in co

nstru

ction

and o

ther a

reas.

DAFM

supp

orts t

he Iri

sh B

ioene

rgy

Asso

ciatio

n’s W

ood F

uel Q

uality

Assu

rance

Sch

eme a

nd th

e Iris

h Tim

ber

Rese

arch a

nd In

nova

tion C

entre

at N

UIG.

DAF

M an

d othe

r stak

ehold

ers

are su

pport

ing S

ustai

nable

Fores

t Man

agem

ent Ir

eland

(SFM

I) init

iative

. Ma

chine

opera

tor tra

ining

cours

e at T

eaga

sc B

allyh

aise C

olleg

e will b

e to

City

& Gu

ilds S

tanda

rd. D

AFM

liaisi

ng th

rough

conta

ct pe

rson w

ith

Enter

prise

Irelan

d and

othe

r Age

ncies

with

rega

rd to

produ

ct de

velop

ment

and a

cces

sing f

unds

unde

r Hori

zon 2

020.

The r

ecen

t COF

ORD

funde

d Exp

loitat

ion an

d Rea

lisati

on of

Thinn

ings

from

Hardw

oods

(EAR

TH) P

rojec

t led b

y NUI

Galw

ay w

ith th

e obje

ctive

of

deve

loping

know

ledge

on th

e woo

d qua

lity of

Irish

hardw

ood t

hinnin

gs

and i

denti

fying

poss

ible e

nd-us

e app

licati

ons a

nd ne

w pro

ducts

will

assis

t in ad

dress

ing th

is St

rateg

ic Ac

tion.

The r

ecen

t COF

ORD

funde

d, Co

mmerc

ialisa

tion o

f Irish

Cros

s-Lam

inated

Timb

er (C

ICLT

) Proj

ect,

led by

NUI

Galw

ay w

ith th

e obje

ctive

of de

velop

ing th

e nec

essa

ry da

ta to

supp

ort th

e com

merci

alisa

tion o

f emp

loying

Irish

Sitk

a spru

ce to

ma

nufac

ture a

cros

s-lam

inated

timbe

r mod

ular fl

oorin

g sys

tem w

ill ass

ist

in ad

dress

ing th

is str

ategic

actio

n.


No.

Origi

nal S

trateg

ic Ac

tion

Chan

ges R

equir

ed (S

ee

also m

inutes

of m

eetin

gs)

Prog

ress

and D

evelo

pmen

ts to

Date

Rese

arch

& D

evelo

pmen

t in S

uppo

rt of

Stra

tegic

Actio

ns9

Polic

y will b

e imp

lemen

ted th

rough

ongo

ing m

onito

ring

and r

eport

ing of

prog

ress i

n con

sulta

tion w

ith st

akeh

olders

, an

d the

polic

y will b

e upd

ated t

o mee

t cha

nging

need

s and

cir

cums

tance

s.9.1

Estab

lish a

Fores

t Cou

ncil,

repres

entat

ive of

the f

orest

and r

elated

secto

rs, w

ith a

perm

anen

t sec

retari

at an

d thr

ee su

bordi

nate

comm

ittees

(a) r

esea

rch an

d sec

toral

deve

lopme

nt, (b

) sch

emes

and m

easu

res an

d (c)

envir

onme

nt, w

hich w

ould

have

the r

espo

nsibi

lity fo

r ong

oing

monit

oring

and r

eport

ing of

prog

ress o

n poli

cy im

pleme

ntatio

n ag

ainst

agree

d ind

icator

s of a

chiev

emen

t and

prov

iding

ad

vice o

n the

upda

ting o

f poli

cy an

d or s

trateg

ic me

asure

s.

No ch

ange

- prog

ress a

ction

to

be pr

ioritis

edUn

der c

onsid

eratio

n by D

AFM

9.2Es

tablis

h a Ta

sk Fo

rce to

cons

ider th

e esta

blish

ment

of a

stand

-alon

e gov

ernme

nt bo

dy or

agen

cy w

hich c

ould

have

the

respo

nsibi

lity of

addre

ssing

deve

lopme

nt an

d prom

otion

of th

e for

est s

ector

and f

orest

produ

cts na

tiona

lly an

d inte

rnatio

nally.

Th

e Tas

k Forc

e wou

ld rep

ort to

DAF

M thr

ough

the F

orest

Coun

cil.

No ch

ange

- no p

rogres

sUn

der c

onsid

eratio

n by D

AFM

9.3Th

e lev

el of

imple

menta

tion o

f the r

ecom

mend

ation

s from

the

BioF

orest

report

wou

ld be

asse

ssed

by th

e env

ironm

ent

group

.

As th

e vari

ous e

nviro

nmen

tal re

quire

ments

are r

olled

out, s

tartin

g with

aff

oresta

tion,

the ap

propri

ate re

comm

enda

tions

in th

e BIO

FORE

ST re

port

will b

e inc

orpora

ted in

to the

se re

quire

ments

.9.4

The F

orest

Servi

ce to

publi

sh fiv

e yea

r and

annu

al bu

sines

s pla

ns w

hich c

learly

set o

ut the

work

prog

ramme

for th

e co

ming

perio

d, ind

icator

s of a

chiev

emen

t and

the f

undin

g arr

ange

ments

.

No ch

ange

- acti

ons o

ngoin

g on

5 ye

ar cy

cleFo

restry

prog

ramme

2014

-202

0 add

resse

s this

actio

n.

9.5DA

FM to

liaise

with

the E

PA to

ensu

re tha

t the B

ioFore

st rep

orts (

2006

) find

ings a

nd re

comm

enda

tions

are u

pdate

d an

d inc

lude f

orestr

y exp

ertise

New

Strat

egic

Actio

n

10To

supp

ort th

e dev

elopm

ent o

f the f

orest

secto

r throu

gh a

comb

inatio

n of fu

nding

and fi

scal

arran

geme

nts in

cludin

g joi

nt EU

fund

ing, d

irect

State

fund

ing an

d fac

ilitatin

g priv

ate

inves

tmen

t.10

.1Th

e tax

treatm

ent o

f fores

try sh

ould

be ex

amine

d tak

ing

into a

ccou

nt the

timing

and s

cale

of tim

ber r

even

ues a

nd

refore

statio

n cos

ts to

ensu

re tha

t tax t

reatm

ent d

oes n

ot ac

t as

a dis

incen

tive f

or the

achie

veme

nt of

natio

nal p

olicy

goals

in

partic

ular fo

rest c

over,

roun

dwoo

d sup

ply to

indu

stry a

nd

clima

te ch

ange

mitig

ation

.

Ongo

ing -S

ee ne

w SA

10.7

below

Remo

val o

f the h

igh in

come

thres

hold

in Bu

dget

2016

for th

ose a

ctive

in

fores

try ha

s add

resse

d a m

ajor ta

xatio

n iss

ue.


10.2

The r

ecom

mend

ation

s of th

e rev

iew of

tax s

chem

es

(Dep

artme

nt of

Finan

ce 20

06) a

nd th

e Com

miss

ion on

Ta

xatio

n (20

09) in

relat

ion to

thres

holds

to be

imple

mente

d.

Comp

leted

Remo

val o

f the h

igh in

come

thres

hold

in Bu

dget

2016

for th

ose a

ctive

in

fores

try ha

s add

resse

d the

taxa

tion i

ssue

.

10.3

DAFM

to ex

plore

finan

cial a

nd fu

nding

mec

hanis

ms to

en

coura

ge a

greate

r leve

l of in

stitut

ional

inves

tmen

t in

affore

statio

n and

in m

obilis

ing w

ood s

upply

from

the ex

isting

pri

vate

fores

t esta

te.

Ongo

ingPr

ogres

s bein

g mad

e in t

his ar

ea as

a res

ult of

sing

le pre

mium

and f

orest

inves

tmen

t veh

icles

.

10.4

DAFM

and t

he Fo

rest S

ervice

to w

ork w

ith C

oillte

and o

ther

bodie

s to e

xplor

e the

viab

ility an

d cos

t of a

natio

nal c

arbon

-ba

sed a

ffores

tation

sche

me.

No ch

ange

- work

ongo

ingNe

wERA

have

done

some

work

on th

e UK

Carbo

n Cod

e with

the U

K Fo

restry

Com

miss

ion an

d this

work

is on

going

.

10.5

Gove

rnmen

t to ex

amine

poss

ibility

of m

ulti-a

nnua

l fund

ing fo

r aff

oresta

tion a

nd fo

rest ro

ad sc

heme

s.Co

mplet

edFo

restry

prog

ramme

2014

-202

0 add

resse

s this

actio

n

10.6

DAFM

to ex

amine

the f

easib

ility of

co-fu

nding

the a

ffores

tation

pro

gramm

e and

supp

ort m

easu

res un

der th

e Rura

l De

velop

ment

Regu

lation

.

Comp

leted

Decis

ion ta

ken a

t a se

nior le

vel w

ithin

the D

epart

ment

that th

e Fore

stry

Prog

ramme

wou

ld be

100%

finan

ced t

hroug

h the

exch

eque

r.

10.7

Harm

onise

the t

ax tre

atmen

t of fo

restry

and a

gricu

lture

reg

arding

eligi

bility

for r

etirem

ent re

lief (C

GT) a

nd bu

sines

s rel

ief (C

AT)

New

Strat

egic

Actio

nRe

venu

e eBr

ief N

o. 06

/18 da

ted 10

th Janu

ary ha

s help

ed to

clari

fy the

po

sition

rega

rding

eligi

bility

for r

etirem

ent re

lief

11To

ensu

re tha

t fores

t relat

ed le

gislat

ion is

relev

ant to

the n

eeds

of

the se

ctor a

nd un

derpi

ns th

e prin

ciples

of su

staina

ble fo

rest

mana

geme

nt wh

ile re

cogn

ising

the m

ultifu

nctio

nal n

ature

of for

estry

.11

.1DA

FM to

addre

ss im

pleme

ntatio

n of P

lannin

g and

De

velop

ment

Act in

line w

ith S

trateg

ic Ac

tion 2

.7.On

going

- Awa

iting l

egisl

ation

DAFM

in co

mmun

icatio

ns w

ith D

epart

ment

of Ho

using

, Plan

ning a

nd Lo

cal

Gove

rnmen

t on a

sing

le co

nsen

t sys

tem fo

r fores

t entr

ance

s.11

.2DA

FM to

ensu

re tha

t the F

orestr

y Bill i

nclud

es pr

ovisi

on

for fo

rest m

anag

emen

t plan

s and

their

use f

or sim

plifie

d pe

rmitti

ng pr

oced

ures f

or the

unde

rtakin

g of fo

rest o

perat

ions

includ

ing th

inning

, clea

rfellin

g and

rege

nerat

ive fe

llings

.

Comp

leted

Unde

r sec

tion 1

0 of th

e Fore

st Ac

t 201

4, pro

vision

s were

intro

duce

d tha

t giv

e the

Mini

ster p

owers

to re

quire

an ow

ner o

f a fo

rest t

o sub

mit a

fores

t ma

nage

ment

plan.

The A

ct in

itself

howe

ver d

oes n

ot ma

ke it

mand

atory

for fo

rest o

wners

to pr

epare

a for

est m

anag

emen

t plan

even

in th

e co

ntext

of su

bmitti

ng an

appli

catio

n for

a fell

ing lic

ence

. The

Cofo

rd Fo

rest

Mana

geme

nt Pla

nning

Grou

p, wh

ich in

clude

d rep

resen

tative

s from

acros

s the

fores

t sec

tor, h

ave d

evelo

ped a

fores

t man

agem

ent p

lan te

mplat

e. Ho

weve

r, it is

wort

h noti

ng th

at the

subm

ission

of a

FMP

in su

pport

of a

fellin

g lice

nce a

pplic

ation

is no

t a m

anda

tory r

equir

emen

t.11

.3DA

FM to

ensu

re tha

t the F

orestr

y Bill p

rovide

s for

a tra

nspa

rent a

nd in

depe

nden

t app

eals

proce

dure.

Comp

leted

New

Appe

als st

ructur

e is p

rovide

d for

withi

n the

Fores

try Ac

t 201

4.


No.

Origi

nal S

trateg

ic Ac

tion

Chan

ges R

equir

ed (S

ee

also m

inutes

of m

eetin

gs)

Prog

ress

and D

evelo

pmen

ts to

Date

Rese

arch

& D

evelo

pmen

t in S

uppo

rt of

Stra

tegic

Actio

ns11

.4DA

FM to

inclu

de pr

ovisi

ons i

n the

Fores

try B

ill for

a more

fle

xible

appro

ach t

o the

remo

val o

f area

s from

fores

try to

othe

r lan

d use

type

s.

New

Fores

try Ac

t co

mmen

ced w

ith on

ly lim

ited

flexib

ility

This

posit

ion w

as re

viewe

d by t

he D

epart

ment

in the

conte

xt of

recen

t pro

posa

ls by

the E

U Co

mmiss

ion on

clim

ate ch

ange

to 20

30 an

d the

De

partm

ent’s

posit

ion is

to co

ntinu

e with

the p

olicy

of re

planti

ng as

a co

nditio

n of a

fellin

g lice

nce.

The n

ew Fo

restry

Act w

as co

mmen

ced l

ast

May a

nd in

clude

s prov

ision

s tha

t allo

w de

fores

tation

but o

nly un

der s

pecia

l lic

ence

, i.e.

the co

nvers

ion of

fores

t land

to ot

her la

nd us

e typ

es. D

AFM

polic

y is t

o inc

rease

the a

rea of

fores

t from

10.5%

to 18

% by

2046

, throu

gh

the re

fores

tation

of ex

isting

fores

t land

s and

affor

estat

ion. In

line w

ith th

is lon

g-term

aim,

it is

vital

that D

AFM

maint

ain a

robus

t repla

nting

polic

y.

Whe

re de

fores

tation

is lic

ense

d by D

AFM

it is i

mport

ant th

at alt

ernati

ve

lands

are a

ffores

ted to

repla

ce th

e fore

st are

a bein

g los

t.11

.5DA

FM to

ensu

re tha

t the i

mplem

entin

g leg

islati

on fo

r the E

U Tim

ber R

egula

tion t

akes

full a

ccou

nt of

fores

t cert

ificati

on an

d ch

ain of

custo

dy an

d doe

s not

adve

rsely

impa

ct on

the w

ood

payin

g cap

acity

with

in the

secto

r.

Comp

leted

The i

mport

ance

of ce

rtifica

tion a

nd ch

ain of

custo

dy w

as hi

ghlig

hted b

y Ire

land d

uring

the d

raftin

g stag

es of

the E

UTR

Regu

lation

s and

this

has

been

refle

cted i

n the

final

draft.

Nati

onal

imple

menti

ng le

gislat

ion w

as

introd

uced

in m

id 20

14 –

SI N

O 31

6 of 2

014.

This

solel

y con

centr

ates

on th

e des

ignati

on of

Irelan

d’s E

UTR

Comp

etent

Autho

rity, o

ffenc

es,

pena

lties,

autho

rised

offic

ers, c

ompli

ance

notic

es, fi

xed p

enalt

y noti

ces,

appe

als, w

arran

ts an

d proc

eedin

gs et

c. Th

is leg

islati

on w

as de

velop

ed

unde

r the g

uidan

ce an

d in c

onjun

ction

with

Lega

l Serv

ices D

ivisio

n and

the

Parl

iamen

tary D

raugh

tsman

’s Of

fice.

DAF

M as

Com

peten

t Auth

ority

will c

ontin

ue to

imple

ment

the E

UTR

in a f

air m

anne

r app

lying

a ris

k bas

ed

appro

ach w

hich p

rimari

ly foc

uses

on pr

oduc

t from

high

risk s

ource

s.12

Coillte

to w

ork in

co-op

eratio

n with

the i

ndus

try an

d the

pri

vate

growi

ng se

ctor in

deve

loping

a via

ble an

d com

petiti

ve

harve

sting

capa

bility

whic

h will m

eet th

e nee

ds of

the o

veral

l se

ctor. A

ny si

gnific

ant d

evelo

pmen

ts in

harve

sting

syste

ms

shou

ld be

imple

mente

d in a

co-or

dinate

d man

ner w

ith al

l pa

rties t

o ens

ure a

stron

g and

comp

etitiv

e nati

onal

harve

sting

inf

rastru

cture.

12.1

Coillte

to w

ork in

co-op

eratio

n with

the i

ndus

try an

d the

pri

vate

growi

ng se

ctor in

deve

loping

a via

ble an

d com

petiti

ve

harve

sting

capa

bility

whic

h will m

eet th

e nee

ds of

the o

veral

l se

ctor. A

ny si

gnific

ant d

evelo

pmen

ts in

harve

sting

syste

ms

shou

ld be

imple

mente

d in a

co-or

dinate

d man

ner w

ith al

l pa

rties t

o ens

ure a

stron

g and

comp

etitiv

e nati

onal

harve

sting

inf

rastru

cture.

See a

ction

4.2

New

COFO

RD W

ood M

obilis

ation

Grou

p esta

blish

ed to

assis

t in

imple

menti

ng m

obilis

ation

repo

rt rec

omme

ndati

ons.

12.2

Coillte

to w

ork in

co-op

eratio

n with

othe

r indu

stry p

layers

to

reduc

e sup

ply ch

ain co

sts. C

oillte

toge

ther w

ith pr

ivate

owne

rs, th

e fore

st ind

ustry

and s

takeh

olders

shou

ld fac

ilitate

the de

velop

ment

of a s

tanda

rd sy

stem

for tim

ber

meas

ureme

nt an

d rem

ovals

.

No ch

ange

- con

sens

us fo

r na

tiona

l sys

temCo

illte is

work

ing w

ith a

serie

s of i

ndus

try pa

rtners

to de

velop

inno

vativ

e me

thods

of tra

cking

and c

oordi

natin

g tim

ber h

arves

ting a

nd re

mova

ls by

ele

ctron

ic me

ans.

Eleme

nts ar

e now

opera

tiona

l suc

h as e

lectro

nic do

ckets

(el

imina

ting n

eed f

or pa

per d

ocke

ts) an

d sma

rt tim

ber s

ecuri

ty sy

stem.

12.2a

Estab

lish a

COF

ORD

initia

tive t

o prog

ress a

natio

nal s

tanda

rd

syste

m for

timbe

r mea

surem

ent a

nd re

mova

lsNe

w str

ategic

actio

n


12.3

In co

njunc

tion w

ith S

trateg

ic Ac

tion 4

.4, C

oillte

, as a

n own

er of

publi

c lan

ds, to

imple

ment

initia

tives

to pr

ogres

s co-o

perat

ion

with

priva

te gro

wers

in fac

ilitatin

g acc

ess t

o priv

ate fo

rest

areas

for h

arves

ting.

Coillte

and p

rivate

grow

ers to

deve

lop

a fram

ework

to al

low sh

ared u

se of

fores

t road

s for

fores

t op

eratio

ns

No ch

ange

- awa

iting C

oillte

lic

ence

proto

col

Simila

r to re

comm

enda

tion 5

.1 wh

ere co

llabo

ration

betw

een p

ublic

and

priva

te for

est o

wners

is re

ferred

to as

a me

ans o

f incre

asing

supp

ly fro

m pri

vate

produ

cers.

In re

lation

to sh

ared r

oads

the D

epart

ment

has

introd

uced

supp

ort fo

r con

necti

ng ro

ads t

o enc

ourag

e sha

red us

e of

exist

ing in

frastr

uctur

e. C

oillte

is pr

epari

ng a

set o

f guid

eline

s on t

hird p

arty

use o

f its r

oad n

etwork

- curr

ently

at dr

aft st

age.

12.4

Any f

uture

strate

gy fo

r Coil

lte sh

ould

contr

ibute

to the

su

staina

ble de

velop

ment

of the

overa

ll fore

st se

ctor.

Ongo

ing - C

oillte

comm

itted

to su

staina

ble de

velop

ment

This

is ag

reed a

nd w

ill be s

uppo

rted b

y the

DAF

M.

13To

supp

ort th

e dev

elopm

ent o

f the F

orest

Servi

ce as

an

efficie

nt de

livery

servi

ce or

ganis

ation

mee

ting t

he ne

eds o

f Go

vernm

ent, n

ation

al for

est p

olicy

and t

he fo

rest s

ector

.13

.1DA

FM sh

ould

unde

rtake

a fun

ction

al an

d effic

iency

as

sess

ment

of the

Fores

t Serv

ice w

hich w

ould

exam

ine

the ex

tent to

whic

h this

struc

ture i

s opti

mally

effic

ient in

the

deliv

ery of

servi

ces a

cross

the s

ector

and t

he ex

tent to

whic

h sk

ills ca

pacit

ies m

eet e

xistin

g and

futur

e nee

ds.

Outst

andin

gDA

FM or

ganis

ation

revie

w un

derw

ay ac

ross a

ll divi

sions

with

in De

partm

ent, t

he pr

elimi

nary

conc

lusion

s are

being

cons

idered

by D

AFM.

13.2

DAFM

/Fores

t Serv

ice sh

ould

estab

lish p

erman

ent s

tructu

res

to su

pport

the d

evelo

pmen

t of th

e fore

st se

ctor, i

n area

s suc

h as

roun

dwoo

d sup

ply an

d dem

and,

clima

te ch

ange

mitig

ation

, ec

osys

tem se

rvice

s, wo

od en

ergy,

certifi

catio

n and

prod

uct

stand

ards.

Link w

ith 9.

1 and

9.2

Prog

ress b

eing m

ade i

n the

se ar

eas;

Clim

ate ch

ange

mitig

ation

now

being

ma

nage

d by F

orest

Deve

lopme

nt Di

vision

. www

.Woo

dene

rgy.ie

has b

een

estab

lishe

d to h

elp pr

omote

woo

d ene

rgy. S

tructu

res to

supp

ort ce

rtifica

tion

for pr

ivate

fores

t own

ers ar

e well

unde

rway

with

the e

stbali

shme

nt of

two

certifi

catio

n grou

ps an

d tem

plates

for c

ertific

ation

avail

able

to all

. A ne

w Fo

rest M

anag

emen

t and

Cert

ificati

on S

chem

e is a

lso in

the p

ipelin

e whic

h wi

ll sup

port p

rivate

fores

t own

ers in

achie

ving c

ertific

ation

for th

eir fo

rests.

Te

agas

c hav

e a ro

le in

round

wood

supp

ly an

d dem

and w

here

they h

old

a num

ber o

f Talk

ing Ti

mber

Even

ts thr

ough

out th

e cou

ntry w

here

these

iss

ues a

re dis

cuss

ed. T

he al

l Irela

nd ro

undw

ood p

roduc

tion f

oreca

st 20

16 -

2035

also

addre

sses

this

actio

n. (S

ee al

so S

trateg

ic Ac

tions

9.1 a

nd 9.

2)13

.3Th

e Fore

st Se

rvice

shou

ld re-

instat

e a st

and-a

lone A

nnua

l Re

port,

provid

ing a

review

of ac

hieve

ment

versu

s spe

cific

goals

in ar

eas s

uch a

s affo

restat

ion, ti

mber

produ

ction

, en

viron

menta

l com

plian

ce an

d clim

ate m

itigati

on w

hile a

lso

provid

ing a

statis

tical

datab

ase f

or rep

orting

and p

lannin

g. Th

e An

nual

Repo

rt sho

uld al

so fe

ature

on D

AFM’

s web

site.

Includ

e more

up to

date

data

on em

ploym

ent, c

ontrib

ution

to

GDP,

etc in

the a

nnua

l rep

ort. A

mend

form

at to

includ

e poli

cy de

livera

bles

in rep

ort

Most

of thi

s info

rmati

on is

avail

able

in va

rious

repo

rts su

ch as

the F

orest

Servi

ce m

onthl

y stat

istics

repo

rt, CO

FORD

s Woo

d Flow

Rep

ort an

d all

Irelan

d Rou

ndwo

od fo

recas

t and

infor

matio

n on c

limate

chan

ge m

itigati

on.

Reorg

anisa

tion o

f DAF

M we

bsite

is un

derw

ay an

d will p

ull to

gethe

r this

inform

ation

for e

ase o

f acc

ess b

y sec

tor.

13.4

DAFM

to cl

early

outlin

e the

miss

ion, fu

nctio

nal u

nits a

nd th

e rol

es an

d res

pons

ibilitie

s and

repo

rting a

rrang

emen

ts of

the

Fores

try D

ivisio

ns w

ithin

DAFM

New

Strat

egic

Actio

n


Appendix 3 - Adaptation options

Tabl

e 1:

Som

e ad

apta

tion

optio

ns fo

r th

e la

nd u

se a

nd fo

rest

sect

ors (

base

d on

Tab

le 3

in A

dapt

atio

n Pl

anni

ng -

Dev

elop

ing

Res

ilien

ce to

Clim

ate

Cha

nge

in th

e Ir

ish A

gric

ultu

re

and

Fore

st S

ecto

r).

Tim

efra

me

Res

pons

ibili

ty

Nat

iona

l Act

ions

Kee

p un

der r

evie

w a

nd u

pdat

e th

e ag

ricul

ture

and

fore

st s

ecto

ral a

dapt

atio

n pl

an in

the

cont

ext o

f the

Clim

ate

Act

ion

and

Low

Car

bon

Dev

elop

men

t Act

201

5.

Sho

rt - M

ediu

m T

erm

D

AFM

Ensu

re a

dapt

atio

n re

quire

men

ts a

re c

onsi

dere

d du

ring

the

esta

blis

hmen

t of s

ecto

ral p

olic

ies,

stra

tegi

es, p

lans

and

mea

sure

s.

Sho

rt Te

rm/O

ngoi

ngD

AFM

Impl

emen

tatio

n of

rele

vant

legi

slat

ion

and

othe

r sta

tuto

ry a

nd c

ontro

l ins

trum

ents

. S

hort

Term

/Ong

oing

DA

FM

Inte

rage

ncy

Inte

rdep

artm

enta

l and

inte

rage

ncy

inte

ract

ion

in re

latio

n to

ada

ptat

ion,

env

ironm

enta

l pol

icy

deve

lopm

ent a

nd m

onito

ring.

S

hort

Term

/Ong

oing

DA

FM a

nd re

leva

nt

Dep

artm

ents

and

A

genc

ies

Inte

ract

ion

with

Met

Éire

ann.

S

hort

Term

/Ong

oing

DA

FM, T

eaga

sc

Met

Éire

ann

Act

ive

parti

cipa

tion

with

the

Offi

ce o

f Em

erge

ncy

Pla

nnin

g.

Sho

rt Te

rm/O

ngoi

ngD

AFM

Offi

ce o

f Em

erge

ncy

Plan

ning

Kno

wle

dge

Tran

sfer

and

Com

mun

icat

ion

Reg

ular

com

mun

icat

ion

to s

take

hold

ers

incl

udin

g vi

a th

e kn

owle

dge

trans

fer n

etw

ork

and

advi

ce p

rovi

sion

sys

tem

at l

ocal

, na

tiona

l and

inte

rage

ncy

leve

ls.

Sho

rt Te

rm/O

ngoi

ngD

AFM

, Tea

gasc

Rep

rese

ntat

ive

Org

anis

atio

ns

Con

tinue

to p

artic

ipat

e in

nat

iona

l, in

tern

atio

nal f

ora

and

initi

ativ

es in

agr

i-foo

d an

d fo

rest

so

as to

sha

re e

xper

ienc

es a

nd

best

pra

ctic

es.

Sho

rt Te

rm/O

ngoi

ngD

AFM

Res

earc

h

Sus

tain

ed m

onito

ring

of re

sear

ch re

sults

and

dis

sem

inat

ion

of re

sults

to re

leva

nt p

artie

s.

Ong

oing

D

AFM

Sus

tain

ed m

onito

ring

of re

sear

ch re

sults

and

dis

sem

inat

ion

of re

sults

to re

leva

nt p

artie

s.

Ong

oing

D

AFM


Ada

ptat

ion

Opt

ions

Enc

oura

ge p

olic

y cr

eatio

n w

hich

take

s ad

vant

age

of te

chno

logi

cal a

dvan

ces

in a

dapt

atio

n.

Sho

rt-M

ediu

m T

erm

D

AFM

Mon

itor a

dapt

atio

n op

tions

in p

lace

in o

ther

cou

ntrie

s to

ext

ract

kno

wle

dge

whi

ch c

an b

e im

plem

ente

d w

ithin

the

Irish

co

ntex

t. M

ediu

m T

erm

D

AFM

Con

side

r the

app

ropr

iate

ness

of t

he in

trodu

ctio

n of

new

pla

nt, c

rop,

tree

and

live

stoc

k va

rietie

s w

hich

are

mor

e re

silie

nt to

th

e ch

angi

ng c

limat

e.

Med

ium

-Lon

g Te

rm

DA

FM

Enc

oura

ge re

sear

ch in

to th

e ef

fect

s of

clim

ate

chan

ge a

nd a

dapt

atio

n m

easu

res

thro

ugh

prog

ram

mes

info

rmed

by

rele

vant

st

rate

gic

rese

arch

age

ndas

at n

atio

nal a

nd in

tern

atio

nal l

evel

s.

Sho

rt-M

ediu

m T

erm

D

AFM

Res

earc

h an

d im

plem

ent m

etho

ds to

mon

itor,

revi

ew a

nd e

valu

ate

the

adap

tatio

n op

tions

put

in p

lace

.

Long

Ter

m

DA

FM

Land

Man

agem

ent

Con

tinue

rese

arch

on,

and

pro

mot

ion

of, b

ette

r lan

d m

anag

emen

t in

light

of p

roje

cted

clim

atic

cha

nges

. S

hort

Term

D

AFM

Con

tinue

with

pes

t and

dis

ease

sur

veill

ance

, mon

itorin

g an

d re

sear

ch.

Sho

rt Te

rm

DA

FM

Pro

mot

e th

e us

e of

fore

st d

ecis

ion

supp

ort s

yste

ms

to s

uppo

rt ad

aptiv

e fo

rest

man

agem

ent.

Sho

rt Te

rm

DA

FM

Impl

emen

tatio

n of

For

est P

rote

ctio

n an

d H

ealth

mea

sure

s.

Sho

rt Te

rm

DA

FM

Impl

emen

tatio

n of

risk

ass

essm

ent a

nd ri

sk w

arni

ng s

yste

ms

in re

latio

n to

unc

ontro

lled

wild

fire

s.

Sho

rt Te

rm

DA

FM

Impl

emen

tatio

n of

Sus

tain

able

For

est M

anag

emen

t inc

ludi

ng tr

aini

ng a

nd a

dvic

e on

spe

cies

sel

ectio

n, e

tc.

Sho

rt Te

rm

DA

FM, C

oillt

e

Con

tinue

d im

plem

enta

tion

of th

e P

estic

ide

Con

trol S

ervi

ce.

Sho

rt Te

rm

DA

FM


Appendix 4 - Supply chain

Fore

st In

du

stri

es In

tern

atio

nal

Su

pp

ly C

hai

n


Appendix 5 - COFORD Forest Policy Review Group (CFPRG) members

The COFORD Forest Policy Review Group (CFPRG) comprised the following members:

Karl Coggins (DAFM)

Pat Collins (IFA)

Seamus Dunne (DAFM)

Michael Glennon (ITC)

Eugene Hendrick (DAFM)

Neil Kerrigan (Enterprise Ireland)

Daragh Little (IFFPA)

Gerard Murphy (Coillte)

Nuala Ni Fhlatharta (Teagasc)

John Phelan (COFORD)

Donal Whelan (ITGA) Chairman

The staff from the DAFM above participated in the meetings and provided clarification on regulatory and technical issues and information on recent developments and planned future actions by DAFM.

Henry Phillips (forestry consultant) provided technical support for the review process and in drafting of the report.


Stand Tall.

NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR FOREST RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENTAN COMHAIRLE NÁISÚNTA UM THAIGDE AGUS FORBAIRT FORAOISEDepartment of Agriculture, Food and the MarineAgriculture HouseKildare StreetDublin 2Ireland

www.coford.ie

CO

FOR

D Forest Policy R

eview G

roup Report on ‘Forests, products and people - Ireland’s forest policy – a renew

ed vision’ (2014) A R

eport on Policy Implem

entation with R

ecomm

endations

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