#GE2020: WHAT'S IN STORE FOR FOREST INDUSTRY?

As the Irish electorate head for the polling stations on Feb 8th, with #BREXIT in the rear-view mirror (kind of), Health and Housing are dominating the public discourse. However, for the first time ever, #ClimateChange and #ClimateAction feature strongly also. Within this topic, #Forestry has received more mentions in the context of a General Election since the foundation of the State. 

Who'd have thought, Forestry is now a buzzword in Ireland - an overnight success after 100 years!

Ironically, none of the forestry mentions are in the context of the two key issues of Health and Housing. Despite there being a pretty obvious link to both.

For example, fast build, high quality, low embodied energy and very energy efficient timber framed housing is at least part of the solution to increasing the house stock cost effectively to meet the demand for affordable housing.

Similarly, the Health benefits of forestry are well documented, not just in terms of the rising trend of “Forest bathing or shinrin-yoku” but as outlined in a growing body of evidence based research such as that can be viewed here: https://nhsforest.org/evidence-benefits

So, what do the various political parties set out as their Forestry priorities in their respective manifestos. Here are the extracts of the Forestry Policy sections of each manifesto, with links to each parties' full manifesto for the real political nerds among you.

IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER TO AVOID ANY ACCUSATION OF BIAS – WORDING IS VERBATIM FROM THE PARTIES’OWN DOCUMENTS, SO DON’T SHOOT THE MESSENGER, EVEN WHERE IT IS OBVIOUS THAT THE POLICIES ARE FACTUALLY INCORRECT.

Levels of Ambition range from “we’ll keep doing what’s being done” to “20,000 ha per annum”. Lots of positive aspirations across the board.

FIANNA FáIL (https://www.fiannafail.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Fianna-Fail-General-Election-Manifesto-2020.pdf)

·      “Create a sustainable Forestry sector. Forests cover 10.5% of the country’s land area against the EU average of 38% showing the substantial progress that must be made. Afforestation is a vital tool to reduce our carbon footprint. The inclusion of land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) within the scope of the new EU 2030 climate change framework is welcome and will broaden the tools available for Ireland by reducing GHG emissions, through carbon sequestration. It is paramount that we incentivise the planting of native trees with a balanced regional afforestation policy.

·      We will:

·      Update the legislative mandate of Coillte Teoranta so it will also have a specific remit for supporting the delivery of climate change commitments and biodiversity protection.

·      Request that the Climate Action Council carry out a thorough review of State forestry policy with respect to climate change mitigation and carbon sequestration and incorporate the findings into the next National Forestry Programme (2021-2027).

·      Work at EU level to get recognition of the estimated 660,000 km of hedgerows throughout the Irish landscape as a carbon sink.

·      Restore the annual forest premium rates to pre-2009 levels for Grant and Premium Categories (GPC). A priority will be put on broadleaves in order to incentivise the planting of native species. Cost €5.8m.

·      Ensure the next CAP prioritises and incentives the planting of trees on farms.

·      Work towards achieving the 30% national target for broadleaf planting, which is a condition of EU state aid approval for forestry.

·      Expand the NeighbourWood scheme for increased recreational tourism opportunities.”

FINE GAEL (https://election2020.finegael.ie/pdf/FG_GE20_Manifesto.pdf):

• “Over the next 5 years ... reach & maintain a target of 8,000 hectares of new #forestry per annum
• Support the forestry industry, which employs in the region of 12,000 people in rural communities.
• Develop markets for harvested #wood products and #biofuels, recognising the important role the commercial forestry sector has to play in meeting our climate-change challenge and achieving the goals of the #circulareconomy.
• Publish a successor forestry programme to deliver on our ambitious afforestation objective and further invest in key infrastructure such as forest roads.
• Roll out a national promotional campaign on the benefits of afforestation.
• Assess the potential of state-owned lands for afforestation to contribute to our overall target, building on the Coillte/Bord na Móna initiative in this area.
• Support the development of forestry through the new CAP post 2020, aligning agri-environment schemes with climate change objectives and investing further in knowledge transfer.
• Invest further in agroforestry, continuous cover forestry, forestry for fibre and species diversification.
• Climate Action Plan features several specific recommendations in relation to forestry.
• Encourage the private sector to meet corporate social responsibility (#CSR) or sustainability objectives by investing in native woodlands, building on the Woodland Environmental Fund programme.
• Invest in schemes that promote recreational forestry and will work with Coillte on projects such as Coillte Nature, to provide the public with access to recreational forests across the country and will expand the NeighbourWood Scheme, providing communities with amenity woodlands for local access and enjoyment.
• To build on National Tree Week, institute a state-sponsored national Tree Planting Day and provide communities across the country with trees to plant on this day annually.
• Implement the MacKinnon report on the forestry licensing system, clearing existing cases without delay.
• Introduce a new and improved scheme to assist owners of ash plantations unfortunately infected with Chalara (Ash Dieback disease). This will offer a broader range of options to affected landowners.”

GREEN PARTY (https://www.greenparty.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/GREEN_PARTY_TOWARDS_2030-WEB-VERSION.pdf)

·      “Trees and forests store carbon, clean the air, mitigate water movements, prevent soil erosion, provide habitats for flora and fauna and provide amenity for the public. Most of these services have not been valued, but in the case of carbon capture, Irish forests planted since 1990 store 4 million tonne of CO2 per year, at the same time saving Irish taxpayers €44 million per annum in Kyoto penalties alone. We want to make a fundamental change in Irish forestry policy away from a narrow vision of 30 year clear-fell cycle to a permanent woodland approach that would provide greater and more diverse social, environmental and economic benefits to society as a whole.

·      We aim for a target of 30% tree coverage by 2050.

·      To achieve these aims, we will:

·      Implement a forestry policy that will move away from large-scale monoculture of fast-growing species such as Sitka spruce on ‘marginal land’ towards mixed, diverse forestry, with a wider range of services, benefits and forest products.

·      Set a minimum target of 20,000 ha of afforestation per year over the next decade.

·      Develop a new afforestation programme which will start with the payment of a special planting grant to 120,000 farmers around the country for the planting of one hectare of woodland on their farm which will act as a carbon store, help promote wildlife corridors and provide a future fuel source for the household.

·      Retain the commercial forests of Coillte in public ownership.

·      Establish a new mandate for Coillte which will deliver multiple benefits including environmental and community objectives, as well as the production of high-quality timber.

·      Promote a move to Close to Nature-Continuous Cover forestry systems to ultimately create permanent biodiverse forests containing trees of all ages.

·      Engage local authorities and local communities in a radical expansion of urban tree planting and neighbourhood and community forests.

·      Plant ‘protection forests’ along rivers and lakes to protect water quality and assist in managing flood risks.

·      Facilitate the regeneration of natural woodlands through the promotion of more rigorous management plans for invasive species and overgrazing.

·      Increase investment in higher and further education and training for foresters.

·      Insist on full compliance with the Forest Consent System, the Bird and Habitats Directive and the catchment management approach of the Water Framework Directive.

·      Propose that importation into Ireland of illegally logged timber must be subject to immediate regulation and that Ireland must implement the Action Plan on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade FLEGT.”

LABOUR (https://www.labour.ie/download/pdf//labour_manifesto_web.pdf)

·      “We will:

·      instruct the Department, along with Coillte and the National Council for Forest Research and Development, to develop and implement an ambitious national strategy for forestry and the “bioeconomy” of new products made from wood pulp, including biodegradable industrial foams and plastic substitutes, with an aim of further increasing the amount of land under forest cover, and striking the right balance between continuous cover, native species and commercial Sitka Spruce growing with the aim of maximising carbon capture, biodiversity and sustainable jobs.

·      implement the coming EU ban on single-use plastics, and promote the development of indigenous enterprises providing alternatives to plastics, including plastic substitutes made from Irish-grown wood.”

PEOPLE BEFORE PROFIT (https://manifesto.pbp.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Paople-Before-Profit-General-Election-Manifesto-2020.pdf)

?   “Introduce payments for farmers to reforest the land: Ireland has one of the lowest levels of forest coverage in Europe and farmers struggle to make an income off the land. We would pay farmers €3,000 per hectare to reforest and tend to new native forestry – drawing down carbon and improving lives in rural Ireland.

·      Keep our forestry in public ownership and increase the afforestation of the country.”

SINN FéIN (https://www.sinnfein.ie/files/2020/SF_GE2020_Manifesto.pdf)

·      “Crucial to meeting our environmental obligations is the development of a comprehensive and sustainable forestry policy.

·      The current forestry policy, supported by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, promotes the widespread growth of non-indigenous Sitka Spruce plantations, which have been detrimental to local communities, has failed to deliver any local economic benefit, and, in some cases, has actually been damaging to the environment due to planting on peatbog land. The current forestry policies which incentivise multinational corporate interests to pursue a ‘landgrab’, particularly in the west, is not working.

·      In contrast, Sinn Féin is committed to develop a community-led agri-forestry strategy which will encourage farmers to plant in conjunction with their tillage or livestock activities thus ensuring vibrant, diverse farm operations. In line with this objective, Sinn Féin will reform the ‘Forestry Scheme’ to extend the payment period from 15 to 30 years.”

SOCIAL DEMOCRATS

No Manifesto available at the time of writing this article. Check www.socialdemocrats.ie for updates and existing policies.