The newly-appointed National Forest Certification Board has held its first meeting.

The purpose of the industry-led board is to put in place measures to scale up the area of forests that are certified nationally. 

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Healy-Rae said the voluntary certification of privately-owned forests to standards like the Forest Stewardship Council’s (FSC) or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) is "becoming increasingly important".

"Without forest certification, access to various national and international markets for Irish-grown timber products is limited," the minister said.

"Coillte forests are dual certified to both standards and have provided the majority of certified timber in the past.

"However, this mix is changing, and the private harvest is now set to exceed the Coillte harvest this decade.” 

First meeting

At the first meeting of the board, the process to appoint a chairperson was discussed and updates provided on the "scale of the challenge".

Minister of State Healy-Rae has appointed a number of industry stakeholders to the board.

The board membership is:

Chairperson – to be appointed;
Irish Forest Owners (IFO): Kathleen Lucey;
Forest Industries Ireland (FII): Mark McAuley;
Social Environment Economic Forestry Association (SEEFA): Paddy Bruton;
Irish Timber Growers Association (ITGA): Donal Whelan;
Irish Timber Council (ITC): Niall Grainger and John Ryan;
Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA): Amy Mulchrone;
Teagasc: Frances McHugh;
Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fergus Moore, senior inspector;
Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) Ireland: William Merivale.

At the meeting, the Department of Agriculture provided a demonstration to the board of the new electronic management plan system that it has recently developed with feedback from a range of forestry stakeholders.

The system, called iPlan, will allow forest owners to complete management plans to a standard format that will support forest certification and the sustainable management of their forests.

The department is providing funding of €1,200 per plan to all eligible forest owners under funding allocated in the Forestry Programme 2023-2027. 

Minister Healy-Rae said: “The supports that my department will provide in the preparation of management plans and attendance at knowledge transfer groups will be key to assisting forest owners in joining a national group certification scheme.

"There are a number of models to achieve certification, and I expect the board to consider these and assess the best way forward.

"I would encourage all forest owners and foresters to engage with certification and to support the work of the board."