Irish Forest Owners (IFO), a national organisation representing forest owner producer groups in Ireland, has been ratified as a member of the Confederation of European Forest Owners (CEPF).
CEPF is the voice of forest owners in Europe. On behalf of national forest owner groups, CEPF aims to promote the values of sustainable forest management, private property ownership and the economic viability of the forest sector.
CEPF has five full-time staff based in Brussels under the stewardship of the secretary general, Fanny-Pomme Langue, and the board of directors.
Irish Forest Owners membership
Derek McCabe, chairperson of North East Forestry Group, was at the General Assembly in Finland to introduce the IFO to the broader community of national forest owner organisations in Europe.
With the joining of IFO, CEPF now represents national forest owner organisations from 22 countries from within and outside the EU, as well as three associated members, representing forest owners from specific regions or regional forest cooperative organisations.
In total, CEPF represents the interests of nearly 16 million forest owners, private individuals, families and cooperatives who take care of approximately 60% of the European forest area.
Nicholas Sweetman, chairperson, IFO said: “This is a very important step forward for IFO in terms of representation at European level, where the decisions affecting Irish forestry are ultimately made.
“Membership in CEPF gives us access to a wealth of information and experience from all across Europe.
“We look forward to being active members and developing collaborations with our European counterparts.”
CEPF aims to foster reliable and fair political framework conditions and strengthen the position of European forest owners in all forest sector-relevant policy process.
According to IFO, this is particularly important as the European and international forest policy is strongly influenced by many other sectorial policies, such as climate, energy, environment, trade and agriculture policy.
Commenting on the General Assembly, Derek McCabe noted that “forestry in Ireland is viewed as an industry in its infancy and this is seen as a positive, as we have the opportunity to correct the
mistakes of forestry development made by other countries”.