A new Department of Agriculture scheme has promised forest owners €1,200 to sign up to an online forest management planning tool that will take them a step closer to certifying their plantations.
The support is on offer for forest owners to sign up to the iPLAN digital platform, with the Department stating that the tool allows for the creation and management of the forestry management plans needed to gain certification.
The move comes as Minister of State Michael Healy-Rae plans on increasing the amount of private forestry that is certified beyond the current level of around 34,000ha or one in every 12ha of private plantations.
Minister Healy-Rae stated that the scheme represents a “significant step towards modernising the forestry sector”.
The iPLAN portal is an “accessible, user-friendly tool to manage and ensure the long-term sustainable health and economic viability of Ireland’s forests,” the minister said.
“iPLAN is part of a wider plan to enable and facilitate private forest owners to access forest certification.
Board
“In this regard, I am appointing a board to oversee the establishment of a group forest certification scheme and to set out a pathway to achieve group certification for the majority of forest owners that are still not certified.”
The Department said that the management plans created through iPLAN will result in a greater capacity for eco-system services, climate resilience, roundwood value and forest health.
It also maintains that better planning of management practices like the installation of forest roadways will encourage the greater mobilisation of timber.
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