Woodland Improvement Scheme offers forest owners thousands of euro per hectare for sustainable forest management
- Published on: 21 December 2023
- Last updated on: 24 March 2024
The Minister of State for Land Use and Biodiversity at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Senator Pippa Hackett, has launched the new Woodland Improvement Scheme. The scheme offers financial support to forest owners for sustainable forest management.
Minister Hackett said:
“Our forests bring big benefits for our climate, environment and nature. Through the Forestry Programme, this new scheme supports forest owners to deliver these benefits. The grants are generous. For instance, owners can benefit up to €1,200 per hectare to thin and tend their forest. I’m delighted that we can reward timber growers and forest owners in this way, and that we can enhance our existing woodlands through sustainable forest management practices. I encourage people to apply to the scheme to maximise the value of their forests.”
The Woodland Improvement Scheme supports sustainable forest management that can bring environmental and climate benefits. It also protects biodiversity by supporting forest owners to transition from even-aged forest management to closer-to-nature forestry.
Forest owners can choose from five different elements in the Woodland Improvement Scheme: thinning and tending, agroforestry maintenance, continuous cover forestry, coppice and coppice with standards, and seed stand management.
Those forest owners who applied for Thinning and Tending (Element 1) and CCF First Intervention (Element 3) under the previous Woodland Improvement Scheme, and who have not yet received approval, are being written to by the department and will have the opportunity to opt-in to the new scheme at the improved rates. Likewise, those with existing approvals under these Elements, and who have not commenced work, will be offered the opportunity to opt-in to the new Scheme and avail of the new rates.
Notes
Maximum Grant Levels (Woodland Improvement Scheme)
| Fixed grant - €/ha (per treated Hectare) | |
| Element 1 Thinning and Tending - First Thinning Intervention | €1,200 |
| Element 1 Thinning and Tending - Subsequent Thinning Intervention- | €1,200 |
| Element 2 Agroforestry Maintenance | €1,200 |
| Element 3 CCF First Intervention | €1,200 |
| Element 3 CCF Second Intervention | €1,200 |
| Element 3 CCF Third Intervention | €1,200 |
| Element 4 Coppice and Coppice with Standards | €1,200 |
| Element 5 Seed Stand Management | €1,200 |
- Areas which have already received payment under the Woodland Improvement Scheme for a past thinning operation are eligible to apply again for a second intervention grant.
Premium Payments per treated hectare (Woodland Improvement Scheme)
| Element 3 CCF Payment for Ecosystem Services | €150 (for 7 years) |
| Element 5 Seed Stand Management Payment for Ecosystem Services | €500 (for 7 years) |
Full details on how to apply, along with grant and premium rates, are available at: Woodland Improvement Scheme 2023-2027.
Forestry Programme 2023-2027
The Woodland Improvement Scheme is the latest element of the new Forestry Programme to open to applications. The Programme was launched in September, offering new afforestation grant rates up to 66% higher than the previous Forestry Programme. The Programme also extends annual afforestation payments to farmers from 15 years to 20, and increases them significantly, for example, €1,142 per hectare for 20 years for planting a new forest of native trees. Full details on the grant and annual payment rates for the Forestry Programme 2023-2027 are available at gov.ie/forestry, along with frequently asked questions, a forestry payment calculator and payment examples.
Farmers can find information on afforestation grants and premiums here:
Calculate potential afforestation income: Forestry Calculator.