From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
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The Minister of State in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, with responsibility for forestry, Senator Pippa Hackett, today announced a range of public and stakeholder engagements on the development of a new Forest Strategy for Ireland.
Making the announcement the Minister said:
“The development of the next forestry strategy must be grounded in a shared vision that is based on feedback from all stakeholders. To achieve this, I am delighted to announce that my Department will carry out extensive consultation with stakeholders and provide a range of opportunities for public engagement over the next year.”
The Minister continued:
“Some of these initiatives include the hosting of a Deliberative Dialogue, similar to the Citizens’ Assembly model, which seeks to engage with a representative sample from a cross section of society of “99 people”. This format will provide useful insights and complement other wider public consultation forums which will also take place. I am also keen to hear from young people so I am delighted that the youth organisation, An Foróige, will run a youth dialogue later this month. We will also reach out to other youth organisations during bilateral engagements, and I encourage all young people to engage in our public consultation. Our young people are the ones who will be most affected by the decisions we make today, so we need to put the issues before them, and listen to what they have to say.”
The Minister established Project Woodland in February 2021 to implement a range of initiatives aimed at developing our forests and creating a new vision for forestry based on a shared national approach. A dedicated working group was established within it to deliver on a new strategy, and they have now put in place a range of consultation initiatives which will be rolled out over the coming months.
To help prepare the ground for the upcoming engagements, the Department also engaged a professional polling company to carry out a public attitudes survey of 1000 people. The survey asked a wide range of questions to provide insights on a range of topics from climate change, recreation, types of forests to the use of wood. The interviews took place in November and December of last year and the results are being collated and will be published shortly.
The Minister commented:
“I hope this survey, which is the first that my Department has carried out, will be followed by similar surveys run periodically to track how attitudes change over the years as we implement our new vision for forestry. I look forward to sharing the details of it later this month, but initial results show that 3 out 4 people would like more forests and 7 out of 10 would like to see a mix of conifers and broadleaves. I also note that 42% of people surveyed live within 5 km of a forest and that 58% of people have visited a forest in the last year. It is also clear that during the recent COVID restrictions the public value public access to woodlands which is so important for our well-being.”
The Department will also carry out online public consultation in the next few months and provide a detailed online questionnaire which will encourage as many people as possible to complete. Details and timings of all consultation initiatives are currently being finalised. The Department has also commissioned Irish Rural Link to engage with local communities so their voice can be heard in this consultation and the results of this work is due later this month.
The Minister concluded:
“Trees, forests and woodland are good for the environment when they are established with the right tree, in the right place, for the right reason, with the right management. Getting all that ‘right’ requires thought and consultation, but I am happy that this work being done by my Department, by Project Woodland and by the planned levels of public and stakeholder engagement, will deliver. And I believe that at the end of it we will have firstly a Forest Strategy, and subsequently a Forestry Programme which supports all the great things trees can do – for our climate, our levels of biodiversity, our rural economies, and of course, our well-being.”
ENDS
Notes for the editor
Project Woodland
The Minister of State established Project Woodland in February 2021 to ensure that the current licensing backlog is addressed and that a new impetus is brought to woodland creation in Ireland. This Project involves a review and refresh of processes and procedures and includes outside stakeholder participation to bring an independent perspective. It is a task-driven process, with clear deliverables and milestones. The structure of Project Woodland consists of a Project Board, Project Manager, and 4 Working Groups who are tasked with the main following areas:
Reducing the licensing backlog
A Shared National Approach (to work on a shared national vision for the future of trees and forests in Ireland and a new Forestry Strategy)
Organisational Development and Communications
Process Improvement (to look at Forestry licensing procedures)
Forest Strategy
This development of new Forest Strategy is a key commitment for Project Woodland and is due to be published by June 2022. The wide range of stakeholder and public engagements will shape the strategy and deliver a shared vision for forestry. The main public and stakeholder initiatives include:
Public attitudes survey – This survey was carried out during the months of November and December using a professional polling company and will be published shortly. The survey was conducted with over 1000 participants randomly selected and considering age, gender, area and regional distribution.
Deliberative Dialogue – using a similar model to the citizen assembly this event will take place in February/March 2022. The process will discuss and engage with 99 citizens over two days and will tease out their views on forests and provide opportunities to learn about forestry. The focus of the event is to generate deliberative engagement and the event will be managed by an independent company experienced in this process.
Public Consultation and online questionnaire – will be launched in February/March 2022 and will invite all members of the public to engage. Detailed information will be provided to help inform the public when completing the questionnaire.
Youth Forum - An Foróige, will run a youth dialogue towards the end of January 2022. An Foróige represent over 50,000 young people between the ages of 12 and 18 years old. Other bilateral engagements will take place with other youth organisations.
Communities - Irish Rural Link have been commissioned by the Department to engage and survey communities as part of their established network. This work has taken place towards the end of 2021 and will provide useful information. Their report is expected in January 2022
Bilateral Engagements – The Department will meet with a wide range of organisations throughout the months of January to March 2022 to see how their organisations can help deliver on the strategy and to hear their views. These meetings will also provide opportunities to discuss the next forestry programme
Forestry Programme 2023-2027 - The Department is currently preparing for the development of the next forestry programme. The current National Forestry Programme 2014-2020 is 100% exchequer funded, comprises an investment of approximately €482 million over its lifetime, and received approval to be extended to the end of 2022 by the European Commission, in accordance with CAP and State aid transition requirements. A new National Forestry Programme is therefore required from January 2023 for a period to the end of 2027. The programming period will follow the CAP requirements as State aid Guidelines for the Agriculture and Forestry sectors normally follow the CAP Regulations. The Forest Strategy developed in 2022 will be crucial in shaping the next forestry programme. The forestry programme will be a key enabler of strategic actions identified in the Forest Strategy.
Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) – As required by law all plans and programmes must be subjected to an SEA. A contract has been awarded and a detailed SEA and public and statutory consultation will take place in parallel throughout 2022 for both the new Forest Strategy and Forestry Programme 2023-2027.