Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Pippa Hackett has launched a new Climate Resilient Reforestation Pilot Scheme.

The scheme aims to increase the climate resilience of the national forest estate by increasing the proportion of forest land managed under permanent forest cover, the Minister said.

"It provides a pathway to a greater species diversity, decreasing the risk from pest, disease and extreme weather events such as drought and windblow.

"This pilot scheme offers financial supports to current forest owners who wish to replant their forests in a different way after felling.”

Support

This new form of support is being initially launched as a pilot scheme and offers financial support to forest owners who wish to reforest for a different purpose and to build resilience in response to the challenges that climate brings to Irish forests.

The scheme will build capacity for more sustainable forests that can produce high quality timber products and deliver important ecosystem services.

Forest owners can choose from three different elements in the Climate Resilient Reforestation Pilot Scheme: Reforestation for Continuous Cover Forestry, Reforestation for Native Forests and Reforestation for Biodiversity and Water.

“We look forward to engaging with forest owners on their plans for their next forest rotation and incorporating the learning from these experiences into future plans for the scheme," the Minister concluded.