The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has issued 244 approvals for small-scale planting of 266ha under the Native Tree Area Scheme (NTAS) so far this year.
The small-scale planting scheme allows farmers to plant up to 1ha of native woodland without a licence, or up to 2ha if they have a suitable watercourse to plant along.
In addition to the approvals issued under the NTAS, the DAFM approved the planting of 1,939ha up until the week ending on Friday, June 14, this year.
This includes an area of 209ha which was approved for afforestation by the DAFM over the past fortnight, according to the latest Forestry Licensing Dashboard.
An area of 613ha has been planted so far in 2024. The DAFM notes that this only reflects afforestation that as been paid at first grant stage this year to date, including the NTAS.
Licences
Over the past week, the DAFM issued 15 afforestation licences, eight licences for forest roads, as well as 22 licences for private felling and 27 licences for felling by Coillte.
Commenting on the latest figures, the Social, Economic, Environmental Forestry Association (SEEFA) claims the “target pace” in afforestation, road, or felling licences “has still not been managed in a single week this year”.
The DAFM’s Forestry Licensing Plan 2024 sets a target of 4,200 forestry licences issued, including 1,000 afforestation licences, 650 road licences, 1,250 private felling and 1,300 Coillte felling licences.
“Even though last year provided such a low bar, so far this year, no single month has managed to surpass the felling licence numbers of 2023. This looks to continue in June as just 918ha of licences have been issued thus far,” SEEFA said.
Low felling licensing figures come with “several risks” to the industry, including reduced revenue for logging companies, potential job losses in traditional forestry roles, and increased wood product prices due to decreased supply, according to SEEFA.