Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 June 2018
176. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the measures taken by the forestry service to ensure the development of the forestry sector on a sustainable basis; if the forestry service has carried out tests regarding water quality from forest operations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25940/18]
View answerThe Forestry Act 2014 (“the Act”), which was commenced on the 24th May 2017, includes provisions regarding the protection of the environment, creating closer integration with the Habitats Directive, the Water Framework Directive, the EIA Directive and transposing legislation. Under Sections 5 and 11 of the Act, the role of the Minister in safeguarding the environment is set out. Section 7 provides for the attachment and varying of conditions to a licence or approval and also for the revoking of a licence. Sections 26-29 set out a range of penalties that can be imposed. These sections of the Act provide flexibility to the Minister in terms of attaching environmental conditions to an approval or licence and enforcing those conditions.
Together, the above provisions are designed to integrate the protection of the environment and legal requirements under various relevant Directives and transposing legislation, into the central decision-making process regarding licences and approvals by the Department. This is reflected in the scope of the Act, as follows; “.... to make further and better provision in relation to forestry, to provide for the development and promotion of forestry in a manner that maximises the economic, environmental and social value of forests within the principles of sustainable forest management,.... ”.
In this context, the Environmental Requirements for Afforestation were introduced in December 2016. These consolidated various environmental guidelines into a single coherent document dealing exclusively with afforestation, taking onboard more recent developments in relation to regulation, research and changes in forest practices. These Requirements include specific measures to ensure the protection of water quality when establishing new forests and woodlands, with a key measure being the introduction of a largely unplanted water setback alongside various defined water features. The application of the Requirements, in combination with the range of options now available under the Afforestation Scheme, allow for nuanced design, creating woodlands and forests in tune with the environment and compatible with other on-farm enterprises and activities.
The commitment of my Department to developing the forestry sector in a sustainable manner is also demonstrated in recent publications entitled “Woodland for Water: Creating new native woodlands to protect and enhance Ireland’s waters” and the “Felling and Reforestation Policy”. The first of these documents aims to explore how new native woodland and undisturbed water setbacks can be used in combination to deliver meaningful ecosystem services that protect and enhance water quality and aquatic ecosystems. These opportunities in turn can help contribute to meeting Ireland’s obligations under the 2nd cycle of the WFD. The “Felling and Reforestation Policy ” will ensure that existing forests are appropriately restructured post-clearfell, to reflect water and other environmental sensitivities on-the-ground.
The use of new native woodlands to protect water quality and the aquatic habitat for the highly-sensitive Freshwater Pearl Mussel (FPM) is being trialled by the KerryLIFE project, an EU co-funded project focusing on sustainable land use management for the conservation of the species (LIFE13 NAT/IE/000144). The project, focused on the Caragh and Kerry Blackwater FPM catchments in the southwest of Ireland, is trialling sustainable management techniques for farming and forestry in FPM catchments. Concrete measures under KerryLIFE include the stabilisation of riparian sediment sources using broadleaf planting, through the establishment of new long-term native woodland to create a protective physical buffer between aquatic zones and farming activities. Such woodlands are being created under Native Woodland Establishment, and the experiences gained will inform land-use management within other FPM catchments nationwide. My Department is a co-beneficiary in KerryLIFE, alongside Coillte.
With regard to the specific question of water testing, the existing Acid Sensitivity Protocol was developed by my Department, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and COFORD, to protect watercourses from potential acidification arising from afforestation. It applies to designated 'Acid Sensitive Areas', which account for 600,000 hectares of land or 9% of the total land area of the State. Under the Protocol, four water samples must be taken and analysed according to a set methodology, and the results must be included with the afforestation application. Depending on the results, the application is refused, referred to the EPA, or approved (subject to other checks). In January 2013, the EPA agreed with this Department, Inland Fisheries Ireland, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and Woodlands of Ireland, to remove the requirement for water sampling for Native Woodland Establishment Scheme applications, due to the ability of new native woodland to protect water and to deliver other ecosystem services (biodiversity, landscape enhancement, amenity, sustainable hardwoods, etc.)
