Forestry will play an important role in meeting our environmental objectives under the Climate Action Plan and on biodiversity as outlined in the Programme for Government. It is for this reason the Department is focusing on afforestation applications. I am mindful of the seasonality associated with afforestation and while other forestry licence types will continue to issue, afforestation will be the priority.
While GLAS does not include forestry actions, parcels not in GLAS can be considered for afforestation. Similarly, the new Results-based Environment-Agri pilot Project (REAP) will not be a whole-of-farm project. Fields not included in REAP will remain eligible for other uses. REAP will trial the results based model on a national scale with a view to upscaling under the next agri-environment scheme which will follow on from GLAS. Indeed, it is very likely that the REAP scheme will also include tree-planting actions as an option for participating farmers thus emphasising the link between agri-environment measures and tree-planting.
The new CAP Regulation aims to increase the environmental and climate ambition of Member States. This provides opportunities to support tree planting and farm forestry, as part of a sustainable farming model, and such options will be explored. Forestry can provide a complementary and supplementary activity to schemes on farms and my officials are in discussions to ensure that there is integration between the CAP Strategic Plan and the next Forestry Programme.
