Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 9 December 2021
22. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on whether the mandate of Coillte needs to be changed in view of the climate and biodiversity emergency and the critical role of afforestation in addressing both of these crises; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60848/21]
View answerI am satisfied that Coillte is adapting its approach and practices to meet the emerging biodiversity challenges and that this approach will deliver on the multiple benefits that forests have to offer for people and the environment.
To address biodiversity first, over 90,000 hectares of Coillte’s forests and lands have been identified and assessed by a team of ecologists and managed for biodiversity by Coillte since 2001. More recently, Coillte has developed and taken an innovative approach, known as BioClass, in assessing biodiversity resource on the estate. This process identifies over 20,000 hectares of this biodiversity resource to be of international and national importance.
Coillte is developing detailed ecological enhancement and restoration plans for its high biodiversity value areas. The first of these plans are now being implemented, which can involve the removal of invasive species, improvements to site hydrology, underplanting with native species and implementation of low impact silvicultural systems in these ecologically important areas.
In addition, they are converting some of their forests from the principal objective of wood production to that of biodiversity and recreation in targeted areas. A good example of these conversion projects is the ‘Dublin Mountain Makeover’ where hundreds of hectares of forests in the Dublin mountains are converted to native woodlands and mixed forest, through remove and replant felling and continuous forest cover management systems.
More generally when it comes to its remit, As the Deputy may be aware, Coillte is a private limited company established under the Forestry Act 1988. The Act provides, among other things, that a principal object of the company is to carry on the business of forestry and related activities on a commercial basis and in accordance with efficient silvicultural practices. The company is self-financing and is not the recipient of Exchequer funding, and indeed has a responsibility to return a profit and make dividend payments to the state in addition to delivering on the State's forestry priorities.
In order to meet this remit Coillte currently operates across various business strands including forestry, land management, panel products and renewable energy businesses. The company manages an estate of some 440,000 hectares of which just under 400,000 hectares is forested.
But, as I have already demonstrated, that is not to say that the company focuses solely on commercial activities. For instance 20% of Coillte forests are managed for the protection of biodiversity and habitats. It is my understanding that as part of an ongoing process of updating and refreshing their strategy, Coillte is constantly seeking opportunities to play a role in finding solutions to the biodiversity and climate emergencies.
In this regard, Coillte is supporting a series of specific initiatives that provide benefits in these areas. For example, Coillte’s forest estate provides a valuable carbon sink by sequestering CO2 from the atmosphere.
Further detailed analysis of carbon sequestration and carbon storage on their forest estate is being carried out, using the best expertise and latest technology, to ensure that capture of carbon in both forests and soils is optimized.
Coillte also has ambitions to deliver new afforestation projects at scale. One current example of this is the ‘Midlands Native Woodlands Project’, where Coillte is partnering with Bord na Mona to create new native woodlands on ecologically suitable areas of cut-away bog. Another example is the recently launched ‘Nature Partners' initiative, where Coillte has a formed a partnership to attract investors to help in creating new native woodlands across the country.
