HNV FarmForBio recently attended an online discussion on the New EU Forest Strategy for 2030 and what it means for Ireland.
The Strategy is one of the flagship initiatives of the European Green Deal and was published by the European Commission on the 16th of July 2021. The strategy aims to improve the quantity and quality of EU forests and strengthen their protection, restoration and resilience. The HNV FarmForBio project objectives align well with the forestry strategy and in particular will contribute to meeting the following key actions within the strategy:
- Define, map and strictly protect the remaining EU primary and old-growth forests: High Nature Value Forests include primary and old-growth forests- HNV FarmForBio will define and map the extent of the HNV Forest network in Ireland.
- Creating payment schemes for forest owners and managers for the provision of ecosystem services: HNV FarmForBio will examine and model incentives and measures for landowners to restore, maintain and enhance HNV Forests and their associated Ecosystem Services; it will also propose methodologies to monitor the extent and quality of HNV Forests.
- Promoting win-win measures for all in sustainable forest management: HNV FarmForBIo will assess the extent to which incentives and measures for restoring, maintaining and enhancing HNV Forests will have co-benefits or co-detriments for other Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity.
- Improving the monitoring of the state of EU forests including through better remote sensing: HNV FarmForBio will examine and recommend the use of remote-sensed and ground-based monitoring data to determine the types, extent and quality of HNV forests in Ireland.
- Ensuring Member States develop Strategic Plans for their forests: The recommendations from HNV FarmForBio will support the development of an Irish Strategic Forest Plan including proposing a monitoring framework, farm and forest land use scenario modelling informing targeted measures, and the development of guidelines for resilient and biodiversity-friendly afforestation and restoration. More information about the New EU Forest Strategy for 2030 can be found here. The full online discussion on the EU Forest Strategy and what it means for Ireland can be viewed here:
