Forest owners in Ireland are legally obliged to reforest land after a crop has been removed or destroyed due to disease, fire, windblow or other causes. The replanting obligation is enshrined in the 2014 Forestry Act. It is regarded by the State as vital in protecting and expanding our forest resource, while a number of organisations claim it is an unnecessary interference and acts as a disincentive to achieving a viable afforestation programme.
The replanting requirement is not unique to Ireland, although it is much more detailed than other European countries in relation to the kind of forests the minister will permit following final harvest. It is also specific with regard to the severity of fines should forest owners fail to comply with the act (see panel).
Europe
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation published “Forest Legislation in Europe” in 2004 outlining how 23 countries approach the obligation to reforest.
Authored by Josephine Bauer, Matleena Kniivilä and Franz Schmithüsen, the report states: “Reforestation is obligatory and some kind of time limit for regeneration is defined in the forest laws of Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Sweden.” The Forest Act in Finland “does not prevent forestry land from being adopted for other purposes”.
The authors say that the laws of France, Germany, Slovak Republic and Switzerland “provide for reforestation in a general manner as part of the principle of sustainable forest management and planning.”
They quote the German Forest Act “which constitutes a framework for legislation at state level” and obliges “all forest owners ... to reforest or supplement when natural stock regeneration is incomplete in clearfelled forest areas or thinned out forest stands within a reasonable period of time”.
In relation to changing land use in Germany, they say: “If a forest is converted to other use for a specified period, the authorities have to make sure that the area is duly reforested within a reasonable period of time.”
The authors do not mention fines or other penalties, should owners not comply with the various replanting requirements of the 23 European countries surveyed. Incidentally, Ireland was not featured in the report.
Ireland
The Irish Forestry Act 2014 is specific about the need to replant and what kind of forest is required by the Forest Service. The IFA regards the replanting order as “a major deterrent to farmers considering forestry” as outlined by Michael Fleming, IFA farm forestry chair. While the IFA accepts the act, it advises farmers to be extremely cautious and to make themselves aware of the implications of the replanting obligation.
It is not alone in its opposition to the replanting obligation. A number of private forest owners and organisations representing their interests maintain that it is unnecessary. They claim that forest owners have fulfilled their obligations during a normal forest rotation. They maintain that few, if any, would revert to another land use but the statutory presence of the replanting obligation acts as a barrier to future afforestation. This is reflected in the reduction in land values after planting as existing and future forest owners are locked into forestry. This is perceived as a major barrier to afforestation because it restricts land owners to the same crop in perpetuity, which is unique in land-use policy.
The State, on the other hand, claims that the taxpayer has invested heavily in creating the forest resource and this would be jeopardised by the removal of the replanting obligation as would other benefits such as future carbon accounting and timber supply.
Those who favour the retention of the replanting requirement maintain that it is a fundamental aspect of sustainable forest management, which is vital to Ireland considering our low forest cover.
Over the past 100 years, six forestry acts have been enacted to cover primary forest legislation in Ireland outlining issues such as the function of the minister responsible for forestry, felling licences, forest damage and replanting.
The 1928 Forestry Act was the first act that had the power to control the felling of trees and to attach replanting conditions. The 1946 Forestry Act retained the replanting obligation, while the 2014 act made “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” and to confer certain powers on the minister to ensure the act is implemented.
Part four of the act refers to the application for a felling licence and addressed the replanting obligation which follows. It states: “Subject to section 7, where a person wishes to fell or otherwise remove any tree or trees, he or she shall apply to the minister for a licence to do so.”
An application will include particulars of the tree or trees concerned, and such other particulars as may be prescribed by the minister. The licence shall be valid for such period as the minister decides, but shall not exceed 10 years but the minister may extend the duration of the licence for one or more further periods, not exceeding a total of five years.
The minister may at any time attach or vary conditions to any licence granted, including the requirement to:
Replant trees, at such places, of such species, in such numbers, of such surface area and density, within such period of time, as may be specified.Protect and maintain the reforested area including the erection of fencing or barriers to prevent trespass by animals, during such period of time as may be specified.Submit a report to the minister with such information as the minister considers appropriate.Submit a forest management plan to the minister and, where such a plan has been approved, in whole or in part, by the minister, to implement the plan as approved.Offence
Under the act, “a person who fells or otherwise removes one or more trees, or causes or permits one or more trees to be felled or otherwise removed, without a licence, or in contravention of a condition of a licence, shall be guilty of an offence and be liable” to the following penalties:
A fine not exceeding €200 for every tree in respect of which the offence was committed (but which total penalty shall not exceed €5,000) or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or both; orA fine not exceeding €1,000,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or both.
Forest owners in Ireland are legally obliged to reforest land after a crop has been removed or destroyed due to disease, fire, windblow or other causes. The replanting obligation is enshrined in the 2014 Forestry Act. It is regarded by the State as vital in protecting and expanding our forest resource, while a number of organisations claim it is an unnecessary interference and acts as a disincentive to achieving a viable afforestation programme.
The replanting requirement is not unique to Ireland, although it is much more detailed than other European countries in relation to the kind of forests the minister will permit following final harvest. It is also specific with regard to the severity of fines should forest owners fail to comply with the act (see panel).
Europe
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation published “Forest Legislation in Europe” in 2004 outlining how 23 countries approach the obligation to reforest.
Authored by Josephine Bauer, Matleena Kniivilä and Franz Schmithüsen, the report states: “Reforestation is obligatory and some kind of time limit for regeneration is defined in the forest laws of Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Sweden.” The Forest Act in Finland “does not prevent forestry land from being adopted for other purposes”.
The authors say that the laws of France, Germany, Slovak Republic and Switzerland “provide for reforestation in a general manner as part of the principle of sustainable forest management and planning.”
They quote the German Forest Act “which constitutes a framework for legislation at state level” and obliges “all forest owners ... to reforest or supplement when natural stock regeneration is incomplete in clearfelled forest areas or thinned out forest stands within a reasonable period of time”.
In relation to changing land use in Germany, they say: “If a forest is converted to other use for a specified period, the authorities have to make sure that the area is duly reforested within a reasonable period of time.”
The authors do not mention fines or other penalties, should owners not comply with the various replanting requirements of the 23 European countries surveyed. Incidentally, Ireland was not featured in the report.
Ireland
The Irish Forestry Act 2014 is specific about the need to replant and what kind of forest is required by the Forest Service. The IFA regards the replanting order as “a major deterrent to farmers considering forestry” as outlined by Michael Fleming, IFA farm forestry chair. While the IFA accepts the act, it advises farmers to be extremely cautious and to make themselves aware of the implications of the replanting obligation.
It is not alone in its opposition to the replanting obligation. A number of private forest owners and organisations representing their interests maintain that it is unnecessary. They claim that forest owners have fulfilled their obligations during a normal forest rotation. They maintain that few, if any, would revert to another land use but the statutory presence of the replanting obligation acts as a barrier to future afforestation. This is reflected in the reduction in land values after planting as existing and future forest owners are locked into forestry. This is perceived as a major barrier to afforestation because it restricts land owners to the same crop in perpetuity, which is unique in land-use policy.
The State, on the other hand, claims that the taxpayer has invested heavily in creating the forest resource and this would be jeopardised by the removal of the replanting obligation as would other benefits such as future carbon accounting and timber supply.
Those who favour the retention of the replanting requirement maintain that it is a fundamental aspect of sustainable forest management, which is vital to Ireland considering our low forest cover.
Over the past 100 years, six forestry acts have been enacted to cover primary forest legislation in Ireland outlining issues such as the function of the minister responsible for forestry, felling licences, forest damage and replanting.
The 1928 Forestry Act was the first act that had the power to control the felling of trees and to attach replanting conditions. The 1946 Forestry Act retained the replanting obligation, while the 2014 act made “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” and to confer certain powers on the minister to ensure the act is implemented.
Part four of the act refers to the application for a felling licence and addressed the replanting obligation which follows. It states: “Subject to section 7, where a person wishes to fell or otherwise remove any tree or trees, he or she shall apply to the minister for a licence to do so.”
An application will include particulars of the tree or trees concerned, and such other particulars as may be prescribed by the minister. The licence shall be valid for such period as the minister decides, but shall not exceed 10 years but the minister may extend the duration of the licence for one or more further periods, not exceeding a total of five years.
The minister may at any time attach or vary conditions to any licence granted, including the requirement to:
Replant trees, at such places, of such species, in such numbers, of such surface area and density, within such period of time, as may be specified.Protect and maintain the reforested area including the erection of fencing or barriers to prevent trespass by animals, during such period of time as may be specified.Submit a report to the minister with such information as the minister considers appropriate.Submit a forest management plan to the minister and, where such a plan has been approved, in whole or in part, by the minister, to implement the plan as approved.Offence
Under the act, “a person who fells or otherwise removes one or more trees, or causes or permits one or more trees to be felled or otherwise removed, without a licence, or in contravention of a condition of a licence, shall be guilty of an offence and be liable” to the following penalties:
A fine not exceeding €200 for every tree in respect of which the offence was committed (but which total penalty shall not exceed €5,000) or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or both; orA fine not exceeding €1,000,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or both. 
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