A study examining the current state of environmental regulation of forestry in Co Leitrim has been published by the Department of Agriculture.
The report, which is available here, was commissioned by Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Andrew Doyle in February 2019 following intense campaigning by residents of the county against the level of planting.
The study, led by UCD’s Dr Áine Ní Dhubháin in conjunction with the Bureau for Economic Theory and Applications, INRA, France, was aimed at assessing the social and economic impacts of forestry in the county.
The latest figures show the percentage of forestry cover in Co Leitrim is 18.9%, the highest cover in any county, and substantially higher than the national level of 11%.
Of that forest area, 61.3% is sitka spruce.
Native species account for 30.7% of Leitrim’s forest area.
Findings
A survey of forestry owners in Leitrim carried out by the researchers found:
Just over two thirds of owners of forests in Co Leitrim had planted forests on their own land.Twenty-six percent were investors (ie they bought land/forest purposely for investment).Five percent had inherited their forest.Just over 30% of the forest owners were not resident in Co Leitrim (half of these were from neighbouring counties).The average size of an individual forest plot was 6.92 hectares. Forty percent had planted more than one plot. The average total area planted per owner was 14.0 hectares.Seventy-five percent of owners were farmers (full-time, part-time and retired).Interviews
Researchers also held interviews with 23 people to capture a range of opinions on forestry in the county.
The issues that emerged from the interviews were later grouped into themes.
The major themes include those relating to forestry as a land use, forestry’s role in the community, and forest policy.
A strong divergence of opinion was noted for most of the themes.
Some of the findings from the result were:
The estimated overall percentage of farms in Leitrim where the return from forestry (on a per-hectare basis) would be higher than that from agriculture was 67%.For the year 2017, 151.3 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs were generated in Co Leitrim as a result of forestry activity. A further 158.0 FTE jobs were generated in wood processing.It was estimated €26.5m in economic activity was associated with forestry/wood processing in 2017 in Co Leitrim. The total carbon stock in Co Leitrim forests was estimated to be 12.6m tonnes.Coming work
Minister Doyle, on receiving the report, said it was extremely comprehensive and he encouraged all stakeholders to take the time to study the report in detail.
He thanked Dr Ní Dhubháin for her work and said the Department would consider the report carefully over the coming weeks.
“The study will improve our understanding of the impacts of forestry in rural communities and in this regard will form an important part of the final review of the Forestry Programme 2014 -2020.”
Read more
Surge in non-farmer forestry in Roscommon and Cavan
Forestry planting hits historic low
Listen: Terms of reference of forestry study are ‘weak’
A study examining the current state of environmental regulation of forestry in Co Leitrim has been published by the Department of Agriculture.
The report, which is available here, was commissioned by Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Andrew Doyle in February 2019 following intense campaigning by residents of the county against the level of planting.
The study, led by UCD’s Dr Áine Ní Dhubháin in conjunction with the Bureau for Economic Theory and Applications, INRA, France, was aimed at assessing the social and economic impacts of forestry in the county.
The latest figures show the percentage of forestry cover in Co Leitrim is 18.9%, the highest cover in any county, and substantially higher than the national level of 11%.
Of that forest area, 61.3% is sitka spruce.
Native species account for 30.7% of Leitrim’s forest area.
Findings
A survey of forestry owners in Leitrim carried out by the researchers found:
Just over two thirds of owners of forests in Co Leitrim had planted forests on their own land.Twenty-six percent were investors (ie they bought land/forest purposely for investment).Five percent had inherited their forest.Just over 30% of the forest owners were not resident in Co Leitrim (half of these were from neighbouring counties).The average size of an individual forest plot was 6.92 hectares. Forty percent had planted more than one plot. The average total area planted per owner was 14.0 hectares.Seventy-five percent of owners were farmers (full-time, part-time and retired).Interviews
Researchers also held interviews with 23 people to capture a range of opinions on forestry in the county.
The issues that emerged from the interviews were later grouped into themes.
The major themes include those relating to forestry as a land use, forestry’s role in the community, and forest policy.
A strong divergence of opinion was noted for most of the themes.
Some of the findings from the result were:
The estimated overall percentage of farms in Leitrim where the return from forestry (on a per-hectare basis) would be higher than that from agriculture was 67%.For the year 2017, 151.3 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs were generated in Co Leitrim as a result of forestry activity. A further 158.0 FTE jobs were generated in wood processing.It was estimated €26.5m in economic activity was associated with forestry/wood processing in 2017 in Co Leitrim. The total carbon stock in Co Leitrim forests was estimated to be 12.6m tonnes.Coming work
Minister Doyle, on receiving the report, said it was extremely comprehensive and he encouraged all stakeholders to take the time to study the report in detail.
He thanked Dr Ní Dhubháin for her work and said the Department would consider the report carefully over the coming weeks.
“The study will improve our understanding of the impacts of forestry in rural communities and in this regard will form an important part of the final review of the Forestry Programme 2014 -2020.”
Read more
Surge in non-farmer forestry in Roscommon and Cavan
Forestry planting hits historic low
Listen: Terms of reference of forestry study are ‘weak’
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