The State forestry company, Coillte, has committed itself to operating its forests, some 6 per cent of land in the Republic, under stringent environmental standards and in closer co-operation with rural communities.
All its forests will be independently assessed and certified by the end of 1999 to ensure they are being developed "in harmony with the natural environment and consistent with the aspiration of the community".
The commitment is reflected in Coillte's adoption of "sustainable forest management" (SFM), an internationally accepted system to ensure development strikes a balance between economic, social and environmental benefits.
A strategy document, Coillte's Forests: A Vital Resource, was presented to the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Dr Woods, in Dublin yesterday by Coillte chairman Mr Ray MacSharry.
The initiative includes undertakings to maintain biodiversity, so much so that a significant number of forests will not be developed for timber production. It also entails more extensive water and soil impact assessment.
The demands of being sustainable have led Coillte to "implement an approach to forest management embracing the full range of forest values - not just timber production but also combating the effects of greenhouse gases, wildlife conservation, landscape enhancement and recreational opportunities," Mr MacSharry said.
There was a growing consumer demand, he said, not only for Irish timber but for forest owners to demonstrate the wood and paper they supplied comes from well-managed forests.
Dr Woods welcomed the initiative's "visionary approach to achieving the elusive balance between economic, social and environmental objectives in managing forests". Setting specific environmental objectives and performance targets would quickly translate into "tangible policies and actions", he said.
Coillte's chief executive, Mr Martin Lowery, said that in the past they did not pay sufficient attention to issues such as biodiversity. He also accepted the company had "not done a good enough job" in showing the benefits of forestry to communities.
Conifers would always feature strongly because they were the life blood of the business, he said, but in line with Government policy, Coillte would diversify to a greater extent with a broadleaf target of 5 per cent. Much higher levels of broadleaf trees could be achieved in the private sector, as it invariably had better land.
