New Forestry Measures to Promote Water Quality

Kevin Collins, Forestry Inspector

Forest Service-DAFM

Presentation at the Catchment Management Network Meeting

Athlone

24th February 2017

Forestry in Ireland

c.11% of land area

53% public (Coillte), 47% private (farmers)

Vibrant sector, from nursery to product:

Employs 12,000+, mainly rural

€2.2 billion contribution to economy (2012)

Wide range of ecosystem services: water, biodiversity, landscape, carbon & amenity

This role recognised in current policy (Forests, products & people) & 2014-2020 Forestry Programme

Forest Service (DAFM) is the consenting authority for key forestry activities (afforestation, forest road construction, thinning / felling & replanting, & aerial fertilisation) & implements support schemes under the Forestry Programme

Forests & water…

A. Negative impacts on water can arise with inappropriately sited & poorly managed forests

B. However, appropriately sited, designed & managed woodlands & forests can:

deliver key water-related ecosystem services

play an important role in meeting objectives under 2nd WFD cycle

Eliminate ‘A’ and promote ‘B’

Regulation & promotion

FS-DAFM oversees significant activity, …

… e.g. in 2014-15: c.12,500 ha afforestation; c.5,000 Felling Licences; 326 km of new forest roads

Procedures to assess applications & to check compliance:

GIS-based & field inspections by Forestry Inspectors

Referrals to NPWS, Fisheries, CoCos, An Taisce, EPA, etc.

AA Screening & EIA Screening

Mandatory ‘guidelines’ & requirements (incl. species specific)

Scheme standards, terms & conditions

Protocols (e.g. acid sensitivity protocol, Hen Harrier procedures)

iNET online system for Registered Foresters

Training for Registered Foresters

Penalties, sanctions, prosecutions

Protection of the environment – including water – central

Land Types for Afforestation

Released in March 2016

Uses indicator plant species to assess the potential ‘Yield Class’ of a site

If a minimum Yield Class of 14 is not possible, site ineligible under Afforestation Scheme

Similarly for various defined site conditions

Production-focused, but excludes afforestation from a range of water-sensitive sites, habitats & landscapes, e.g.

wet & dry heath & blanket & raised bog

sites that cannot be adequately drained

sites prone to flooding

Environmental Requirements for Afforestation

Released in Dec16, applies to all new approvals issued after that date

Consolidates & updates previous guidelines, ref. afforestation

Regarding water:

Measures for aquatic zones, relevant watercourses(*), hotspots & water abstraction points

(* Defined as “A watercourse that is not shown on an OS 6 inch map but which: is connected to an aquatic zone onsite, adjoining the site or elsewhere; and has the potential to carry significant amounts of sediments / nutrients, or shows evidence of erosion / deposition.” i.e. sub-order pathways)

Integrates Sustainable Use of Pesticides Regs. (S.I.155/2012) & Good Plant Protection Practice

Includes template for contingency planning & water management plan

Enhanced water setbacks...

Water setback

Purpose:

“To create at the outset, a buffer of natural ground vegetation positioned between defined water features & the forest crop & associated operations, in order to protect water quality & aquatic ecosystems from possible sediment & nutrient runoff from

the site at afforestation & throughout the remainder of the forest rotation”

Setback table:

Outside-most 10 m can be replaced by a native woodland plot

Minimum allowable width of a forest plot is 20 m tree-to-tree, therefore…

… (if option used) creates a 30 m wide (min.) semi-natural permanent protective strip along the watercourse in these sensitive areas

Forest & water research

DAFM forest research programme set out in Forest Research Ireland – Meeting the needs of Ireland’s forest sector to 2017 through research and innovation

Significant scope for water-related research activities, e.g. under Theme 3.6 Ecosystem Services

Recent research projects informing forest policy & practices:

• Forestry Management for the Freshwater Pearl Mussel (FORMMAR)

• 4-year Combined Research on Riparian Woodland (CROW), focused on aquatic buffer zones

• 7-year Assessment of the Impacts of Forest Operations on the Ecological Quality of Water (HYDROFOR), jointly funded by the EPA & DAFM & investigating the relationships between conifer forests, forestry operations, & surface water quality & ecology in Irish rivers & lakes

Forestry & Freshwater Pearl Mussel

FS-DAFM developing a Plan for Forestry & Freshwater Pearl Mussel (FPM) in Ireland SEA & AA processes underway, draft plan due for public consultation in early 2017

KerryLIFE sustainable land use management for the conservation of FPM, based on the Caragh and Kerry Backwater FPM catchments

Trialing a wide range of forestry activities (halo-thinning, conifer removal, native woodland reseeding, firebreak management…) application elsewhere…?

Support for native woodland

Native Woodland Scheme (NWS) developed & implemented by FS-DAFM in partnership with Woodlands of Ireland, Heritage Council, NPWS, Inland Fisheries Ireland & other native woodland stakeholders

Supporting the restoration & expansion of our native woodland resource & associated biodiversity,

plus a strong focus on water

Two elements…

Native Woodland Conservation Scheme

The restoration of existing native woodlands and the conversion of non-native forest (conifer) to native woodland

Private, Coillte and NPWS

Up to €5,000 / ha plus premium of €350 / ha for 7 years (for private)

Native Woodland Establishment Scheme

Creation – on ‘greenfield’ sites – of the most appropriate native woodland type(s)

Highest grant & premium available: €5,750 / ha grant plus €635 / ha / 15 years

Allows more nuanced design of new plantations

Woodland for Water

Released in Sept. 2016, promoting the use of new native woodlands (under the NWS) to create permanent semi-natural buffers along watercourses, specifically to protect & enhance water:

reduction in sediment mobilisation & runoff into watercourses

interception of nutrient runoff into watercourses

bank stabilisation

food input into the aquatic ecosystem

shading / cooling

regulation of floodwater

mitigating acidification

Discussions underway with the EPA & others to explore the strategic targeting of the Woodland for Water measure on key sites, to help

achieve objectives under the 2nd cycle of the WFD

Making forestry part of the solution…