The Minister of State with responsibility for Forestry at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Senator Pippa Hackett, has published a Shared National Vision for Trees, Woods and Forests in Ireland until 2050.

The visionary document calls for “the right trees in the right places for the right reasons with the right management – supporting a sustainable and thriving economy and society and a healthy environment”. It anticipates by 2050 that Ireland’s forests will be seen as a key solution to the climate, biodiversity, housing and health emergencies of the 2020s. The full text of the Vision is available here: Shared National Vision for Trees and Forests.

Commenting on the Vision, Minister Hackett said:

“In advance of the publication of a new Forest Strategy and Forestry Programme, I am delighted to publish today our Shared National Vision for Trees, Woods and Forests. My department has carried out extensive consultation to find out what we as a nation want from our trees, and this Shared Vision reflects the outcome of that consultation. It is a call to action and shows the urgency needed to plant the right trees in the right places. The Vision underlines our commitment to sustainably manage our expanding forest estate and to increase the environmental, economic and social benefits of forests.”

The Shared Vision is based on the work of Project Woodland, the group formed last year to examine potential reforms to Ireland’s forestry sector and to consider Ireland’s longer term strategic direction for forestry.

The text for the new Shared National Vision for Trees, Woods and Forests has been informed by a series of consultation methods with the public which the department initiated through Project Woodland over the past year. These consultations included a public attitudes survey, an online survey, a study of the attitudes of rural communities, a citizens’ assembly style deliberative dialogue, a youth forum, and a series of bilateral meetings with key stakeholders. Individual reports and summary of all six consultations are now available on the department’s website: Shared National Vision for Trees and Forests.