| Addressing the Oireachtas Committee on Climate Change this afternoon, IFA Forestry Chairman Pat Hennessy said sustainable forestry will not only have a positive role in carbon sequestration, but can also contribute to Ireland’ s economic stabilisation efforts, particularly through job creation and expanding the forest resource. He warned that any further cuts to the forestry budget will undermine the growth prospects of the sector, and will hinder our efforts to deal with climate change. Forestry’s potential for employment generation stems from several factors: - Low capital requirements. Forestry is labour intensive with relatively low capital investment. Labour and land are the key inputs in the production of wood and non-wood forest products, and environmental services and investments in private forestry generate more jobs than most other sectors. - Multiplier effect. The major share of a farmer’s and forest worker’s income goes to the purchase of goods and services, mainly at the local level. It is estimated that for every one job created in forestry an additional 1.5 to 2.5 jobs are generated in the economy. - Flexibility and adaptability in diverse situations. The variety of the tasks and the levels of mechanisation offer various employment options during the production cycle. Pat Hennessy said, “timber production for the private forest sector is forecast to increase eightfold, to nearly 3 million m3 by 2028. The volume of timber currently being harvested from the private forest sector is still relatively small. Significant capital investment is required to construct forest road infrastructure to access and mobilise the resource.” He said policies to encourage increased forest management and harvest levels must be based on co-operation of forest owners. “Fragmentation of ownership and lack of knowledge are considered the main obstacles to sustainable forest management. Supporting organisational structures to develop and coordinate management is of paramount importance.” |
Friday, 26 November 2010 14:45