Northern Ireland’s new Forest Bill needs to include a commitment to increase the supply of wood, ConFor chief executive Stuart Goodall has told the province’s government.
Giving evidence to the Northern Ireland Assembly’s agriculture and rural development committee, Mr Goodall said the proposed bill, which is to replace the 1953 Forestry Act, should also enshrine the promotion of forest expansion.
The bill includes provisions to introduce felling licences and, unlike elsewhere in the UK, charge for them.
Confor’s Northern Ireland chairman Lord Hamilton said Confor was firmly opposed to charging for felling licensing, which he said would have the “perverse” effect of reducing forest management and new planting.
He said the bill should include the ambitious Northern Ireland Forest Service plan to create an additional 150,000ha by 2050.
“This, we believe, will underpin the timber sector, guarantee and increase job prospects, and help mitigate climate change.”
