Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Andrew Doyle T.D., today announced a public call by his Department for proposals in the area of forestry promotion. The call is encouraging innovative proposals which will highlight the multifunctional benefits of forestry in Ireland over the next two years.
In announcing the Call, Minister of State Doyle advised; “We know Forestry delivers many benefits in Ireland, particularly economic, social and environmental benefits. While we have a relatively low level of forest cover in Ireland compared to other European countries, there is huge potential to develop and grow Irish forestry to enable us and future generations to enjoy those benefits. The Government continues to pro-actively assist and support the development of Irish forestry through the National Forestry Programme. This call for proposals will drive some creative and innovative ideas that will increase public awareness of the multi-functional benefits of forestry, to promote a higher level of tree planting and to encourage existing forest owners to maximize the benefits of their resource.”
The Department advises that the proposals being sought should demonstrate a degree of consultation, discussion and engagement with other like-minded groups. They should also seek to coordinate actions with other entities such as community groups, for example, creating partnerships that will result in actions that will have a wider impact.
The Minister added; “At a national and global level, forestry plays an important role in climate change mitigation through carbon capture. However, we should not underestimate the benefits of forestry in our immediate environs. There are the income and employment benefits but also recreational opportunities and contribution to biodiversity. Irish native woodlands, for example, are an integral part of our natural heritage, history and culture, and are unique in terms of their biodiversity. This call will generate some new and innovative ideas which will raise awareness amongst Irish people of the wonderful resource which is Irish forestry”.
- A copy of the specification document can be downloaded from: https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/media/migration/forestry/forestservicegeneralinformation/ForestryPromotion110119.pdf.
- Proposals can be e-mailed to Christine.smith@agriculture.gov.ie by 1 pm, Friday 1st March 2019.
- The deadline for submission of proposals in response to the Call is 1 pm on 01 March 2019 with final delivery/completion of proposed actions, which may include small scale one-off short term actions or larger projects, to fall within the period March 2019 – December 2020. Proposed projects that have a “life” after the promotion event or can be reused at a later stage should be highlighted e.g. educational tools and other promotional assets.
