Warning that biodiversity rules will cost forestry sector €3bn
New planting remains 80pc below national targets
Ireland’s commercial forestry sector is warning of a potential loss of €3bn in timber assets, due to government policies favouring native woodlands over commercial plantations.
A quarter of Ireland’s 400,000 hectares of commercial forests, mainly fast-growing coniferous trees such as Sitka spruce, could be lost, according to claims by industry lobby group Forestry Ireland.
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