Overview ofForestry Measures in Rural Development

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Overview of Forestry Measures in Rural
Development

• J. Van de Velde
• EC DG Environment B1

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1992-99 Forestry Regulation N 2080/92

• OBJECTIVES
• To accompany the changes linked to the 1992 CAP
  reforms (Mc Sharry / set-aside) by offering
  forestry as an alternative to agricultural
  production
• To contribute to an improvement in forest
  resources of the EU (forest products deficiency
  in 12 MS)
• To contribute to forms of countryside management
  more compatible with environmental requirements
• To counter greenhouse effect and sequester CO²

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Forestry Regulation N 2080/92

• MAIN PRINCIPLES
• Modulation of the aid (broadleaves, conifers,
  fast growing trees) as integral part of scheme
• Introduction of a maintenance premium over the
  first 5 years (according to the type of
  plantation )
• Opening the aid to a wider range of
  beneficiaries, but compensation to farmers most
  important in budget
• Significant increase in the budget available and
  eligible actions compared to previous schemes

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Forestry Regulation N 2080/92
Total cost for the EAGGF 1 519 Mio
(1992-1999) Breakdown by species classes
Medium and long term broadleaves 56.8
562 142 ha Medium and long term conifers
32.1 317 467 ha Mixed plantations
(broadleaves con.) 7.1 70 175 ha Fast
growing trees (Euc./Pop./Pinus) 4.0
39 464 ha Total planting 1992-99
approx. 1.000.000 ha
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Forestry Regulation N 2080/92 Afforestation by
EU Member States (1993 -1999)
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2000-2006 Rural Dev. Reg. 1257/99

• Agenda 2000
• Creation of separate schemes for direct support
  ( pillar I ) and rural development ( pillar
  II )
• Principles of Rural Development policy
• - Multifunctional agriculture and forestry
• - Multisectoral and integrated approach to rural
  economy
• - SUBSIDIARITY MS to draw up own RD programmes
• RD Most important vehicle for implementing EU
  Forestry Strategy (98) , new RDR with complete
  chapter (VIII) on Forestry measures

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• .

EU Common Agricultural Policy(Including the 2003
reform in yellow)
Common Market Organisations (1. pillar)
Rural Development (2. pillar) Modulation 9 2
measures Farm advisory system
Indirect support (intervention, export
subsidies, import duties)
Direct support (payments to farmers) Indirect
support remains
RD Plans at national and regional level
Decoupling Single farm payment Cross compliance
applies
Milk
Sugar
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RD Regulation N 1257/99

• Chapter VIII Possibilities for forestry support
  
• art. 30 investments in forestry activities,
  support for SFM and planting of non-agro land
• MS decide 40-50 co-financing of real costs
• art. 31 plantings on agricultural land
• planting costs 100 supported
• maintenance premium/ ha during 5 yrs.
• compensation of income during 20 yrs (725 /ha
  -185 /ha)
• (public owners only planting costs)
• art. 32 ecological functions firebreaks
• condition for support costs gt income
• MS fix payments 40-120 /ha , based on real costs

No detailed technical conditions but more general
principles set the rules
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EAGGF Guarantee Guidance expenditure by RD
measures 2000-2006 (in and million EUR)
1824
4 682
344
1 423
12 649
6 128
4 807
3 760
13 480
Total 49 billion
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RD Regulation N 1257/99 uptake of
forestry measures in EU 15

• Chapter VIII-Forestry measures - EU
  contribution (EAGGF- guarantee guidance) in Mio
  - Total / afforestation

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2007-2013 Rural Dev. Reg. 1698/2005 Agenda
2007
Rural Development 2007-2013
Combined Programming for all sectors
Axis 2Environment Land Management (gt25)
Axis 3 Diversif. Quality of Life (gt15)
Axis 4 Leader 
Axis 1 Competi-tiveness (gt15)
Single set of programming, financing, monitoring,
auditing rules
Single Rural Development Fund
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RD Regulation 1698/2005

• Whats new
• Simplification gt only 1 fund EAFRD
• Three priority axes competitiveness
• land
  management
• diversification
• ( axis 4 LEADER small projects scheme)
• Consultation partnership approach (6)
• Wider use of advisory services more training
• Community Strategy gt National strategy
• Designation of areas for measures by MS (50)
• Agriculture Forestry completely in parallel
  sets of measures ( no more links required )

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Justification of Forestry measures

• Treaty basis has changed over time
• Originally the basis was a strong link to CAP
  gt farm landscape structure / farmers as
  preferential beneficiaries in 2080/92 1257/99 )
• With new RDR 1698/2005, no more formal link to
  agriculture exists gt ENV as Treaty basis
• See considerants of new RDR
• Argument to defend environmental added value when
  negociating with MS
• Compare to new State Aid rules

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AXIS 1 3

• AXIS 1 COMPETITIVENESS (20)
• - vocational training (21)
• - setting up young farmers (22)
• - early retirement (23)
• - use of advisory services (24)
• - setting up advisory services (25)
• - farm modernisation (26)
• - improving economic value of forests (27)
• - adding value to products
• co-operation (28)
• developing new products (29)
• - infrastructure support (30)

AXIS 3 QUALITY OF LIFE/RURAL ECONOMY (52) -
diversification into non-ag activities -
micro-enterprises - tourism activities - basic
services for economy - village renewal -
conservation rural heritage - training - skills
acquisition animation

• - gt mainly agro-specific measures

- gt some forest specific measures
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AXIS 2 land management (36)

• Agricultural land (36a)
• support for mountain areas (i)
• LFA support (ii)
• Natura 2000 Water FD payments (iii)
• agri-environment (iv)
• animal welfare (v)
• non-productive investments (41)

• Forest land (36b i-vii)
• afforestation on agr. Land (43)
• Agroforestry (44)
• afforestation on non agri-land (45)
• Natura 2000 (46)
• ( but no WFD ! )
• forest environment (47)
• restoring forestry potential (48)
• non-productive investments (49)

• gt Agro For. are now at par

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Whats new for forestry ?

• New
• Establishment support for agro-forestry (axis 2)
• creation and development of micro-enterprises
• (axis 1
• Changed
• afforestation restricted to first afforestation
• broadened support measures for maintaining and
  improving environment to focus on Natura 2000 and
  forest environment payments
• No more support for the establishment of
  associations
• Reduction in support rate for afforestation costs
  and period of compensation of income

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Support levels RD Reg. 1648/2005

• Annex
• Axis 1
• 80 co-financing of advisory services , max.
  1500 /unit (24) (25)
• 50 or more co-financing of investments (27)
  (28)
• Axis 2
• lower levels of support for plantations (43/45)
  
• - co-financing 40 / 50 / 75 (all types of
  land)
• - maintenance 5 yrs. (agro benef.)
• - compensation of income 500/150 /ha, max. 15
  yrs. (agro benef.)
• agroforestry establishment costs, co-fin. 70-85
  (44)
• Natura 2000 payment 40-200 /ha (46)
• forest environment payment 40-200 /ha (47)
• Support for non-productive investments
• ( reduced eligibility for state forests ,
  44/46/47 excluded)
• Axis 3 setup costs covered , no co-fin or
  max. specified

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Plantations (43-44-45)

• Afforestation of agricultural land
• Establishment / maintenance / compensation
• Public owners only establishment costs
• Fast growing trees only estabishment ( see IR)
• Avoid concentration on this (classical) measure
• Agroforestry
• Most interesting for MED zone (cork / fruit
  trees)
• See IR on  local conditions  and spp. choice
• Afforestation of non-agro land
• Mostly non cultivated open land
• Biodiv. Implications to be carefully screened ,
  e.g. for wetlands / bogs / semi-natural
  grasslands (wet/dry)

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Environment (46-47)

• Forests Natura 2000 payment
•  Costs incurred   income foregone  to be
  specified
• N2000 designations to be specified
• N2000 management plans or equivalent
• Forest Environment payment
• No set of conditions comparable to CC in agro
•  Relevant mandatory requirements  to be
  specified
•  Additional costs   Income foregone  to be
  specified
• 5-7 yrs. commtiment period is short for forestry
• For both measures , a reasoned explanation of
  the support levels chosen can be expected from MS

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Additional (48-49)

• Restoration prevention
• Replanting after windfall and forest fires
• Potential for important ecological added value
• Allows to avoid repetition of disasters
• Possibly high demands of Med. Zone for fire
  prevention balance with other measures ?
• Non-productive investments
• Can be linked to forest-environment , focussing
  on biodiversity
• Mainly intended for public access, all owners
  eligible
• Avoid concentration on infrastructure

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Implementing Rules

• Axis 1 rules
• Advisory services degressive support (16)
• Investment support art. 1819
• Forest holding level
• Avoid run on machinery
• No support for industrial processing ( no
  downstream  )
• Axis 2 definitions (29-30-31-32-33-34)
• Forest OWL definitions
• Eligibility criteria for owners
• Agroforestry
• Restoration / prevention / non-productive
• Designation of areas
• Axis 3 partnership criteria (36)

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Challenges / Issues (I)

• Lower Support for Afforestation (also env.
  Plantations)
• Maximum public support for establishment costs
  capped at 50 (60 for LFAs and mountain
  regions), see annex 1
• Income foregone payments reduced to 15 years
• No more support for owner co-operation or
  establishment of forestry associations Investment
  support restricted to micro businesses
• No comprehensive set of rules for environmental
  conditionality on forestry support that compares
  to cross compliance

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Challenges / Issues (II)

• Consultation partnership approach (6)
• Eligibility for forestry measures (42.1)
• All forest owners eligible (43) , (45), (48) ,
  (49)
• Private Municipal only (44) , (46) , (47)
• State forests not eligible (44) , (46) , (47)
• Designation of areas (50.1 / 50.6-7-8)
• Applies to 34 b (i) , (iii) , (iv) , (vi) /
  (43-45-46-48)
• Important planning measure to give owners
  security about what is / is not possible on their
  land

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Cross compliance in forests?

• Existing Annex III IV approach of 1782/2003 for
  the agricultural sector applies in theory to
  forests.
• EU legislation
• - Habitats directive
• - Birds Directive
• - Water Framework Directive
• - EIA / SEA
• Good Woodland Condition or Good Forestry
  Practice concept was refused by MS AGRI
• This means
• Less specific framework conditions than under
  Agenda 2000
• More decision power to Member States
• Less direct prescriptions from Brussels

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Forests in transition 2007-2013

• A very diverse set of interests
• Forest woodland covering 165 M ha , still
  extending (500 000 ha/yr in EU 25 plant. / NR
  50/50 )
• Forest expansion can be problematic (debate in
  several MS landscape , natural habitats )
• Energy Policy White Paper/RES directives
  gtbiomass action plan gt biofuel strategy
• Forest policy will increasingly respond to
  broader issues (climate/water/biodiv./landscape)
• Will importance as economic resource decline, and
  reliance on imported raw material rise,
  notwithstanding policy to expand the resource
  base since over 25 yrs. ?

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What to avoid ?

• Environmental damage from forestry
• loss of undisturbed forest habitats
• loss of semi-natural woodlands
• decline of existing forest biodiversity
• intensification of forest management
• increasing uniformity of stand structures
• unwise use of exotic species (fire/wind)
• introduction of animals for hunting
• large scale drainage (peat soils / wetlands)
• acidification / eutrophication (plantations)
• - gt see DOBRIS 3 Report (EEA - 1998)

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What to look for ?

• Forest products and public benefits
• timber as an enviromentally friendly material
• non-wood products, responsible hunting , food
• renewable energy from forest biomass
• environmental forest services
• - habitats and species
• - landscape
• - soil and water protection
• - flood management
• - carbon sequestration
• public access , recreation infrastructure

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About EU forests

• Major form of land use Forest wood- land
  cover total UAA ( 165 M ha / 33 cover )
• Actual forest estate is mostly semi-natural and
  sector has low ecological footprint but Virgin
  sites are very rare
• Large variety of natural forest types and forest
  use, with many transitions and regional
  combinations (N/S E/W)
• Large variety in forest cover ( lt10 to gt 70 )
• See For. Strat. Report Staff WP COM(2005)84

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Forest  clusters  (I)

•  The Nordics  
• Austria, Finland, Sweden and the three Baltic
  states Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania heavily
  forested and have substantial forest products
  industries based predominantly on coniferous
  forest and a high utilisation rate
• The South
• France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Cyprus
  
• Mediterranean woodland, managed primarily for
  protection and where fire is potentially a
  serious threat. France and Italy in particular
  also have large areas of temperate forest and
  mountain forests, including coppice areas, farm
  woodlots and community forests utilisation rate
  of Med. Forests is generally low

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Forest  clusters  (II)

• Old and new classics
• Belgium/Luxembourg, N. France and Germany have a
  mixed ownership structure and a wide range of
  semi-natural forest types with timber production
  being significant but forest output is generally
  below sustainable capacity
• Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia
  have coniferous, broadleaved and mixed forests
  which have mostly been subject to age class
  management with a stocking rate generally higher
  than in W. Europe, and the tree species generally
  closer to the natural habitats than in the EU 15.
• Man-made forests
• Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Hungary and UK
  have predominantly artificial forest, based on
  plantations, the objects of management have been
  widened in the last decade to encompass service
  values, leaving productive functions in the
  background
• SW France, N Spain and parts of Portugal have
  large areas of industrial wood plantations,
  mainly destined for pulping and a high
  utilisation rate.

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About EU ENLARGEMENT

• 25 increase in forest area
• 30 increase in no. of forest holdings
• 47 increase in standing stock
• large potential for employment in forest sector
• increased self reliance for forest products
• large increase in protected forest areas

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Business as usual
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No intervention
34
Wet Forests
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Multifunctional