Northern Ireland pledges to plant 18 million trees in a decade

The announcement by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) sets a target of 900 hectares of new woodland creation annually - a significant increase on the 200 hectares being planted at the moment.

The announcement by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) sets a target of 900 hectares of new woodland creation annually - a significant increase on the 200 hectares being planted at the moment.

DAERA Minister Edwin Poots said the Forests for our Future programme would see around 18 million trees planted in ten years - one a year for every person in Northern Ireland.

He described it as "Northern Ireland's biggest and most ambitious plan to develop our forests and contribute to sustainable economic growth" in a statement to the Stormont Assembly - and said he planned to create an Afforestation Forum to develop an action plan for new planting. 

Minister Poots said: "Forest cover in Northern Ireland currently sits at 8%, well beyond the UK average of 13 per cent. We plant only 200 hectares of woodland per year, instead of the 900ha recommended recently by the Committee on Climate Change. That's why I have launched Forests for our Future."

James Hamilton Stubber, Northern Ireland Chair of forestry and wood trade body Confor, welcomed the announcement. 

He said: "This is extremely welcome news and I'm very pleased to see the planting ambition linked to both economic and environmental goals. Confor and its members will do everything possible to work with the Department to deliver on this ambitious planting target and we look forward to playing a full part in the new Afforestation Forum."

Stuart Goodall, Confor CEO, added: "I'm delighted to see Northern Ireland setting much greater planting ambitions - although it's vital that the ambition is matched with trees in the ground and a recognition of the need to produce renewable sources of low-carbon wood for local sawmills."

The programme also pledges to:

* Improve the resilience of Northern Ireland's forests and woodlands
* Increase their contribution to a sustainable, healthy environment;
* Increase their contribution to sustainable economic growth;
* Enable more people to improve their health, wellbeing and life chances; and

* Contribute to the UK Net Zero by 2050 target.

Minister Poots added: “More forests and more trees will help mitigate climate change. Tree planting is one of the most simple and low-cost options open to us (to mitigate carbon emissions) and is a great step in the right direction. Furthermore, planting more trees will make a significant contribution to Northern Ireland's sustainable economic growth - the sector generates about £60 million per annum from timber production, sustaining around 1000 rural jobs.  A further £60-80 million is generated in the local economy from forest-based recreation and tourism."