The provision of services to prepare a business plan for the establishment of an Irish Group Forest Certification Scheme

Tender description

The COFORD Wood Mobilisation and Production Forecasting Group was established to identify and make recommendations to address barriers to wood mobilisation from Irish forests. The COFORD Group funded a study in 2021 on forest certification in the private sector. The study titled “A Study on Private Forest Certification in Ireland”, was conducted to make recommendations to increase the uptake of certification in the private sector and to assess the impact of certification on market accessibility and future wood mobilisation. The Report highlights, “The current position where less than 12,000 ha of the private forest area (excluding Farm Partnerships) is certified is unsustainable. The urgency and need for a solution to the current position cannot be overstated. Failure to immediately address the issue of low uptake of certification by private forest owners will result in the loss of timber revenues as non-certified volumes are discounted.” To progress the recommendations contained in the report, this RFT has been launched.