SUSTAINABILITY

Good forestry is all about sustainability, making sure that we hand on our forests to future generations in an as good or better state than they are today. Coillte aims to balance and deliver the multiple benefits of its forests for climate, nature, wood production and people.

Social Sustainability  

We want the Irish people to maintain a long-term sense of ownership and pride in our forests.  To ensure this, we welcome the public to visit our forests according to the Leave No Trace principles and we consult with the public regularly on our forest and operational plans.

Visit our consultation section for more information.

People using Coillte Forest Trail
Coillte biodiversity forest

Environmental Sustainability

We are determined to protect and care for the environment.  About 20% of our estate, nearly 90,000 hectares of forest lands, are managed with nature conservation and biodiversity as the primary objective and we have ambitions to increase this to 30% by the year 2025.  Rare species and habitats are identified, mapped and protected. In addition, and in partnership with the LIFE Nature Unit we have restored some of Ireland’s rarest forest and peatland habitats.

Visit our Biodiversity section for more information.

Economic Sustainability

To be economically sustainable, our forestry business must be profitable. To ensure it is so, we are using the latest technologies and information to harvest our wood efficiently, safely and responsibly.

 

Picture of timber logs stacked

Archaeology

Coillte is the custodian to more than 1,800 recorded archaeological monuments across our estate.  They can be accessed at different stages of the forest growth cycle from initial tree planting stage, when an unplanted 4 metre wide pedestrian access route to the nearest access track is provided or at tree harvesting stage, when access can either be put in place, if not already present, or maintained. At other times, as the forest matures, requests from professional archaeologists can be facilitated locally by Coillte staff on a site-by-site basis.  Please submit your request via info@coillte.ie.