Warning that biodiversity rules will cost forestry sector €3bn

New planting remains 80pc below national targets

Logging and timber production can be a lucrative business. Photo: Getty

Fearghal O'Connor

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.