Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 11 December 2019

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action

Forestry and Climate Change: Discussion

Dr. Eugene Hendrick:

On the point about harvesting versus retention, the question I was asked was whether it is advisable to keep the carbon in the forest rather than harvesting. To answer the Senator's question, there are areas of forest that should never be touched because their nature value is extremely high. They should be retained and not used. There are examples in Europe and across the globe.

On the general question as to whether it is better to tackle climate change by not felling managed forests or to keep the carbon in the forest, the scientific census I indicated is that it is better to harvest the managed forests in the context of biodiversity enhancement and so on. That was the point I made.