Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Tá an Comhaontas Glas sásta an rún seo a thabhairt os comhair na Dála anocht. As Deputy Ryan has outlined, the motion before us follows on from the Joint Committee on Climate Action's recommendation that a review of land use should lead to a national land use plan. This recommendation was accepted and endorsed by the Dáil earlier this year. The exploitation of nature and of the earth is at the root of climate change. In pre-neolithic times, forest cover across this island was more than 80%. When this State was founded almost 100 years ago, forest cover on the island was just 1%. While we have made progress in restoring that - we are now at approximately 11% - we have a long way to go. Rather than focusing on the number of trees, we need to make sure the tree cover we have is appropriate to the area. The motion before the House seeks a fundamental shift to a style of forestry that restores nature. This total change will bring more light, more wildlife and greater diversity of life to our woodlands.

Our motion calls for a more diverse forestry and a more intense style of forestry management, which will help to create steady jobs in the forestry sector while managing continuous native woodlands. These new jobs will need to be supported by educational infrastructure and funding to support apprenticeship programmes in forest management, alongside the modernisation of equipment available for craft apprenticeship provision. If this fundamental shift in forestry is to work, we need to bring communities and farmers along with us. In the past, some farmers have had negative experiences with forestry. If farmers are to come with us on this journey, we need to pay them properly. We need to ensure they receive steady and sustainable incomes for using their lands in the most sustainable manner. We must help them to diversify and enable them to be the leaders on climate action that they can be, given that they are natural caretakers of the land. It is only then that we can develop the best system of land use for our communities, local economies and natural ecosystems. The current system is not serving our farmers, our wildlife, our island or our planet. We need substantial reform of the Common Agricultural Policy to ensure farmers can be paid for rewilding or planting their land.

There are many positive opportunities for local communities and economies in this context. There are employment opportunities for people with an expertise in forestry. Continuous cover forestry is more labour-intensive than clear-fell forestry. This means it can create further employment. When it comes to moving away from a narrow vision of forestry towards a different model, nature is our greatest ally. Self-seeding and rewilding allow nature to do the heavy lifting and to restore itself. This is essential not only for rural areas but also for urban areas. Trees have a role in tackling air pollution in urban areas, increasing quality of life and health and creating streetscapes that keep us closer to nature. This motion is very important for our trees and our wildlife, for protecting the biodiversity of our country and our natural ecosystems and for the quality of life in urban and rural areas. Tackling climate change will require an overhaul of how we do everything, including how we move, how we eat, how we live and how we care for each other and for the planet. By fixing these issues in their entirety, we will have an opportunity to create a fairer, more equal and more sustainable society and global economy. Things as they stand are broken for farmers and for our biodiversity. That is why we need to change radically how we do things. We need to have a radical ambition when it comes to how we use our land. It is time for a different kind of forestry that will lead to a better quality of soil and a better quality of water, is rich in biodiversity, protects our biodiversity and our ecosystems, and puts nature first. It is time to change our relationship with nature to create a better quality of life for all.

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