National Forestry Conference

The role that the forestry and the forest products sector can play in Ireland’s bioeconomy is outlined in Growing the Irish Forest Economy and Project Ireland: National Planning Framework, Growing the Irish Forest Economy.  Submitted to the Department of the Taoiseach by COFORD, they made twelve proposals which positioned forestry as a central pillar of Ireland’s national policy on the bioeconomy. Adopting these proposals provide major economic, environmental and social benefits as well as helping farmers and other sectors in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

 This major national conference addresses many of the issues raised in Growing the Irish Forest Economy including:

• Climate change.
• Wood as a renewable medium to displace materials with high embedded carbon such as steel, aluminium and concrete, as well as generating energy which displaces fossil fuels.
• Wood At the end of its useful life, forest based biomass products can be recycled into carbon neutral thermal energy and used for heating and/or electricity.

 The conference will be chaired by Dr. Sandra O'Connell, Director of Architecture and Communications, Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland and Fergal Leamy, Chief Executive, Coillte.  It will feature presentations by leading Irish and international speakers on the bioeconomy including:

 Markus Lager of Kaden + Lager Architects, Berlin is one of Europe's leading architects in designing high rise buildings in engineered wood.

• Pekka Leskinen, Head of Bioeconomy Programme, European Forest Institute is an expert on the role of forestry in the bioeconomy from the forest to end product.

• Gerard Murphy, Managing Director Coillte Forest and chair of the panel that produced the COFORD report Growing the Irish Forest Economy.

• Kenny McCauley, Director, McCauley Wood Fuels Ltd., will discuss the importance of wood energy in meeting Ireland's renewable energy targets.

• Professor Kevin O'Connor. School of Biomolecular & Biomedical Science in University College Dublin founder and CEO of BIOPLASTECH.

  Supported by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Teagasc, Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland and the Irish Farmers Journal