On Thursday 8th June, IFO was ratified as a member of the Confederation of European Forest Owners (CEPF) at its General Assembly in Finland. Derek McCabe, chairperson of North East Forestry Group, was there to represent the IFO and introduce our organisation to the broader community of national forest owner organisations in Europe.
CEPF is the voice of forest owners in Europe. On behalf of national forest owner groups, CEPF promotes the values of sustainable forest management, private property ownership and the economic viability of the forest sector.
CEPF has 5 full-time staff based in Brussels under the stewardship of the Secretary General, Fanny-Pomme Langue, and the board of directors. With the joining of IFO, CEPF now represents national forest owner organisations from 22 countries from within and outside the EU, as well as 3 associated members, representing forest owners from specific regions or regional forest cooperative organisations.
In total, CEPF represents the interests of nearly 16 million forest owners: private individuals, families and cooperatives who take care of approximately 60% of the European forest area.
“This is a very important step forward for IFO in terms of representation at European level, where the decisions affecting Irish forestry are ultimately made. Membership in CEPF gives us access to a wealth of information and experience from all across Europe. We look forward to being active members and developing collaborations with our European counterparts.” Nicholas Sweetman, chairperson, IFO.
CEPF aims to foster reliable and fair political framework conditions and strengthen the position of European forest owners in all forest sector-relevant policy process. This is particularly important as the European and international forest policy is strongly influenced by many other sectorial policies, such as climate, energy, environment, trade and agriculture policy.
Commenting on the General Assembly, Derek McCabe noted that
“forestry in Ireland is viewed as an industry in its infancy and this is seen as a positive, as we have the opportunity to correct the mistakes of forestry development made by other countries”.
Further information on CEPF can be found on their website.
