Minister Michael Healy-Rae opens the 11th Integrate Network Annual Meeting chaired jointly by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Teagasc

 

The Integrate Network promotes the use of forest biodiversity and integrated management for forest resilience, productivity and the safeguarding of ecosystem services essential to society wellbeing. It aims to serve as an important discussion and facilitation space between forestry research, practice, and policy across Europe.

Currently the Integrate Network has 13 members, the EU Commission as observer, and a network of over 240 forest demonstration sites. Ireland is the current chair of the Network with Dermot Dunphy (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine) and Jonathan Spazzi (Teagasc) acting as joint chairs on behalf of our country.

Minister Healy-Rae said: “All across Europe we are experiencing the effects of climate change, from wildfires to bark beetle in central Europe and, here in Ireland, the effects of windstorms. Making our forests more resilient to these challenges is vitally important. Interactions with organisations such as the Integrate Network provide important insights that can shape future forestry support programmes.”

 

Delegates participating in the meeting also travelled to visit the forest at the Teagasc National Research Centre in Oak Park, Carlow where they visited the local marteloscope in-forest training facility, designed for forest owners, and attended a hands-on workshop on a new forest biodiversity survey methodology.

Here they met Director of Teagasc, Professor Frank O’Mara who delivered a warm welcome address to the group and noted: “Teagasc are delighted to co-chair the Integrate Network with DAFM and host the 11th Integrate Network Annual Meeting. Irish forestry is still at a relatively early development stage, but it is rapidly evolving and diversifying with forest owners anxious to learn how to manage their forests sustainably into the future. This meeting is a fantastic opportunity to bring different approaches together, and to share experiences and knowledge on the benefits of Integrated management for mutual benefits.”

Tom Houlihan, acting Head of the Teagasc Foresty Development Department said: “The theme of this meeting “Promoting Multifunctional/Integrative Forest Management Practices in Managed Forests through Policy, Science and Practice” is particularly relevant as we plan for multipurpose and diverse forests which will contributes economically, environmentally and socially, both for the national forest estate, but also for each individual forest owner”

Jonathan Spazzi, Teagasc Forestry Development Department who co-ordinated this event jointly with Dermot Dunphy, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, explained:

“Ireland took the chair of the Network following from Austria’s excellent work in 2024 where we started to focus on private forest owner’s experience. This focus has continued throughout this year, and we were very pleased to be able to include a number of private forest owners to actively participate to the 11th Integrate Network Annual Meeting and join in the discussion with researchers, educators, practitioners and policy makers.”

Dermot Dunphy added: “If we look across Europe today, we find forests are under unprecedented pressures. This is precisely why the Integrate Network exists to help to find balance, evidence-based approaches towards forest management solutions that integrate biodiversity, resilience and multi-functionality at the forest level but also at the landscape, country and European scale.”

More information on the Integrate European Network and on the marteloscope training resource in Teagasc Oak Park forest