text: Forestry Co-operatives are the Way to Go | News | Irish Co-Operative Organisation Society
  Siobhán Mehigan, Co-operative Development Executive of ICOS said: "Because they are member owned and operated businesses, co-operative forestry producer organisations can maximise the economic, environmental and social benefits that can be delivered by forestry at home as well as contributing to growth in this important export led processing sector.
  Karsten Raae, Senior Consultant & Forest Supervisor of Danish Forestry Extension (DFE) told the meeting that there is great potential for the development of a sustainable profitable, producer owned forestry sector in Ireland. However Ireland has a ready-made wood fuel resource in the large areas of farm forests planted over the past 3 decades they now require consistent thinning to achieve production potential and this should be arranged through co-operative producer organisations. Knowledge also needs to be built up around the harvesting and storing of wood for energy. There is increasing demand for wood based fuels including pellets and dry wood chips following from SEAI's campaign encouraging businesses and consumers to install wood fuel boilers. Additionally, Ireland's peat fired power stations are currently changing to 30% biomass (due for completion in 2015).
  Lennart Ackzell, International Co-ordinator at the Swedish Federation of Family Forest Owners said that 50% of the 27 million hectares of forest in Sweden is family owned with the remainder controlled by State, commercial and other interests. The national association is comprised of 4 regional associations with some 330,000 individual forest owners. This co-operative based industry controls its own harvesting and processing facilities involving local communities and families in the economic benefits to be achieved around forestry. In particular the Swedish model promotes overall sustainability and a long term livelihood from forestry through producer controlled co-operative based enterprises.