Legislation on aid to maintain and improve the ecosystemic benefits provided by forests includes an aid programme aimed at conserving endangered biocenoses connected with fallen, dead trees. Its purpose is to maintain dead trees where they fall, and allow them to decompose naturally in the forest.

Applicants must submit their application to the district authority with jurisdiction, which will notify them of the decision of the Nature and Forest Agency (Administration de la nature et des forêts).

Who is concerned

Any owner of forest land.

Where land is jointly owned by multiple natural or legal persons, the aid will be granted only once per plot.

Prerequisites

Those who own more than 20 hectares of forest must provide the government administration department with a valid document relating to planned forestry activities:

• which applies to all their forest holdings; and
• has been approved by the government administration.

The applicant must verify that the forest land in question:

• is at least 30 ares of contiguous land;
• comprises species of tree which are suited to the local environment, so as to encourage flora and fauna species indigenous to the site.

Moreover, the surface must:

• form a single, contiguous forest stand;
• be in a listed green zone. This requirement precludes lands where:
  • pesticides are used; or
  • lands on which:
    • groundworks that harm the soil structure are carried out; or
    • drainage works or fertilisation are carried out.

An application may be lodged in respect of any fallen dead tree, subject to the specifications of the Grand Ducal regulation of 1 August 2018 (available under 'Legal references').

The tree habitats must meet the following criteria:

• be situated:
  • at least 30 m away from any public road or permanent piece of infrastructure; and
  • at least 5 m away from the forest edge, from a pathway, a forest trail or an embankment;
• be dead and lying on the ground at the time of granting of the aid;
• have:
  • a diameter over 40 cm at average chest height, irrespective of species; and
  • a continuous length of at least 3 metres;
• be in the first phase of decomposition at the time of granting, with:
  • bark that has partly peeled off;
  • a patch of rot that is less than one-third of the tree's diameter; and
  • wood which is partly hard and resistant to pressure.

How to proceed

Submitting the application

When filing the application with the head of the district concerned, applicants must state the following on the form (available under 'Forms / Online services' below):

• their surname and first name;
• their address;
• their telephone number;
• their banking institution and account number;
• their national identification number;
• the total area of the forest property;
• information about the area in question: commune, section, locality, cadastral number, species and number of trees;
• whether part of their forest holdings are part of the national network of freely developing natural and semi-natural forests.

If the applicant owns a farm, they must also specify:

• the farm holding number;
• the farm accident insurance number.

Supporting documents

The application must be accompanied by the following:

• a topographic map (scale 1:10,000) showing the location of the site;
• an extract of a cadastral map (scale 1:2,500) for the plots in question;
• a copy of the management agreement entered into with the Minister.

Decision

The head of the district concerned will inform the applicant of the Nature and Forest Agency's decision, and the measures to be taken to receive a subsidy.

Amount of aid

The aid consists of a one-off payment of EUR 100 per tree.

The aid is paid in 2 instalments:

• the 1^st half of the total amount of aid at the time of signing of the agreement;
• the second half within 10 years of payment of the first instalment, when the final acceptance report is filed.

Obligations

In order to receive the aid, the applicant must make an undertaking:

• to preserve at least 4 and at most 8 dead trees on the ground, per hectare, until they are fully decomposed;
• cause no damage to the fallen dead trees when felling in the surrounding areas;
• provide the administration with details of the exact location of the trees in question.

Repayment of aid

Any aid paid out must be repaid to the State Treasury when:

• it was obtained by means of knowingly false or incomplete representations on the part of the applicant;
• the beneficiary has failed to comply with the conditions to which the granting of the aid was subject. In that event, the beneficiary must also pay interest on the amount given, at the legal rate, calculated as from the day of payment to the day of repayment.

If a false declaration is found to have been made through gross negligence or through failure to adhere to the principles of good forestry practices, the beneficiary is precluded from receiving aid for the year in question.

If they make a deliberate misrepresentation, they are excluded for the following year as well.

Forms / Online services

Who to contact