Legislation on assistance to improve the protection and sustainable management of forest ecosystems provides for aid to reinforce forest ecosystems by horse or cable logging of naturally felled forests.

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

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 forest lands in question must be in a listed green zone. The following are ineligible:

• lands on which pesticides are used; or
  
• lands on which:
  • groundworks that harm the soil structure are carried out; or
  • drainage works or fertilisation are carried out.

For horse logging, the minimum amount of wood removed must be 30 m³ per forest administrative zone (triage), or within a 10 km radius, unless the logging is taking place as part of initial selective clearing for which financial support has been granted.

For cable logging, the minimum amount of wood required in order to be eligible for aid is 50 m³ within the same forest stand, unless the logging is taking place as part of initial selective clearing for which financial support has been granted.

Deadlines

Applications must be submitted prior to the commencement of any work.

How to proceed

Filing an 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 forest land;
• information about the area in question: commune, section, locality, cadastral number, cadastral surface, surface area affected by the project, volume of wood to be removed.

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) with site location;
• an extract of a cadastral map (scale 1:2,500) for the plots in question.

Decision

The head of the district 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 amount of aid is set at:

• for horse logging:
  • EUR 16 per m³;
  • the aid is increased by EUR 10 per m³ for manual cutting;
  • the aid is increased by 25 % for projects carried out by a group of at least 2 owners on forest land:
    • covering a minimum cumulative quantity of 50 m³; and
    • located within a single area of woodland;
      
• for cable logging:
  • EUR 30 per m³;
  • the aid is increased by 25 % for projects carried out by a group of at least 2 owners on forest land:
    • covering a minimum cumulative quantity of 80 m³; and
    • located within a single area of woodland.

The aid will also be increased by 25 % if the measures are taken:

• on woodlands in a listed protected zone defined by law; and
• in accordance with the measures outlined in the forest management plans enacted by ministerial decree.

Requirements

Applicants wishing to obtain the subsidy for horse logging must:

• develop a system of logging tracks, with tracks of no more than 4 metres wide, and at least 40 metres between the tracks;
• mark out the logging tracks within a forest stand, clearly and permanently, before work commences;
• use horses to haul the wood to the tracks, so that the lumber can be taken away and dealt with from that point on;
• leave tree crowns and cut branches where they fall, except in the case of horse logging on ground with more than a 12 % gradient;
• not drive wood-hauling tractors beyond the dedicated tracks.

Applicants wishing to obtain the subsidy for cable logging must:

• use the cable system to haul the wood to the end tower installed on a forest road or a logging track, where the lumber is taken away for subsequent processing;
• leave branches from the crown less than 7 cm in diameter on the ground around the cut site;
• not drive wood hauling tractors or other mechanised equipment on the ground around the cut site.

Repayment of aid

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

• it was obtained through 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 will also be required to pay interest 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