Legislation on aid to maintain and improve the ecosystemic benefits provided by forests provides for aid to restore and improve the state of conservation of special forest micro-environments and their associated biocenoses:

• petrifying springs with tufa formation – 7220;
• springs – BK05;
• stagnant water – BK08;
• wetlands, freshwater marshes, tidal marshes and small sedge vegetation – BK11;
• natural water courses – BK12;
• water courses of plain to montane levels with the Ranunculion fluitantis and Callitricho-Batrachion vegetation – 3260;
• isolated stone blocks or rocky spurs;
• cliffs and scree slopes;
• caves and caverns;
• clefts;
• abandoned quarries;
• protected biotopes or wet, aquatic or rocky habitats defined in Articles 5 and 6 of the Grand Ducal Regulation of 1 August 2018.

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 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 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.

Deadlines

Applicants must file their applications in writing 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 the forest property;
• information about the area in question: commune, section, locality, cadastral number, cadastral surface, and protective zone.

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 quote for the required work, approved by the Minister;
• a copy of the Minister's authorisation.

Once the work has been completed, a copy of the receipted invoice must also be provided.

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 aid covers a portion of the costs, at the following rates:

• 70 % of the total cost of the measures to restore or improve the favourable conservation status in the forest habitats listed in Annex I of the law of 18 July 2018 on the protection of nature and natural resources;
• 90 % of the total cost of the measures to restore or improve the favourable conservation status in the forest habitats listed as a priority in Annex I of the law;
• 100 % of the total cost of the measures to restore or improve the conservation status of the micro-environments listed in paragraph 1, in relation to the implementation of:
  • a management plan for a protected zone defined or declared under the terms of the law; or
  • a plan of action for a 'species' or 'habitat', developed from the national plan for the protection of nature.

The aid will be paid once the work is completed, upon the submission of an invoice, proof of payment thereof, or other supporting documents.

Requirements

The aid will only be granted by ministerial approval.

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 base 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