Legislation on financial aid to maintain and improve the ecosystemic benefits provided by forests includes an aid scheme aimed at protecting and safeguarding endangered, severely endangered or critically endangered plant and animal species in the forest environment.

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 area in question must 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 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 in advance;
• a copy of the management agreement entered into with the Minister;
• where new habitats are being created, a technical note demonstrating that the measure is:
  • in keeping with a consistent ecological approach;
  • in pursuit of the goal of rehabilitation and sustainable management of biodiversity.

Once the work has been completed, the applicant must also provide a copy of the receipted invoice.

Decision

The head of the district concernedwill 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 is designed to cover a portion of the management costs, to the following levels:

• 70 % of the total cost of measures taken to protect, restore, manage or create habitats for endangered species;
• 90 % of the total cost of measures taken to protect, restore, manage or create habitats for species which are:
  • severely endangered; or
  • included in Appendix 6 of the amended law of 18 July 2018 on the protection of nature and natural resources (Loi modifiée du 18 juillet 2018 concernant la protection de la nature et des ressources naturelles);
• 100 % of the total cost of measures taken to protect, restore, manage or create habitats for species which are:
  • critically endangered; or
  • special forest micro-stands.

The aid is disbursed once the work has been completed, and a formal acceptance report is issued.

Requirements

The property owner makes a commitment for a period of at least 5 years.

The beneficiary is required to sign a management agreement with the Minister. That agreement defines:

• the protection and restoration measures to be implemented;
• the specific operation or management conditions to ensure the desired protection effect is achieved;
• the corresponding amount of aid and payment schedule.

Repayment of aid

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

• it was obtained by through knowingly false or incomplete representations on the part of the beneficiary;
• 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