Interview with COFORD Boss

Questions & Answers with Dr. Eugene Hendrick, COFORD 

How did you become involved in Forestry? (and in your current position with COFORD?)
I did forestry in UCD in the mid 1970s and worked as a forester and as a researcher with the Forest Service, and in marketing and other roles with Coillte before I joined COFORD in 1993. I was appointed Director of COFORD in 1999.

Are COFORD's activities restricted by funding - or in any other way?
We expect COFORD’s annual funding to increase over the period of the NDP 2007-2013 in line with increased research and development activities. We are also seeking to increase our staff numbers from six to nine.

The 'Greens' have negotiated a carbon tax into the new/current programme for government. Is this likely to impact on forestry in any way?
A carbon tax would have a significant benefit for the forestry sector through incentivising the use of wood fuels which are, of course, carbon neutral.  

How is the COFORD research programme structured and what are your current leading research projects?
COFORD’s research funding for the period of the National Development Plan (NDP) 2007-2013 is structured around thirteen programmes covering all stages of the forest production cycle, and addressing crosscutting environmental issues such as climate change. Our approach is to build research expertise and competence by having longer term projects, which reflect the forest life cycle. By moving to five and six year projects we are building research expertise and competence. All of the programmes are led by experienced and respected researchers based in companies in third level institutions.
All COFORD’s current projects are listed on our web site www.coford.ie. There are 36 projects underway in areas such as climate change and carbon storage in forests, R&D and demonstration programme in forest energy production and supply, forest planning and modelling (including a major new national field experiment management system and database), transport systems and logistics, forest economics and policy, forest biodiversity, and forests and water.
As well as the research programme, one of COFORD’s main roles is in dissemination of research results through publications, conferences, workshops and web-based systems. This is a vital part of our work and one we are committed to continue, expand and improve over the lifetime of the NDP.     

Is there any particular area where you would like to see COFORD expanding its role?
We are well recognised in the forest research area but we need to expand our role in developing the forest sector, in building on the research outputs and addressing areas such as future wood supply dynamics, how best to argue for continued expansion of forest cover – generally to address the developmental ‘D’ in COFORD. We also plan to expand our services role in areas such as wood energy, climate change and forest management tools, such as GROWFOR for example.

Do you believe hardwoods can be a profitable resource?
For fast growing species such as ash, birch and alder, the grower will see a return, especially if the fuel wood market takes off for small dimension material. This links to early tending and thinning which are absolutely vital to get to commercial dimensions in 30-35 years. Species such as oak and beech will not be profitable in the short or medium term and should in my view only be planted where the grower is fully aware of this.
 
What are your thoughts on the development of a wood energy market?
Development of the wood energy market will bring big benefits across the board: to growers, the harvesting sector and to rural development. Increased wood energy use will also contribute significantly to climate change mitigation and security of fuel supply. Wood supply will be the limiting factor – but competition for wood supply is important to drive efficiencies in harvesting and in the all aspects of procurement. Underpinning all these developments is the need to bring the afforestation programme back up to the 10,000 ha per annum level and over it. If the wood isn’t there, importation is the only option, and this again raises security of supply issues.

Some within the private sector have being very critical of SEI. Do you believe they are doing enough to drive the development of a wood-fuel market?
Four or five years ago there was no wood energy market in Ireland. SEI has done a lot to drive market development. However one thing that is very badly needed is grant aid for gasifier-type boilers which run on firewood. Why this has not been introduced I cannot understand.

Are you happy with the image of forestry within the wider public? (If not, what do you think can be done to improve its perception?)
Forestry has a good image generally, but everybody associated with the forest industry and in the wider sector needs to continually promote the huge benefits that forests bring in terms of their economic contribution, and other benefits such as their role in mitigating climate change, uptake of greenhouse gases, their contribution to public recreation, water quality and biodiversity.   

Is there room for more private/public partnerships in forestry research?
Yes, very much so. Already many of our projects have private sector partners involved in one way or another. We want to grow this in future – in line with government policy which is to develop a knowledge-based economy, with an emphasis on innovation and business-led investment in R&D.