Coillte gets birch from protesters

Two Government ministers were "birched" by environmentalists yesterday after an alternative Coillte a.g.m. was told that the State forestry company had failed to fulfil its responsibilities.

Two symbolic birch trees were delivered to the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, and the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resouces, Mr Fahey, who are Coillte shareholders - with a message urging them to plant more in State forests.

Seven environmental groups said the ministers should use their influence to get Coillte to plant more broadleaf trees rather than conifers.

At present, they complained, broad-leafs accounted for just 6 per cent of Coillte's plantings.

The alternative a.g.m. was staged by An Taisce, Earthwatch, Friends of the Irish Environment, the Irish Peatland Conservation Council, the Irish Wildlife Trust, the Native Woodland Trust and VOICE after they were refused admission to Coilltes a.g.m. yesterday.

They called on the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) to withhold the green label certification which Coillte has been seeking until its forest practices and policies were environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable.

But a spokesman for Coillte, which manages more than 400,000 hectares (960,000 acres) of the countryside, said it had just been notified that its forests are now certified by the FSC, following an audit by independent scrutineers.

Mr Gerry Egan, head of public affairs in Coillte, said the certification had been granted on the basis of things they were already doing and commitments they had made.

Others attending the event complained that Coillte had failed to consult local communities about the planting, management and felling of its forests and had failed to respect unique ecosystems as well as damaging protected landscapes.