The impact of forestry on rural communities.

Abstract

Since the foundation of the Forest Service and particularly since the instigation of the expanded forestry programme in the late 1940s, the social functions of forestry have been an objective of afforestation in the Republic of Ireland. The expansion of the forestry programme at that time was based largely on the social advantages of forestry, coupled with the belief in a return being forthcoming on the investment (Durand, 1969). These social advantages of forestry were, in the main, related to the acknowledged employment generating capacity of forestry. More recently, the expansion of the forest estate, coupled with the major changes in agriculture has focused attention once more on the role that forestry plays in rural areas. This paper outlines some of the impacts of forestry on rural communities and wiB identify means of maximising the positive impacts and minimising the negative ones...