As part of Wallonia's Recovery Plan, this second call for projects follows an initial pilot project launched in 2021 by the Minister for the Environment and Forestry, Céline Tellier. The aim? To offer assistance to Walloon forest owners to rebuild a more resilient forest, so that it can continue to provide its many ecosystem services: production of quality wood, maintenance of biodiversity and landscapes, soil protection, climate regulation, CO2 capture, etc.

To this end, the "Resilient Forest" programme offers support to forest owners to help them gear their forestry practices towards greater diversification, with a view to building resilience in the face of climate change. To this end, a forestry expert is on hand to help them prepare and implement their projects.

1,126 hectares of "Resilient Forest".

Applicants submitted their projects between 1 June and 30 September 2022. In total, out of 337 projects submitted, the Walloon Government validated 282, proposed by 184 private forest owners, covering a total area of 461 ha.

There were four separate prizes for this second edition:

• basic package (€1,500/ha): at least 3 species, including 2 adapted to climate change ;
• improved basic package (€2,000/ha): at least 3 species adapted to climate change, including at least 1 biogenic species;
• Biogenic species" package (€2,500/ha): at least 3 species adapted to climate change, including at least 2 biogenic species (minimum 50 % of the stand);
• Biodiversity" package (€3,000/ha): at least 4 or 5 biogenic species (minimum 90 % of the stand) or creation of borders 10 to 20 metres wide made up of at least 5 shrub species.

The "biogenic species" and "biodiversity" packages alone account for 74 % of the surface area of the projects selected (344 ha out of 461), confirming the objectives of species diversification favoured by this project. It is well known that forests with a mix of species and a high level of biodiversity are more effective than those with a low level of species.
of different ages are more resilient to climate change.

Public forests have not been forgotten, since the projects of the same type proposed by the Department of Nature and Forests (DNF) of the Walloon Public Service represent 665 ha.
In total, 1,126 ha will become "resilient forest", in addition to the 1,348 ha in 2021.

The Resilient Forest programme will continue in 2023 and 2024, with an annual budget of €3.7 million. Analysis of this second edition is currently underway and will enable the programme to be improved for the 2023 and 2024 editions. As a reminder, the Office économique wallon du
Bois (OEWB) is responsible for the administrative management of the calls for projects for private owners, quality control of the projects and payment of the premiums to the owners of the projects selected.

For the Minister for the Environment and Forestry, Céline Tellier: "Regenerating our forest heritage and helping it to adapt to climate change is more important than ever. At a time when the future of biodiversity is at stake at COP 15 in Montreal, I can only welcome these 282 projects that are preparing the forest of tomorrow, by aiming to ensure its ecological and economic sustainability.

Resilient Forest 2023

3rd edition

The "Resilient Forest" call for projects was launched this year (2023) by the French Minister for Forestry, Céline Tellier, with the aim of enabling public and private forest owners to regenerate their forests affected by pests (bark beetles, chalarosis, etc.) or weakened by unfavourable weather conditions. It is also an invitation to owners to think differently about their management in order to regenerate and diversify their forests, and steer them towards a forest that is more resilient to climate change.

The general objective of this 3rd edition remains the same, and the call for projects is still aimed at private and public property owners, with a few new features:

The Office économique wallon du Bois (OEWB) is responsible for the administrative management, quality control of projects and payment of premiums to private owners.

Guidance is provided to help private forest owners prepare and implement their projects:

• For properties of more than 5 hectares, this support is provided by an expert and is subject to an additional fixed price of up to €420.
• For properties of less than 5 hectares, private owners can contact the services of the Cellule d'appui à la petite forêt privée.

You can submit your application until 31 July 2023.

Sources

• Press release from Minister Tellier, Minister for the Environment, Nature, Forestry, Rural Affairs and Animal Welfare (19.12.2022) https://tellier.wallonie.be
• Article from Silva Belgica n°1 / 2023