Policy Briefing #30. Agroforestry & the draft regulations on Forest Reproductive Material and New Genomic Techniques

The draft Forest Reproductive Material Regulation fails to mention agroforestry, and the particular need for high-quality planting stock when trees are planted at wide-spacings, with less opportunity for self-thinning and improvement-thinning. We suggest that: a) every mention of “afforestation/reforestation” in the draft Regulation (pages 2, 7, 18, 11, 12, 17, 19) is replaced by “afforestation/reforestation/agroforestation”; b) a definition (new bullet) of “agroforestation” should be provided in Article 3 Para 3 – i.e. “´agroforestation´ means the establishment of high-quality trees on land which remains in agricultural use – for the purposes listed in Article 3 Para 1(a – f), and where a detailed definition of agroforestry is given in the CAP Strategic Plans of each Member State; c) Article 3 Para 1c should be reworded “restoration of forest and agroforest ecosystems”.  EURAF also welcomes the provisions of the NGT Regulation, particularly when they are applied to the long list of diseases which are increasingly affecting European forests and agroforests.