Forest Fund extended until 2027
As the evaluation completed at the end of January 2023 was positive and financial resources are still available, the Austrian Forest Fund is extended from 1 February 2023. This means that approvals are possible until 31 January 2025 and disbursements until 31 January 2027.
Support package
In order to support Austria’s forest and wood industry, the Federal Government decided in 2020 to establish the Austrian Forest Fund in the amount of 350 million euros. The Forest Fund started as of February 2021. The implementation of the Austrian Forest Fund to date shows the great importance of this investment package for the domestic forest and wood industry.
Successful start
The 10 measures of the Forest Fund have started successfully. Depending on the measure, applications can be submitted on an ongoing basis or via specific "calls". To date, 34 Forest Fund calls have been published on a wide range of topics such as biodiversity, forest fire and CO2 bonuses. The authorising bodies have received over 21,400 applications in total, which underlines the enormous relevance and broad acceptance of the Forest Fund. Around 223 million euros - corresponding to around 64 per cent of the total funds - are already committed through approvals and some of the approved funds have already been disbursed (as of 2 January 2023).
Evaluation
The evaluation of the individual measures by independent experts shows that there is both a high demand for the Forest Fund measures and that very good results are being achieved in respect of the relevant objectives. Among other things, the evaluation confirmed that, in the long run, the subsidised projects lead to greater tree species diversity and improved biodiversity, to a lower risk of bark beetle calamity and stronger climate resilience of forest stands as well as to the increased and sustainable utilisation of wood as a raw material. However, the Forest Fund cannot cover the entire national demand for funding, which is why further support measures will be required in the future.