Mechanical Debarking and Other Preventive Forest Protection Measures

The initiative supports the mechanical debarking of damaged wood at the forest site or drying storage area as well as other preventive forest protection measures with the aim of curbing the proliferation of bark-breeding insects and strengthening climate-resilient forests. Funding is provided for the adaptation of specialized equipment (harvester heads) for debarking, mulching, hoeing, chipping, laying of trap trees, hygiene measures, and monitoring. The funding is granted as de minimis aid in accordance with Regulation (EU) No. 1407/2013. Eligible costs include investment and material expenses as well as project-related personnel costs, up to a total of 80% of the overall expenditures. Submissions are possible until January 31, 2027, with disbursements made until January 31, 2029. For projects covering 100 hectares or more of forest area, a forest management plan or an equivalent instrument must be submitted. Project documents such as the information sheet Measure 5, the form master data sheet/client number, and the special directive Forest Fund must be attached to the application.

Eligible applicants are forestry contractors as well as managers of agricultural and forestry enterprises, forest owner associations, agricultural communities, municipalities, and associations of these groups. Projects that are part of industrial wood processing or have already received other public funding are excluded. The processing of the funding is handled by Agrarmarkt Austria, the funding processing agency of the respective state forestry authority. Interested parties can find detailed application forms and requirements on the website of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Climate and Environmental Protection as well as Regions and Water Management.