Forestry subsidies

Different subsidies are provided for private forest owners, financed from national and European funds.

Most of the national funding is allocated for supporting reforestation, the development of forest management plans, group and private advisory services and. Subsidies are granted for private forest owners for sustainable management of forests and forest regeneration with the aim of ensuring sustainability. Since 2000 national supports are granted from the state budget for the development of private forestry. National supports are targeted at the development of joint activities of regional private forest owners.

Most of the European Union funding is allocated for the protection of Natura 2000 areas (in 2015 4,012 million euros), improvement cutting, forest restoration, prevention of forest fires and game damages, purchase of forestry machinery, equipment and accessories. EU forestry supports are provided in the Estonian Rural Development Plan 2014-2020 and allocated from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (the EAFRD) and co-financed (15%) from the state budget of Estonia. Supports are administrated by the Environmental Investment Centre (EIC) but the payments are made by the Agricultural Registers and Information Board (ARIB).

You can apply subsidies for following activities:

National support

  • Forest reforestation
    • Purchasing seedlings
    • Planting
    • Soil preparation
    • Maintenance of young forest culture
  • Forest inventory and development of forest management plans (can be applied only through forest owners associations)
  • Forest land improvement
    • Making of land improvement plan
    • Removing sludge from drainage ditches and recipients
    • Construction of thalwegs
    • Upgrading culverts
  • Preservation of cultural heritage
  • Forest advisory service – contact your forest owners association.

For more information about national subsidies, please write to siseriiklik@kik.ee.

EU support

  • Improving the development of forest area and forest vitality
    • Restoration of damaged forest
    • Pre-commercial thinnings
    • Purchasing and using of plant disease- and pest repellent
    • Preventing game damage
    • Construction and maintenance of fire prevention lines and -zones, maintenance of fire hydrant and its access road
    • Pruning of growing trees
    • Establishment and designation of campfire- and learning-resting place
    • Purchasing equipment and accessories

For more information about these measures, please write to metsameede@kik.ee.

  • NATURA 2000 compensation measure

For more information about Natura 2000 compensation measure, please write to natura@kik.ee.

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