Skip to main content
Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs An Roinn Talmhaíochta, Comhshaoil agus Gnóthaí Tuaithe Depairtment o' Fairmin, Environment an' Kintra Matthers

Main navigation

  • Home
  • Topics
  • Publications
  • Consultations
  • Contact

Translation help

Translate this page

Select a language

  • Arabic — عربي
  • Chinese (Simplified) — 中文简体
  • Chinese (Traditional) — 中文繁體
  • Dutch — Nederlands
  • Filipino — Filipino
  • French — Français
  • German — Deutsch
  • Hungarian — Magyar
  • Irish — Gaeilge
  • Italian — Italiano
  • Latvian — Latviešu
  • Lithuanian — Lietuvių kalba
  • Polish — Polski
  • Portuguese — Português
  • Romanian — Română
  • Russian — Русский
  • Slovak — Slovenčina
  • Spanish — Español
  • Ukrainian — Українська
  • Forestry health and safety

    Topics:
    • Forestry, 
    • Forest Industry

    Forest Service is committed to ensuring the health and safety of all its employees, and to provide appropriately for the health and safety of others, including contractors, visitors, neighbours and members of the public who use our forests.

    Managing Public safety on Forestry work sites

    Everyone involved in forestry work has health and safety duties and responsibilities. This Practice Note provides guidance to help landowners, forest managers and forestry practitioners in Northern Ireland to manage public safety on forestry sites. Managing Public safety on Forestry work sites

    How to stay safe and enjoy the forest

    As a visitor to Northern Ireland’s forests we want you to enjoy your experience, but we also want you to return home safely. The forest is a natural environment and contains many hazards such as rugged terrain, deep water and hidden cliff edges. The forest is also a working environment where many operations take place such as timber harvesting, using techniques and machinery which can be very dangerous to the general public. Further information is available from our 'How to stay safe and enjoy the forest' leaflet.

    Tree Safety Management Practice Guide

    This practice guide sets out DAERA Forest Service procedures on minimising the likelihood of injury to the public & staff through forest planning and risk based inspection programmes of trees growing on DARD forestry land.

    It is being published to inform forest users about our approach to managing forests, and to guide other forest owners and managers who may have similar responsibilites. Forest Service does not carry out inspections on property belonging to others.

    • Tree Safety Management Practice guide

    First Aid Procedures for those working on Forest Service land

    The Forest Service has reviewed its First Aid at Work procedures. This document sets out requirements for Contractors, hauliers and others wishing to work on Forest Service managed land, as they will need to show that they comply with the new procedures.

    • First Aid Requirements for those working on the Forest Service estate

    The Forest Industry Safety Accord (FISA)

    The Forest Industry Safety Accord was agreed by all the major Forestry organisations and companies in 2012. FISA is now the main body tasked with improving Health & Safety in the Forestry industry. Useful information in the form of operational guides and other guidance is available from the FISA website.

    The Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

    The Health and Safety Executive still plays a major role in assisting the Forest industry comply with the many regulations that affect treework. The HSE “Treework” webpage is a helpful one stop shop where a forestry employer / contractor / worker can find necessary and useful information in one place to help them meet their legal and moral obligations to protect workers and others in the industry. Further information is available from Tree work (Health and Safety Executive website).

    Related content

    • Afforestation Workshop 2023
    • Buying imported firewood - help stop the spread of plant pests and diseases
    • Forest landscape design
    • Forest Research Publications
    • Forestry planning
    • Quantifying the hydrological effect of woodland creation in the Camowen and Drumragh catchments, Omagh, Northern Ireland
    Share this page Share on Facebook (external link opens in a new window / tab) Share on X (external link opens in a new window / tab) Share by email (external link opens in a new window / tab)

    Department footer links

    • Crown copyright
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy
    • Cookies
    • Accessibility
    • The Northern Ireland Executive
    • The Executive Office
    • Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs
    • Department for Communities
    • Department for Education
    • Department for the Economy
    • Department of Finance
    • Department for Infrastructure
    • Department for Health
    • Department of Justice
    • nidirect.gov.uk — the official government website for Northern Ireland citizens