Donal Whelan
B. Agr. Sc. (Forestry)
Director

Donal Whelan, B.Agr.Sc. (Forestry) is a forestry graduate from University College Dublin and is principal of Commercial Forestry Services Ltd. (CFS).

Donal holds the position of Technical Director of the Irish Timber Growers Association (ITGA).

In December 2011, Donal was reappointed by the Minister of State for Forestry, Shane McEntee TD to the National Council for Forest Research & Development (COFORD). COFORD's functions are national forest research funding and co-ordination, knowledge transfer, service provision and industry development. As a Council member of COFORD, there is a requirement to keep abreast of national and international forest research, industry development and Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) issues. On behalf of the COFORD Council, Donal chaired the Development Group appointed to address scientific and technical constraints on the attainment of the national afforestation programme and sustainable forest management. Following work by this Group, the COFORD Council launched a set of papers entitled "Forestry 2030" to highlight the contribution of forests to the national economy, climate change, rural development, renewable energy and other areas.

Donal has been appointed to the National Forestry Review Group which is charged with the review and update of national forest policy goals.

Donal is past Chairman of the Irish Forest Certification Initiative (IFCI) and served on both its Steering Committee (SC) and its Technical Working Group (TWG). IFCI was established to promote Sustainable Forest Management in Ireland and to progress the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and a National Forest Standard for the Republic of Ireland based on FSC Principles and Criteria. The Technical Working Group on which Donal served worked on drafts 1 and 2 of the IFCI National Forest Standard. CFS has practical working experience of FSC Certification requirements and is managing woodlands which have successfully undergone an audit for FSC Certification and are FSC certified.
Donal has also been involved with the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Scheme (PEFC) and in progressing this initiative in Ireland in recent years.

Donal has represented the private forestry sector on a number of important forestry bodies in the past including, among others:

• The Steering Committee of the Irish National Forest Standard which was initiated and chaired by the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and which drafted our current Irish National Forest Standard which outlines the criteria and indicators relating to the national implementation of SFM.
• Past Vice-Chairman of the Irish Forest Industry Chain which was the national forest industry representative body affiliated to IBEC.
• Appointed by Minister of State for Forestry to the Forest Industry Forum.
• Appointed to the Timber Industry Development Group, which was established by the Minister for Trade & Enterprise.
• Attendance at the General Assemblies of the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes (PEFC)

Mechteld Schuller
M. Agr. Sc. (Forestry)
Director

Mechteld Schuller, M.Agr.Sc. (Forestry) is a forestry graduate from the Agricultural University, Wageningen, The Netherlands and is a Director of Commercial Forestry Services Ltd. (CFS).

Prior to joining the CFS team, Mechteld worked for a number of years with Microsoft and other companies in the IT industry.

Mechteld's main area of expertise within CFS involves its various Project Management Services. Mechteld has worked with the Irish Timber Growers Association since 2003.

As part of her Project Management work Mechteld is responsible for the development and management of the websites www.forestryyearbook.ie, www.itga.ie, www.forestry.ie and also www.forests.ie