Federal Act on the establishment of a fund to compensate for bark beetle damage, to promote climate-friendly, species-rich forests and to strengthen the use of wood as a raw material (Forest Fund Act).

This Federal Act aims at creating and financing a Federal forest administrative fund in order to compensate forest owners for loss of value and consequential costs caused by climate change, to reduce the infestation of Austrian forests by bark beetles, to strengthen forest biodiversity and the use of wood as a raw material.
Specific funding measures concern: reforestation after damaging events; measures to regulate the tree species composition for the development of climate-friendly forests; compensation for loss of value caused by bark beetle damage; forest protection measures; research measures on wood gas and biofuels production; measures to promote biodiversity. The Act empowers the Federal Minister for Agriculture, Regions and Tourism to grant federal subsidies in agreement with the Federal Minister for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and technology and to issue detailed guidelines for the implementation of the funding.