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Good practice Imported

Klimabonus Bësch — Forest Ecosystem Services Subsidy (Luxembourg)

Luxembourg · Luxembourg · See the Luxembourg profile · See the Luxembourg profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 47% 47/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Luxembourg pays private forest owners €150 to €37.50 per hectare a year, via a 10-year statutory commitment, to manage woodland for ecosystem services — over 600 owners have enrolled 6,526 ha, more than half of it inside protected biodiversity zones.

6,526.30 hectares
Enrolled forest area (2021-2025)
3,687.19 hectares (56%)
Enrolled area within Natura-type protected zones (2021-2025)
600+ applications
Applications received (2021-2025)
150 EUR/ha/year
Payment rate, tier 1 (0-50 ha) (2021-present)
Klimabonus Bësch — Forest Ecosystem Services Subsidy (Luxembourg)

Details

Maturity
Scaling
Promoter
Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity / Administration de la nature et des forêts, Luxembourg
Period
2021-present
Region (NUTS)
LU00
Keywords
private forest stewardship, per-hectare ecosystem service payments, Natura 2000 protected zones, statutory subsidy

Context

Luxembourg's Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity introduced "Klimabonus Besch" by Grand-Ducal Regulation on 16 April 2021, offering private forest owners a statutory, tiered per-hectare annual payment in exchange for a 10-year commitment to manage their woodland for climate and biodiversity outcomes rather than solely for timber. A March 2025 revision lowered the minimum eligible area from 0.5 to 0.3 hectares and adjusted the payment tiers.

Objectives

Encourage private forest owners to manage woodland for climate and biodiversity outcomes, with a particular focus on land inside protected Natura-type zones.

Activities

Owners are paid EUR150/ha for the first 0-50 hectares, EUR75/ha for 50-100 hectares, and EUR37.50/ha beyond that, administered by the Administration de la nature et des forets. In May 2025 Luxembourg extended the model with a companion scheme, "Klimabonus Mouer a Wiss," offering the same tiered rates to owners of species-rich meadows and wetlands.

Results

More than 600 applications have been received since 2021, covering 6,526.30 hectares of private forest, of which 3,687.19 hectares (56%) lie within protected Natura-type zones.

Conclusions

No source consulted publishes a total annual budget or aggregate disbursement figure for the scheme. Uptake is also still modest relative to potential: Luxembourg has an estimated 12,000-14,000 private forest owners nationally, so the 600-plus enrolled to date represent a small fraction of the eligible universe, and the newer meadow/wetland companion scheme is too recent (launched 2025) to have any enrollment data yet.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — Tiered annual per-hectare payment: EUR150/ha (0-50 ha), EUR75/ha (50-100 ha), EUR37.50/ha beyond 100 ha; no total programme budget published.
Time to results
Medium (1–3 years) — 10-year statutory management commitment per landowner; scheme running since 2021, revised 2025.
Staffing & skills
Administration de la nature et des forêts (national forestry administration) — scheme administration, Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity — policy oversight

Conditions for success

  • Statutory legal basis (Grand-Ducal Regulation) giving payment certainty
  • Tiered per-hectare rates that avoid over-rewarding very large landholdings
  • Ability to revise eligibility thresholds based on early uptake (2025 revision lowered the minimum area)

Common failure modes

  • Modest uptake relative to the full universe of an estimated 12,000-14,000 private forest owners
  • No published aggregate budget or disbursement figure limits transparency and evaluation
  • The new companion scheme for meadows/wetlands is too recent to show enrolment data

Where it fits

Governance type
national government statutory subsidy
Scale
national (Luxembourg)
Income level
high-income

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes LIFE Programme

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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