Forestry sector associations have expressed concern on Wednesday about the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), challenging the lack of participation in the drafting of the proposal and arguing that it is necessary to do it differently and consider the diversity of the land.
“Either fire is a new forest species or fire is a new type of forest settlement”, criticised Pedro Serra Ramos, from the National Association of Forest, Agriculture and Environment Companies (ANEFA), considering that the RRP continues to base forest policy on the issue of fire, in which “more than 50%” of the funds proposed for the sector are allocated to the prevention and fighting of rural fires.
In the context of the ‘online’ initiative ” RRP in Debate” on forests, a sector that provides 665 million euros, the president of ANEFA said that “the problem of fires is not the forestry sector, it is the whole of society,” proposing the creation of a separate programme for fires and accusing the government of lack of dialogue.
In response, the Minister of the Environment, João Matos Fernandes, said that the greatest risk of forestry investment is fire, explaining that it is necessary to create conditions to provide security for those who invest.
“If we can’t fight forest fires, we won’t be able to contribute value,” he said.
From the Portuguese Society of Forest Sciences, Maria Emília Silva argued that “it is necessary to innovate, to look at it in a different way” for the forest sector, expressing fear that “more of the same” will be done and that the opportunity to work in a multidisciplinary way will be lost, particularly in the transformation plans of the landscape of vulnerable forest territories, which have 270 million euros in the RRP.
For the Environment Minister, a good example that contradicts the idea of being more of the same is the landscape plan of Monchique and Silves, which advanced as a pilot and has a high standard of quality.
The minister also ensured the certification of the forest and the empowerment of forest producers’ organisations.
Luís Calaim, from the National Federation of Forest Producers Cooperatives (FENAFLORESTA), described the RRP as a “unique and repeatable opportunity”, which can act as a “vaccine for the forest”, allowing agents in the sector to invest with the expectation of having income, including payment for ecosystem services.
Representing Baladi – Federação Nacional de Baldios, Pedro Gomes stressed the importance of the involvement of forestry organisations in the implementation of the projects, especially in the registration of rural property, regretting the lack of participation in the preparation of the RRP.
António Louro, Forest Forum, explained that the big fires are a demonstration by nature that the policies followed in recent times “are not enough”, supporting the landscape transformation plans, which consider the diversity of the lands, and rejecting the idea of allocating more funds for fighting fires than investing in forest management.
From the Centro Pinus – Association for the Enhancement of the Value of Pine Forests, Susana Carneiro stressed the “great enthusiasm” of the RRP to include the pine sector and to focus on natural resin.
In the sustainable bio-economy component, the RRP foresees “the introduction of cellulosic fibres to replace plastics and other chemicals in textiles and clothing and the valorisation of natural resin,” said the Minister of the Environment.
Matos Fernandes also said that, of the 150 million euros earmarked for the bioeconomy, one-third is for natural resin, noting that 40 years ago Portugal was the world’s third biggest producer of natural resin and today has an irrelevant role.
Of the 665 million euros for forests in the PRR, there are five measures: transformation of the landscape of vulnerable forest territories (270 million euros), registry of rural property and monitoring system of land occupation (96 million euros), fuel management strips – primary network (167 million euros), means of fighting rural fires (92 million euros) and the Ministry of the Interior programme (40 million euros).
The government’s objective is to develop a structural response in the prevention and fighting of rural fires, “capable of protecting Portugal from serious fires in a context of climate change, and with a lasting impact on resilience, sustainability and territorial cohesion”.
