Line of action:

Terrestrial ecosystems

Status:

En ejecución

Location:

Huesca (Aragón), Lleida (Cataluña)

Geographic scope:

España

Execution date:

2024

Duration:

01/01/2024 - 31/12/2025

Typology:

Sustainable forest management

Total budget:

2,202,219.76 euros

Amount of aid from the Biodiversity Foundation:

1,992,473.25 euros

The Pyrenees is a forest territory and the use of its forests has historically been one of its main economic assets. These forests are home to a natural heritage of great conservation interest in Spain and Europe. The recent socioeconomic dynamics have been very unfavorable to these mountain territories, with the abandonment and precariousness of the primary sector. The loss of the agroforestry mosaic and the current climatic context entail a particularly critical scenario in the Pre-Pyrenees, which could burn en bloc in the event of a major fire (GIF) from Navarra to Girona. Due to the dimension and impact that this potential fire could reach, it is probably one of the most vulnerable areas in Spain.

This project Promote bioeconomy through adaptive and naturalistic forest management as a solution to large forest fires and demographic decline in the Pyrenees.

• Develop instruments and measures to respond to the risk associated with large forest fires in the Pyrenees.
• Extend naturalistic forest management as a model for combining socioeconomic development, resilience of forest environments and long-term guarantee of the ecosystem services they provide.
• To guarantee the conservation of habitats and species of special interest in medium and high mountain forest ecosystems.
• Implement new bioeconomy activities based on forest resources and consolidate existing ones in territories in demographic decline.
• To train local socioeconomic actors in the deployment of forest bioeconomy models based on the best available scientific and technical knowledge.

• Fire prevention plans GIF ( 60,000 ha), fire prevention actions (103.5 ha) consisting of fuel load reduction in strategic zones and security areas (reduction of tree density and elimination of biomass), characterization of public forests, proposal of silvicultural guidelines (7,486 ha), SFM with naturalistic management criteria (selective thinning, plantations, etc.), monitoring of basic forest ecosystem services and CC adaptation indicators (biodiversity, vitality, vulnerability to fire, water balance and carbon balance). It also includes habitat improvement for species of conservation value in forests (80 ha) and in open spaces (39 ha), and conservation of mature forests and promotion of freely evolving forest stands over 50 ha (regulating competition to favor more vigorous trees of greater biological interest, favoring vertical and horizontal heterogeneity and increasing coarse dead wood on the ground and standing).
• Promoting forest bioeconomy and extensive livestock farming: New forestry brigade, increased local biomass consumption (5/10 new boilers due to increased supply from FIP), design/dissemination of a km0 self-sufficient house with local wood, implementation of infrastructure (15 fixed and mobile: Canadian crossings, mobile livestock and agricultural sleeves, electric shepherds, nets, water tanks, material for the enclosure of small farms, etc.), and availability of 10 new water points for livestock (2 jobs and increase of the grazed area by 40 ha). It also includes 8 GFS environmental packages with companies and MITERD certification, 2 Carbon Footprints, reduction plans and seals obtained (Calculo2) for SMEs. In terms of training: training in forest management (16 people), 8 jobs, 3 seminars in naturalistic management (75 people involved), 12 volunteer days (120 people), wildlife refuges, collaboration in the removal of forest debris, and 2 bioblitz (participatory citizen science events) with 5 interpreted trails linked to forests.