The Melhor Floresta program has begun the recovery of 49 hectares of forest in Alferce, in the municipality of Monchique, with planned investments of 1,3 million euros this year across the country, was announced today.
«Reducing the risk of fire, controlling invasive species, combating pests and diseases, through sustainable forest management, with the best forestry practices», are some of the objectives of the program, says in a statement the Association of Forest-Based Bioindustries (Biond) , who coordinates the project.
The last intervention area of the Melhor Floresta program thus corresponds to 49 hectares of forest, made up of plots of 16 small landowners in the parish of Alferce, in Monchique, one of the municipalities in the district of Faro hardest hit by major forest fires.
In 2018, the Monchique mountain range was hit by the biggest fire recorded that year in Portugal and Europe. The fire broke out on 3 August in the Perna Negra area and raged for eight days, consuming more than 27 hectares of forest and agricultural land and destroying 74 houses.
According to Biond, the project supported by the Recovery and Resilience Program (PRR) «will result in a forest that is more resilient to rural fires (reduced risk of fire), pests and diseases (phytosanitary control), containment of invasive species, and climate change, creating more value for people, companies and territories».
Alferce is one of the seven demonstration fields of the program that also has two larger pilot areas, one in Castanheira de Pêra (Leiria district) and another in Castelo de Paiva (Aveiro district).
The Melhor Floresta program runs until 2025 and the results obtained in the pilot areas and demonstration fields will determine its future.
“With good forest practices, productivity also increases, providing a greater income for forest owners and producers”, he concludes.
The project is supported by several private and public entities, such as the Intermunicipal Community of Coimbra, the National Institute of Agrarian and Veterinary Research (INIAV), Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra, Higher Institute of Agronomy and the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro , between others.
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