From the bags he carries, one on each side and another behind, attached to a belt and straps, João takes turns taking out the small strawberry trees and cork oaks that he is planting, on the already prepared land, following the contour lines, on a slope of the Serra de Monchique, in the Monte Velho area, which burned down in 2018, in the great fire.
For every four small strawberry trees, João plants one cork oak. After being removed from the bags, the plants are placed in a tube, through which they slide to the ground.
All you need to do is press on the tube, which ends in a kind of nozzle, for the future tree to be planted.
Every day, João and all his colleagues have to plant 336 plants (six boxes, each with 56 small plants), in a ratio of four strawberry trees to one cork oak. But in other places they have already planted chestnut trees and even Monchique oaks.
Between September and March, this is their job. They trek the slopes of the mountain, trying to help recover the forest destroyed by the great fire of 2018, making it more resilient to fire.
The hardest part, says João, is not even the planting, especially since using the tube means he doesn't have to bend over all day. «Cute It's when we have to carry the bales of straw, up or down the slope", he says ironically.
And what are these straw bales for? They are intended to be used in the technique of mulching, which involves covering the area where the small trees are planted with straw, in order to “maintain soil moisture and also protect the plants in the summer”, explains Miguel Jerónimo, coordinator of the Renature Monchique project. “It is one of the techniques used in ecological restoration”.
A technique that has helped ensure that, in this project underway in the Monchique mountains since 2019 (the year after the great fire), the survival rate of planted trees is 60%, despite the years of drought that have been experienced.
All this hard work of reforestation is part of the Renature Monchique project, which aims to restore devastated areas, support the local community in recovery after the destruction caused by the fires and mitigate the future impacts of climate change, changing the landscape with species that are more resilient to fire, promoted and managed by GEOTA (Spatial Planning and Environment Study Group), with the financial support of the Irish airline Ryanair.
Last Thursday, GEOTA was able to share some good news: Ryanair will support another year of planting and management, with 400 thousand euros. A new tranche of financing that will allow the Irish low-cost airline to provide a total of 1,8 million euros in support to Renature Monchique.
The announcement was made at a press conference at the top of Fóia, the highest point (902 metres) in the Monchique mountains, which was attended by representatives of the project's partners: Américo Ferreira, from the GEOTA board, Elena Cabrera, from Ryanair, Paulo Alves, mayor of Monchique, André Gomes, president of the Algarve Tourism Region, and António Miranda, from ICNF.
In total, 1400 hectares have already been planted, with 383 trees of native species, on land owned by 77 private owners, in the area that was devastated by fire in 2018. In what will be the sixth year of the project on the ground, the aim is to plant another 125 trees by next February, thus reaching the target of 500 trees planted.
“It is impossible to recover all 28 thousand hectares of the area burned in 2018, but these 1400 hectares are already very significant”, highlighted Miguel Jerónimo at the press conference that served to present Ryanair’s new support.
As the project has been working with some landowners for six years, some of them “are already literally reaping the economic benefits”, particularly those who planted strawberry trees, which have started to produce.
GEOTA has a permanent and professional team of 12 people, like João, working in the Monchique mountains, “from September to March, from Monday to Friday”. “The complete reforestation cycle is carried out by this team”, explains Miguel Jerónimo, at no cost to the owners.
At the beginning of the project, there was even some distrust on the part of the owners. But now, after six years on the ground and with tangible results, there is even a waiting list of interested owners. “We ensure that owners who do not have the capacity, on their own, to invest and recover, after a disaster like the one in 2018, have this opportunity.”
The main objective is to restore the areas affected by the fire, but from a perspective of environmental, social and economic sustainability. For this reason, as Miguel Jerónimo explained, this is a project “very focused on cork and the strawberry tree, in order to achieve economic sustainability”.
Thus, 80% of the intervened area was planted with cork oak and strawberry tree, and the remaining 20% with chestnut trees and Monchique oaks, but, in the case of this last species, only “in residual areas, with an altitude of more than 700 meters, facing north and with more humidity”.
The Monchique oak (Quercus canariensis), in fact, is a native species, which only exists in the mountain range that gives it its name and in the valleys of the Mira river basin, and of which only 250 adult trees are known, which places it “critically endangered”. Now, since the beginning of Renature Monchique, 3000 Monchique oaks have been planted, with “trees measuring three to four metres in height”.
According to Miguel Jerónimo, this is a “very symbolic action in preserving what is a relic of the region, the Monchique oak”.
And after February next year, will the project continue? It all depends on the continuity of funding.
Elena Cabrera, from Ryanair, said: “it’s a project we’ve been working on for six years, we really like it, we’re going to continue.”
There may therefore be good news for the future.
What they said:
Américo Ferreira, from the GEOTA Executive Committee: “This project was born from the urgent need to restore devastated areas, support the local community in recovering from the destruction caused by the fires and mitigate the future impacts of climate change. So far, we have managed to plant more than 383 trees and support 67 landowners and their families. By planting another 125 trees and supporting 10 more landowners, we are making a joint and ongoing effort to restore the Serra de Monchique to its ecological and social vitality.”
André Gomes, president of the Algarve Tourism Region: “The Renature Monchique project is an exemplary initiative in the recovery and preservation of the Monchique mountain range, consolidating the Algarve as a Nature Tourism destination. Through reforestation with native species, we are regenerating an area deeply affected by the 2018 fires, protecting biodiversity and enriching the visitor experience. This joint effort, led by GEOTA, with the support of Ryanair, ICNF, the Municipality of Monchique and Turismo do Algarve, reflects our commitment to sustainable tourism that values natural heritage and strengthens the connection between the local community and the nature that distinguishes us”.
Paulo Alves, Mayor of Monchique: “The Renature Monchique project promotes the ecological recovery of areas affected by the 2018 fire, encouraging the recovery of their productive potential, without forgetting the need to encourage the conservation of native species that are so characteristic of the Serra de Monchique, and that so well represent its environmental wealth and regional uniqueness. It directly involves the owners, encouraging more active and informed management of their properties, which, in the medium term, will result in the generation of value in terms of more traditional forestry products, such as cork oak and strawberry tree. But it also promotes the renaturalization of some areas with species of high conservation value, such as the Monchique oak and chestnut tree”.
António Miranda, Deputy Regional Director of the Algarve of the ICNF: “ICNF recognizes the importance of the Renature Monchique project in strengthening the biodiversity and recovery capacity of the Monchique mountain range, promoting a more sustainable and balanced environment. This initiative invites civil society to actively participate in the preservation and management of natural spaces. From the beginning, we have been available to collaborate and contribute to the success of this project.”
Photos: Elisabete Rodrigues | Sul Informação and GEOTA
Comments