Josep Maria Vila d'Abadal, forest owner and former mayor of Vic, calls for a pact between the urban world and forest areas to help conserve forest masses and their economy. "Trees are not prepared for this climate change, and they die from heat stroke," warns the president of the PEFC (Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) forestry certification system in Catalonia.
The fires are back...
The rains in May and June were opportune, they have helped us and they had made us think that this year the forest fires would not arrive, but unfortunately we see that the problem is structural and will never disappear. However, we have the opportunity to make them less important, and tailored to our country. This requires adequate management in the fight against forest fires, eliminating fuel as much as possible and considering the balance of all productive, environmental and social functions.
People often talk about the abandonment of the forest; but what would be the most current balance in Catalonia?
The forest economy has continued to decline, as has the population that works in it. There is less industry than 30 years ago and fewer workers in it. The price of wood has not matched the evolution of costs.
Why this situation?
Because there is a lot of wood in Europe and the price of wood does not rise. We are in a globalized market. There are areas of the world where there are tree plantations; where the machines enter as if they were harvesting wheat and a man can collect from 30 to 50 tons of wood a day while here 4 or 5 tons are collected each. That's why the costs are different. The cork pays off: a good job has been done.
And the paper?
The bins closed. They could not compete with the Nordics who have large plantations, destined for industrial uses. There are those who say that large plantations should be made to produce wood in cultivated fields; but that is not worth it, because it is detrimental to food crops.
What to do then?
We must value the services provided by the forest, and not just wood. The income obtained thanks to the landscape only goes to the tourism sector, leisure, hoteliers, but the forest owner does not get that return.
And how to reward him?
We must raise awareness in the leisure and tourism sector, which lives from the forest. If the forest burns no one will come. The Administration must help. We propose promoting a law for the social use of the forest, which must be regulated.
Does the Catalan forest grow?
Yes, a lot. As Martí Boada says, when man leaves, the forest enters. The forest increases and the presence of wild animals, game, deer, roe deer; we leave the forest and they enter. The environmental value of the forest is higher than the productive one: due to its value of water preservation, erosion prevention, and biodiversity. We must give a value to that.
As?
There are a thousand proposals. The most important is to achieve a 30% exemption from personal income tax on forestry investments. We are talking about investments that are not profitable, that do not give benefits: roads for the extraction of wood or for fighting fires, clearing to improve a forest will not be profitable until after 100 years... 80% of the actions that are made in the forest is not profitable and results in indirect benefits to society. With these aids we will attract investment and we will have well-kept forests.
Explore other paths, right?
We have to give a value to forest services, or their food; That is why we have published the book El bosc a la taula, which contains recipes from the forests prepared by the 20 best chefs. It is aimed at those who are interested in the gastronomic world, consumers, collectors or companies that sell products of forest origin to make them understand the need to manage forests rationally in the face of current threats.
Do the owners want to charge for mushroom picking?
We claim its value. But we don't want to be the bad guy. It is the Administration that must find the way in which the value of the mushrooms reverts to the forest, be it collection rates or other formulas. A part should also go to the forestry sector.
Studies say that so much forest mass captures water and reduces the available flows.
The forest mass must be reduced. The forest is now thicker, with more trees per hectare. We must know how many trees should be left so that there is no soil erosion and that at the same time water is allowed to flow into the river. We must help them adapt to the new climate.
Which is another threat, right?
Lucky we have trees. When the big storms come, the trees will hold the ground, prevent erosion and save us from the great avenues and catastrophes. But how many trees should we have? We have too many trees. It is necessary to make clearings so that everyone lives and so that there is water left for the river.
And the pests?
We are concerned about all the plagues due to the climate crisis. Drought weakens the stands of trees and pests enter. It's a big problem coming our way. They will not only die from drought, but from pests. We have seen temperatures of more than 40ºC, up to 45.3ºC. The trees have been born in another climate, they are not prepared for this climate and they die from heat strokes. We are worried about the fire, but the mortalities due to drought and heat will also be terrible.
There are those who propose leaving a part of the forest to its natural evolution, leaving it untouched.
Now 40% of the forests are in natural evolution. They are areas where nothing has been done for 30 or 40 years because they are not profitable or they are far away, precious forests. Sometimes diagnoses are made from the 80s. But we have more forests than ever; and we continue to abandon crops.
