Valencia, Andalusia and Catalonia promote a project to energy recovery of forest waste

The Valencian Community, Andalusia and Catalonia collaborate on a project to improve the management of forest waste. Half a dozen entities have joined forces to work together to create an innovative project that energy value the waste generated when logging in white pine forests and, in the process, reduce the risk of fires.

The project, which has been baptized with the name of "Valuation and Energy Use, in the Phase of Tala, of the Forest Masses of Pino Carrasco (Pinus halepensis) Regeneration post -forest fire", has been financed thanks to a subsidy of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Mapama) and resources of the Eur EurFUND OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (FEADER).

The project shows that with current means, the waste generated by logging, which consists of wood and small branches, is not usable and, therefore, is deposited on the ground, with a strong visual impact on the population. local environment and increased risk of forest fire and possible pest damage. It also points out that in the face of this situation, which extends throughout the Mediterranean basin, it is essential to carry out clearings to reduce the density of the forest mass and guarantee correct development, wood productive capacity, social use and increase resistance and resilience. of forests in the event of new forest fires and pests. The work shows that both in Catalonia and in Valencia and Andalusia the problem is increasingly present since after a forest fire, white pine masses usually regenerate spontaneously in very high densities.

Under the name of 'operational group', the project has been carried out by a work team made up of members of the Catalan Federation of Forestry Owners Associations-BOSCAT, in charge of coordination, the Association for the management of the Program Leader Ripollès Ges Bisaura, the Valencian Community Agroforestry Owners Association (AFOCA-CV), the Association for the Comprehensive Support of the Inland Regions, the Muntanya d'Alacant Rural Local Action Group and the Sierra de Cazorla Rural Development Association; It has also had the collaboration of the Center Tecnològic Forestal de Catalunya and Proenhec Consultoría Estratègica SL

Field inspections
In order to draft the project, the operational group has held several meetings both in Alicante and Manresa during the month of August and September where the realities of each territory in forest management and, specifically, , of the white pine forests that constitute a problem due to their low commercial value and the high cost of extraction. In addition, visits have been made to see in situ the type of forest mass of the forests in different areas that share the same reality in all territories. This initiative is the first step of a future innovative project that is expected to be carried out in 2019 with the intention of providing a technical and economic solution to this problem.