The communities of Cepeda and Amoedo, affected by one of the major fires of 2017, have registered the restoration of their community woodlands in the Ministry for Ecological Transition's CO2 Absorption Register.
The community forests of Cepeda and Amoedo, both in the municipality of Pazos de Borbén (Pontevedra), were hit hard by one of the major forest fires of October 2017, as the blaze completely scorched the surface of both forests, 190 hectares in the case of Cepeda and 372.5 in that of Amoedo. Since then, both communities have been working on the environmental restoration of the burnt areas, a process they are now reinforcing by registering these plantations in the Ministry of Ecological Transition's CO2 Absorption Register, which will allow both communities to receive funds from companies interested in offsetting their carbon footprint.
The funds raised will be allocated in full to the restoration of the burnt area, thus enabling the completion of the planned silvicultural works to achieve the objective of bringing these forest stands to maturity.
The restoration works were carried out over an area of 111 hectares, where stands of native pines and broad-leaved deciduous trees, mainly chestnut, oak and birch, were established. In total, more than 100,000 trees were planted on that area, which are expected to capture around 27,000 tonnes of CO2 over the minimum periods for which the communities have committed to keeping the stands standing, periods ranging from 35 to 50 years.
The entire reforested area will be certified by FSC and PEFC, which guarantees its sustainable management, emphasising that more than a third of the restored surface area (40 hectares) will be dedicated to protective functions, without productive purposes, where mainly native broadleaf stands will be established.
The restoration projects have had the support and coordination of the Forestry Association of Galicia, and are included in a plan for the restoration of degraded areas that is being developed at a regional level. The main objective of this plan, which is being carried out simultaneously in all four Galician provinces, is to attract funding from companies interested in voluntarily offsetting their CO2 footprint. These funds are intended to accelerate the recovery process of the forests affected by wildfires in recent years, or to promote the reforestation of those areas that have remained bare for the past 30 years.
