Forest owners commit to improving the sustainable management of eucalyptus forests.
The Forestry Association of Galicia, PROMAVI and Promagal organised a meeting of forest owners' associations (PROMAS) of the Mariña in Viveiro to address the future of the species within the framework of the bioeconomy. At the meeting, the commitment of forest owners to improving the management of eucalyptus forests, enhancing their biodiversity and management, was noted, in order to reinforce the environmental services they already provide.
The event also served to present the forest report on eucalyptus in Galicia and the Cantabrian Coast, published by the Confederation of Forest Owners' Organisations of Spain (Cost of doing businessThe document confirms that the sustainable management of eucalyptus represents an opportunity in the wetlands of the Iberian Peninsula within the framework of the bioeconomy, as the species provides a renewable raw material that, from an environmental perspective, is of particular interest for mitigating climate change.
The report highlights that eucalyptus forests contribute to Spain's CO2 accounting by fixing around 65.2 million tonnes of carbon, of which more than half are in Galicia. The species stands out as one of the most carbon-absorbing species in the atmosphere; for example, in its first 20 years, a eucalyptus tree absorbs eight times more carbon than an oak, according to data from the Ministry for Ecological Transition.
This capability is further enhanced by the fact that materials derived from eucalyptus (wood, paper, fibres, etc.) replace fossil-based products such as plastics, concrete or steel, which have a higher carbon footprint, as detailed in the report.
A third environmental issue to consider is that the consumption of European timber helps to reduce the potential importation of deforestation from countries in the Global South, since while Europe is a continent that continues to increase its forest cover progressively, ensuring its sustainable use, forest management on other continents lacks such guarantees.
Report conclusions
The forestry report on eucalyptus in Galicia and the Cantabrian Coast focused on synthesising the available scientific data on eucalyptus, drawn from numerous scientific publications over the past few decades. This analysis reviews all the hot-button issues (the species' water-use efficiency, biodiversity, soil, fires, etc.) and concludes that sustainable eucalyptus management has positive effects on the environment. It thus debunks numerous myths surrounding the species.
Specifically, the report analyses the sustainability of eucalyptus along different dimensions:
- Environmental sustainability. The management of eucalyptus plantations is compatible with biodiversity conservation. In Galicia and other autonomous communities of the northern peninsula, broad-leaved deciduous forests have grown in parallel with the expansion of eucalyptus. In Galicia alone, between 1997 and 2009 (the period between the two most recent National Forest Inventories), the area of broad-leaved deciduous woodland increased by 10 per cent (+ 42,000 hectares), mainly in Ourense and in the interior of Lugo and Pontevedra. The same happened in other communities, such as the Basque Country, where the area of broadleaves grew by 12%. It should be remembered that in Galicia, by law, the replacement of broadleaf stands with eucalyptus was already prohibited before the current moratorium.
- Economic and social sustainability. More than 150,000 Galician landowners and community woodlands cultivate eucalyptus. Eucalyptus felling, which amounts to 5.6 million cubic metres in the region (1 million of these tonnes in the Lucense Mariña), generates around 162 million euros in revenue. It is estimated that eucalyptus provides direct employment for around 4,800 people in Galicia.
Landlord's obligations
The forest report on eucalyptus debunks the myth about the supposed risks associated with the species and focuses the issue: the risk is not the species, but the lack of forest management or poor technical handling. Therefore, forest owners' associations are committed to optimising its cultivation, integrating it into rural landscapes that are more resilient to fires and the risks associated with climate change.
A clear strategy from now on will be to combine eucalyptus plantations with strips of deciduous broadleaves wherever technically advisable (valleys with streams, around homes and settlements, near roads and transport routes, etc.), as well as to observe the necessary planting distances stipulated by legislation at any given time.
