The inventory will provide information and tools to conduct studies and carry out proposals for forest revitalization, biodiversity conservation, risk management, and promotion of the bioeconomy
The Sustainable Forest Management group of the Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC) participated in the presentation of the results and tools of the National Forest Inventory of Andorra on Tuesday, June 25. The CTFC research team has collaborated with researchers of the sustainability axis of Andorra Research and Innovation (AR+I), with the support of the Office of Energy and Climate Change, to prepare the document “that allows to have basic data on the Andorran forests extracted with a standard methodology, comparable to that of other European countries,” explained Vanesa Arroyo, manager of AR+I.
Francesc Cano, CTFC’s Transfer Deputy Director said that “this is a very important first step in a whole series of tasks that will follow. Once the diagnosis has been made, it is necessary to make a blueprint for Andorran forests, consider the acceleration of the forest bioeconomy with biomass and wood construction, prevent fires, create more resilient landscapes, etc. Andorra can count on the CTFC to support these lines of work.”
The inventory includes 194 forest plots distributed regularly throughout the territory of Andorra, representing the entire wooded area of the country and forming the permanent monitoring network of the evolution of the forest cover. Míriam Piqué, head of the Multifunctional Forest Management program of the CTFC, contextualized the uses of national inventories and the importance of applying standard methodologies to be able to compare them while monitoring.
From Andorra Research and Innovation, both the project manager, Marta Domènech, and the coordinator of the Sustainability axis, Oriol Travesset, have highlighted the importance for the country of having its forested area inventoried. “The first National Forest Inventory provides vital information and tools to the commons and the Government to conduct studies and carry out proposals for forest revitalization, biodiversity conservation, risk management, and promotion of the bioeconomy. From AR+I we understand this inventory as the starting point to advance towards a new model of forest management,” said Domènech.
The Secretary of State for Energy Transition, Transport and Mobility of the Government of Andorra, David Forné, who is a patron of AR+I, highlighted the importance of being able to finish the first National Forest Inventory that helps to have a better characterization of the forests, as well as to know exactly their greenhouse gas emissions absorption capacity. “We are once again demonstrating that Andorra wants to be a leader in rigor and transparency in relation to information related to climate action,” said Forné, adding that “thanks to the study, it has been found that Andorra’s forests have the capacity to absorb about 40% of the emissions emitted by the country.”
Travesset valued that, for Andorra Research and Innovation, the inventory “represents the essential data package to promote and monitor research on forests in the country and to serve public forestry policies.”
Last modified: 26 June 2024
