The association of forestry engineers and technicians sent a manifesto to the parliamentary groups calling for a forestry regime pact and a budget allocation planned for 20 years to allow “going from words to practice.”
“The National Association of Engineers and Technicians of the Forestry Sector (ANESF) proposes to the parties with parliamentary seats the national plan that is establish a forest regime pact”All political forces have an obligation towards the Portuguese people to put words into practice,” reads the document sent to the parliamentary groups, published on Friday.
The association recalls the moment of discussion of the State Budget for 2025 (OE2025) and the need to “record income” that guarantees human and material resources “to carry out on the ground what needed to be done yesterday, but which must be done today, tomorrow and for the future, so that tragedies such as those that occurred in 2003, 2005, 2017 and this year 2024 do not happen again.”
“This mandate must be transversal to the different legislatures and have a minimum duration of five legislatures, so that it is possible to change the current situation,” argues the manifesto.
Speaking to Lusa, ANESF president Miguel Serrão explained that the association did not want to present a budget allocation figure, believing that “the parties will have to reach a consensus on the issue,” explaining in more detail that part of the necessary funds would be supported by individuals, landowners and community funds, which are considered essential for this plan.
“We thought it would be very limiting to say a value”said.
Miguel Serrão believes that “it will be a giant step” if there is consensus for a regime pact.
The ANESF had already requested this same agreement from the parliamentary groups in 2018, after the devastating fires of 2017, but received no response from the parties, which Miguel Serrão regrets, hoping that this time it will be different.
In the manifesto, they explain that the regime’s pact, in addition to the budgetary allocation for immediate support for urgent measures or recovery of burnt areas, should also focus on determining periodic evaluations of the forest, with monitoring of regional forest management programs and the public availability of information and monitoring of the phytosanitary status of the forest.
The association also calls for the involvement of local and regional authorities in forest management, a national plan for monitoring and controlling invasive species, “exemplary management of forests under state protection,” mandatory certification of public areas, the use of national wood in public works, mitigation of climate change and the protection of populations and forests from fires.
The manifesto highlights that “forests are extremely complex ecosystems that take decades to develop in order to provide the goods and services enjoyed by society” and that “the value of the forest goes far beyond wood production and must incorporate the value of ecosystem services such as water, carbon and landscape, just to name the most tangible ones.”
“Unfortunately, there are still many actions and decisions that have been taken by those who do not have the appropriate knowledge or skills for this purpose. Reporting on technical and well-founded decisions is the role that forestry engineers and technicians must play in Portugal,” the manifesto reads.
ANESF maintains that “the country’s economy, employment in the most disadvantaged regions, the conservation of nature and biodiversity, but above all the safety of citizens are at stake” and that “forest management requires generational commitments, which require stability in political orientations, but speed in operational decisions.”
“And management is not just about “clearing bushes” – it is much more. We cannot continue to see decisions designed for four-year electoral cycles (or less). We have a basic forest policy law that was unanimously approved by the Assembly of the Republic. We have the legal instruments necessary to manage our forest well. The means and political courage for its implementation were lacking,” the association argues in the manifesto.
Source: Observadora
