The reforestation of 1,503 hectares of the Tocha wasteland, devastated by the fire in October 2017, was completed seven years later, informed the Chamber of Cantanhede.
“Around two million trees were planted during the execution of the project, which was financed by the 2014-2020 Rural Development Program, as part of an application submitted by the Local Community of Baldios of Freguesia da Tocha”, revealed this Sunday the City Council .
The wasteland in the parish of Tocha, on the coast of the Central region, was an “area heavily affected by the fire of October 15, 2017”, recalls the Municipality.
The reforestation of that community property, also called the Cantanhede Dunes Forest Perimeter, involved an investment of more than 1.2 million euros, supported by European funds.
The application, worth 1,284,250 euros, had an 80% contribution from the European Union, while the proposing entity assumed the remaining 20%.
The reforestation work was carried out by the following entities: Comunidade dos Baldios da Tocha, Institute for Nature and Forest Conservation, Parish Council of Tocha and Câmara de Cantanhede.
The Municipal Council’s Forestry Technical Office, which prepared the project and ensured monitoring and inspection of the work, “is still finalizing” the Forestry Management Plan for the total recovered area.
This document aims to “determine and schedule the necessary forestry operations to maintain the forest population, promoting the development of forest resources in perpetuity and safeguarding public utility purposes, such as conservation, sustainable management of associated natural resources and the preservation of natural habitats, wild fauna and flora”.
“The project provided for the control of spontaneous vegetation (…), mobilization of the soil for the installation of plants and the planting of maritime pine (1,395.8 hectares in the plots), stone pine (49.2 hectares in the fuel management bands ) and black poplar, black borrazeira and white willow (20.5 hectares for rehabilitation of riparian galleries associated with water courses”, according to the Municipality.
Two experimental plots were also installed, one with a combination of maritime pine and cork oak (20.1 hectares) and another with just stone pine (17.4 hectares).
“It was a very ambitious technical project, at all levels, since the site in question is part of the Natura 2000 Network and, for this reason, determines the subordination of the existence of forest to certain public utility purposes” , highlighted the authority chaired by Helena Teodósio.
