Acréscimo
is a non-governmental organization created to promote forestry investments in
accordance with the concept of sustainable development and social
responsibility principles.
As Portuguese
Government prepares another Rural Development Program (RDP) for the period
2014-2020, we question the results of those previous 25 years of the Common
Agricultural Policy (CAP) in Portuguese forests.
What
are we missing?
Acréscimo
is could not find any evaluation study about the CAP funds application
to forests in Portugal. The main question is: in consequence of these funds
application on forests, how much of this investment was reverted effectively in
adding economic, environment and social values?
On
last June, Acréscimo questioned the Ministry of Agriculture in Portugal, regarding
on the statistics related to afforestation in the last 25 years. Acréscimo
also asked for the public information about forest investments – co-financed by
the CAP – detailed by tree species and areas (hectares). Until November, no
feed-back was received. Not even a link to access the data requested, that
should be public and available information.
What
do we suspect?
In
the absence of concrete data, we suppose that the results related to the
forestry measures using CAP funds in Portugal had no significant positive impacts
to the Society, nor economic neither social nor environmental.
Worse,
we suspect of the cyclic application of public funds in local cyclically
affected by forest fires in the last 25 years.
What do we know?
On despite
of the implementation of hundreds of millions of Euros of public support in
Portuguese forests, we know that the weight of the gross value added (GVA) to
forestry declined over 66% in 2010 compared to 1990, compared to the national
GVA. We also know that the weight of the forestry sector (the set of forestry
and forest-based industries) in Portuguese GDP fell down 40% between 2000 and
2010.
Source: INE, CES 2011. Lisbon, 2012.
We
also know that the forest species that has enjoyed more support - the maritime pine
- experienced the retreat in its area of about 400 hectares in the last 25
years. This occurred in despite of the nearly 700 million of public funds
applied. This amount could have boosted about 350 thousand hectares of new
afforestation with this species.
Unfortunately,
we know that the application of hundreds of millions of Euros of CAP funds will
not minimize the cycle of destruction caused by forest fires in Portugal, which
currently has similar impact to what it had in the mid 90s.
Forest Fires - Burned Areas 1980/2012
(red line - wooded areas
/ yellow - uncultivated areas / black - total burned area)
Source: ICNF. Lisbon, 2013)
Questions that may arise:
What
is the real destination of hundreds of millions of Euros of public support that
should create value in forests, ensuring employment and welfare to Society and
protect Nature?
Are
the European taxpayers unintentionally promoting forest fires in Portugal?
What measures of forest policy
(beyond the RDP 2014/2020) has the Portuguese Government prepared to counter
the progressive decline of forestry in Portugal? 90% of the forest areas in
Portugal are owned by hundreds of thousands of families and rural communities,
the vast majority undercapitalized and more than 60% of cases with properties
up to 5 hectares. The forest product markets are characterized by loose-win
relationship, where prices are generally imposed by the forest-based
industries.
The attention of:
The Presidency of the Portuguese
Republic
The Portuguese Parliament
The European Parliament
The Portuguese Government
The European Commission
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