Four projects focused on key management forest bioeconomy are coordinated from the Community of Aragon to ppromote environmental conservation and the promotion of sustainable rural development, initiatives that aim to enhance and preserve the region’s natural resources.
One of the goals of the four projects is to improve the work of pasture in the Pyrenees, promote mycotourism and create sustainable economic models based on diversity fungal. The objectives of these initiatives also include sustainable forest management for the economic development and diversification of activities in rural areas, among others.
Recovery plan
The four projects were beneficiaries of the last call for forest bioeconomy of the Foundation for Biodiversity from the Ministry of Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (Miteco) within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR), financed by the European Union – NextGenerationEU.
The initiatives that were presented in the Seminar to present the forest bioeconomy project in Aragon 2024-2025 in which a Round table on global and sustainable forest management for rural development.
Support for the forest bioeconomy
The event brought together, among others, the Director General of Forest Management of the Government of Aragon, Ana Oliván, and the Director of the Provincial Department of Environment and Tourism of Zaragoza, Ignacio Pérez-Soba.
In his speech, Pérez-Soba recalled that the Regional Executive “supports the forest bioeconomy in a very decisive way” because the mountains “not only They are sources of ecosystem services, but also of economic services“.
“THE conservation of ecosystems Not only is this not in contradiction with production of renewable natural resources – added Pérez-Soba – but they are two sides of the same coin. Forest management “must be an indispensable tool of any rural development policy and must be understood as such by both public authorities and society itself,” he concluded.
Also participating in the seminar were the Secretary General of the Miteco Demographic Challenge, Francés Boya; the Director of the Biodiversity Foundation, Elena Pita; and the Executive Director of Ecodes, Víctor Viñuales, among others.
Fungal biodiversity
One of the initiatives presented, Fungiverso, highlights fungal biodiversity in the territory: more than 2.2 million hectares producing mushroomsmore than 2,400 species of wild mushrooms and more than 85,000 Aragonese pickers, to which are added those who arrive from other communities.
The initiative is led by the Agrifood Research and Technology Center of Aragon (CITA) in collaboration with the Association of Mycological Parks of Aragon (Micoaragón).
Mycoselvicultural management
CITA researcher Fernando Martínez explained that “a special effort will be made in the management of the resource, both in terms of collection and mycoselvicultural management”, that is, “apply silvicultural criteria to ensure the production and diversity of mushrooms. Support for entrepreneurs is also envisaged, and all this from a “scientific” point of view.
The four projects presented placed sustainable forest management in the context of depopulation from the perspective of Aragon. From Mosqueruela, Teruel, the project Biofor He wants to emphasize that depopulation has generated an abandonment of these lands and mountains. That is why forest management is necessary to be able to optimize the resources that the mountains offer us.
For his part, Fungiverse wants to highlight the great mycological value of our forests, a great forest biodiversity, with 2,485 species catalogued, particularly in the mycological fieldhighlighting Aragon as a paradise for mushroom picking, an activity that involves 10% of the population.
Strengthening pastoralism
For its part, the proposal of Beep aims to strengthen pastoralism in the Pyrenees through the forest bioeconomy. The main objective is to provide economic compensation to the herders of the Pyrenees of Huesca and Lleida for the environmental benefits generated by their grazing work.
Finally, BioPyrenees is a project led by Ecodes in collaboration with the Pyrenean Institute of Ecology, the Agri-Food Research and Technology Center of Aragon (CITA) and the eco-union association that seeks to promote the economy of the Aragonese Pyrenees through the implementation of sustainable activities in the forestry, livestock, alternative crops and tourism sectors.
Ecosystem resilience
The main objective of these initiatives is to promote economic development and ecosystem resilience in the region, taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the forest bioeconomy.
These initiatives were announced today at the Seminar for the Presentation of Forest Bioeconomy Projects in Aragon 2024-2025, which took place at the Pignatelli Building in Zaragoza.
These conferences show that rural development, supported by the forest bioeconomy, is a path not only for fight against depopulationbut also to mitigate climate change and generate sustainable economic opportunities in the country’s most forgotten territories.
