The first steering committee of the Interreg POCTEC REFLORESTA project occurred in the Sierra de Aracena on November 28th and 29th. Chaired by José García Sanz, the head of forest works at CSMAEA (Consejería de Sostenibilidad, Medio Ambiente y Economía Azul – Junta de Andalucía), the session outlined efforts to restore areas affected by the August 2020 wildfire.
The REFLORESTA project focuses on prevention and recovery to create more resilient landscapes in the face of climate change and increased resistance to future fires. Through the application of state-of-the-art technologies and social innovation, intelligent restoration of affected landscapes and ecosystems will be achieved by:
- Doing more with less: strategically intervening at points with the highest success rate, minimizing damage, and facilitating natural reforestation.
- Minimizing impacts, accelerating recovery, and reconstructing ecosystems and landscapes to be more resistant and adapted to climate change, thereby preventing future fires.
- Restoring ecosystems to enhance resilience against future fires and promoting biodiversity generation.
- Minimizing the impact of fires on water bodies such as reservoirs, rivers, and oceans by employing the latest technologies in territorial and forest observation and analysis. This approach aims to reduce soil loss, erosion, and the transport of ashes.