Industrial forest plantations are not forests, denounce environmental activists

LPN, GEOTA, GAIA, FAPAS, rock, Oikos, Quercus and SPEA have been organizations that rallied today, world day of forests, to assert that the forests are multidimensional systems that combine the structural, functional and biological diversity. This definition includes elements not ferns such as soil, water, microorganisms, fauna and flora and the interaction between species and human communities.

According to the statement sent by the "industrial short rotation crops in monoculture regime are nothing of this and this confusion only serves to harm the forests".

These organizations argue that the various initiatives that are taking place during the day, across the country and around the world, "deserve clarification that many celebrated forests are not in fact".

The proliferation of forest plants for the industrial exploitation does not reverse deforestation. On the contrary, it has contributed to the replacement of ecosystems and biomes rich and complex, as are the forests, for authentic "green deserts", i.e. plantations of Palm, eucalyptus, Acacias or rubber trees, among other monocultures.

"A forest is often the most advanced step in relation to the potential balance of an ecosystem. A forest plantation monoespecífica is a basic and eco-system too lean ", clarifies the statement.

For the loss of the richest forest areas all over the world have contributed and pernicious use of the idea that eucalyptus or acaciais are effectively forests.

In Portugal, although they point to a large forest area, the truth is that plantations of eucalyptus and pine forests, in particular when used in very short rotations schemes for maximum extraction of raw materials, have led to serious environmental, social and economic problems.

One of the proofs is the destruction of biomes such as savannas or grasslands, now occupied by forest plantations with little or no contribution to local economies and to the balance of ecological, biological systems, hydraulic and soil.

Foto: Mr Conguito/Creative Commons

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