Booklet Forest Portugal

8/3/2019 Booklet Forest Portugal

1/28

Rain dont fall just

from the skyOf the necessity of the forest

and its protection in Portugal

Bernd Markowsky


2/28

While standing in an American desert, I suddenly realized that rain

does not fall from the heavens; it issues forth from the ground. Deserts

do not form because there is no rain; rather, rain ceases to fall because

the vegetation has disappeared. Building a dam in the desert is an

attempt to treat the symptoms of the disease, but is not a strategy for

increasing rainfall. First we have to learn how to restore the ancient

forests.

Masanobu Fukuoka

2

The forst of Junceda, Serra do Geres, May 2011.The monoculture of pines in the background is burned off in wide range.

Coverfotograph: Cloud above Covide, 2009.In the background the rockformation Calcedonia.


3/28

3

Conversation with Dr. Nuno Gomes de Oliveira,Director of the Parque Biolgico in Vila Nova de Gaia /Portugal

Every year, the same images: Burning forests in Portugal. About the background of

this country however we know little. The author knows the situation in the north of

Portugal, is aware of the history of commons and forestry, forest use and outrageous

abuse. In an interview with the director of the Parque Biolgico we have now in

front of the eyes precarious structures and the details of a shocking development.

Behind the economic and political decline threatens to disappear a fatal environmen-

tal policy. But here whole Europe should be alerted.

Portugal is the classical country of the forest fire in Europe. In 2010 has burnt

a surface of 166,399 hectares from which 45.3 percent constitute to forest or

tree-passed surfaces. The expenses are officially declared with 3000 per

hectare. 75 percent of that over Europe by forest fires emitted CO2 come from

Portugal. Key players of the natural destruction are a centralised and politi-

cised state bureaucracy which faces to the fire prevention, the reforestation

and generally the nature conservation unimaginatively, ineffectively, often vir-

tually indifferently and an industry, that scenery primarily considers as a prof-

itable resource for industrial parks, wood and tourism. Main-affected is the

rural population whose hereditary rights are limited to the local property, the

commons (ways, waters, meadows, hat forest increasingly up to cases of ex-

pulsion, and the nature which wears heavy scars of devastation. One of many

examples is the Serra Amarela mentioned in the following conversation, today

only a karst high-level surface largely deforested with isolated groups of trees.

The mentioned regions lie in the north (national park Peneda-Gers) and in

the northeast of Porto (Serra de Valongo) to reach at 20 minutes with the

metro. This are climatic preferred areas, because the north is traditionallyrainy what changes now successive ones and so rich in fluent waters. In

and around the National Park (PNPG) eucalyptus was hardly planted, was

committed for it another heavy sin: To counteract against the soil erosion, the

state forestry commission seventy, eighty years ago has distributed in large

quantities seed of an Australian acacia to the sowing which becomes now the

plague and must be fought with great effort.

The Alentejo in middle Portugal is a very dry and hot plain and will become

according to the predictions in twenty, thirty years a desert. There is klein-

buerlichen olive cultivation(outhouse) which suffers from the Spanish com-petition of big farms, and great cork oaken plantations whose preservation and

use is supported by companies like Amorin Cork and by the WWF.

Algarve in the south is a mixing scenery with fruit growing (oranges, pome-

granate among other things), to dry scrub and zones similar to steppe. Also

here cork plantations, olive groves and almond groves are found.

Eucalyptus became widely planted in the seventies to build up own paper in-

dustry. He grows fast and needs no care. The trees lyes, nevertheless, the

ground from and expel with their content in aggressive ethereal oils rodent,

insects and birds. The only animals who eat young eucalyptus leaves are koalas

which there are not living in Portugal. For other animal species and botanical

species they are however toxic and useless, just as their fruits.

In the Minho area, the north of Portugal, rules predominantly the traditional

agriculture of small family businesses with few cows who serve excluding the

meat production to the cultivation of corn, potatoes and different vegetables.

We can onlydefend what we know


4/28

View from the Serra do Gers towards the Serra Amarela in the background. In the valley the reservoir of Vilarinho das Furnas.

4

Besides there is to sheep and goats cookers.

The National Park Peneda-Gers is the only absolutely protected nature re-

serve of Portugal. In the granite mountainous country of the north-east con-

veniently (to 1500 metres high) he passes over, 72,000 hectares, seemlessly in

the Spanish National Park Xures. Founded in 1971, only 7.5 percent are in the

possession of the state, a part is a private land ownership, about two thirds

consist of commons what leads over and over again to conflicts with the park

management which pursues a restrictive exclusion of all human activity with

the exception of tourism. The park management stopped maintaining and pro-

tecting activities extensively to take part in the tourist industry. It pursues a

lucrative canoe business', has converted big nursery gardens into herbal farms

which market aromatic herbs under the label of the national park. Since 2008

the national park is a part of the European Pan park project which markets

wilderness.

B e r n d Ma r k o w s k y : I recently came back from Peneda-Gers and had

to re-experience, in what a sad state is the National Park. After the devas-

tating forest fires of last summer I do not see any substantial progress on for-

est protection, afforestation and the improvement of the relationship between

residents and park management.


5/28

5

Nu no G o me s d e O l i ve i r a : Yes, Gers is practically abandoned! It is ob-

vious that, how the park acts, he always will face many problems with the local

residents. Also there are people who want to do things which are incompatible

with the concern of the park. This is normal for a nature reserve.

Why nobody develops projects for the eco-tourism? There is tourism, but no

cafs and restaurants of high quality with ecological claim and products

from the region.

For such ideas the park should be the engine. Now it becomes almost thirty

years that I visited the French nature reserve Equitnea close to Bordeaux the

first time. From its expansion it is one of the biggest nature reserves in Europe.

At that time the park had three employees: the manager, his deputy and a sec-

retary. In the Portuguese national park 300 employees worked already once.

These three people promoted several projects in the park, and one was a

restaurant, formerly with dubious call which was rebuilt. The director spoke

with the owner who continued with the exploration, assumed the construction

works on the house which had great architectural value and was very beautiful

and created thus a very pleasant space for the visitors.

Our parks and natural reserves don't take any initiative, have no visions and,

beyond it, create constantly obstacles for somebody who wants to do some-


6/28

6

thing. Many of those which work for the natural reserves have a fundamental-

istic view of the nature conservation. At the end they are more papal than the

pope.

I give you an example: I promoted the foundation of the nature reserve of

S.Jacinto and its alignment should be in his middle, not at the side of a national

road, as this is now the case. This would not have had the slightest environ-

mental impact and it would have been the right way how the people movethrough this reserve and understand it. It is completely of sand, and its most

interesting part is the dune chain. Where do the cars park now? Two kilome-

tres away. Of course the most of the visitors are not going over there. We must

make easier the access of the people; therefore, I always thought that the center

should be in its middle and to reach by car. However, the engineers do not un-

derstand this and have a very destabilising and centralist attitude. Instructions

from Lisbon to the park of Montezinho or Gers do not work, because the dis-

tance is too big. Then they make development plans without themselves to re-

mind at the fact that, how in the case of Montezinho, that these sceneries wereformed by the local residents. Nevertheless, the typical construction style has

been created not by architects, but by the rural population. And now? Does it

require the interference of an architect to build a pigsty? This is an absolute

insanity!

If one inspects the development of the villages, ok, but these exaggerations are

impossible to be understood.

The Director, Dr. Lagdio Domingos, said me that the last year one million

euro were given to the commons.

Look, this crosses the border to the ridiculous. Our only national park should

have a budget of more than 50 millions. We have three millions here, in the

Parque Biolgico. They come including the sa laries on a sum like we here have

in our small park of 35 hectares. Is this intelligible that they have with their

70,000 hectares the same budget like us? This is obviously more than ridicu-

lous. For farther ideas that people have, they will do nothing as one sees in the

P.N.P.G.

In the administrative building of the national park in Braga are displayed

publicity leaflets for the European PAN park project. The idea behind this

project is to create completely protected zones in which the nature remains

left to itself. However, at least for the north of Portugal this cannot work,because the population lives too close at the park, often enough in his midst.

I always had the impression, that the Portuguese variant is designed merely

to unfold no activity and to save expenses. So, in such a way the visitor's

rooms also are looking there, dusty and lifelessly.

Who plans the state budget, must understand that the protective areas, all

above the scenery, are a determining economic resource, because there is no

tourism without scenery, excluded that tourism of the discos, how in Cancn

and at the end Benidorme. The real tourism is based principally on the

scenery, the natural, cultural, etc. Till one recognises that the preservation ofthe Mata de Albergaria is not less important, as the preservation of the Eiffel

Tower, the budgets will have shrunk for the landscape conservation up to the

unrecognisability.

Gers in the seventies up to the eighties was as a tourism area dead. Nobody

went there. The mineral springs had gone to ruin and nobody visited them.

The brand National Park dealt with the tourism in Gers, it has developed him.

This brand has gained to the state already a lot of money, and exactly that's

why it would have only advantages, to provide more resources for the pro-

tected areas, but nobody notes it! There is a bigger interest to build a tourist

Mega Resort on the coast of Alentejo against all rules and against all laws, ex-

actly those projects of national interest, the PIN which march through above

all other.

On a caricature in a French magazine a type with the certain scent of property

developer was illustrated, who looked around on an island and said: How


7/28

nicely. Wonderful, here we will put immediately a tourist centre and this.. .

trees there cut away, they disturb the view. This is our reality, and our National

Park must add to all sufferings of the latest forest fires that sight which fright-

ened me in my recently visit.

To look at Vilarinho the Furnas, is tormenting and embarrassing at the same

time. Someone is shocked, if he sees at the Serra Amarela, everything nudeand burnt.

Vilarinho shocks from this and farther reasons. No real efforts are made

to the reforestation, everything

goes over in an unbelievable

process of the soil erosion, and

if, finally, the responsibles

awake, there is no more ground

for the reforestation. There must

be seized emergency measuresor there threatens a disaster, and

one does not come to me with

five hectares of cultivation. The

complete mountains must be

afforested! For Vilarinho das

Furnas there should be a PIN, a

plan of national interest.

I know that there are some loca-

tion advantages for shrubs, but

now they would already have to

be planted and the necessary

measures now seized, so that it

does not burn in this summer

again.

According to it the acquisition at least of one farther water tank truck

and the construction of water tanks at particularly fire risk places would

be necessary. As to me the head of the fire brigade of Terras de Bouro as

well as the park director confirmed, the fire in last summer could spread

out till the Mata de Cabril only because the tank truck with 30,000 litres

of capacity had to return in the valley to take up water again.

And I repeat untiringly that there is no possibility at all to prevent forestfires without the participation of the local residents.

I agree with you completely. That the fires are set, in that fact no doubt can

View over the reservoir of Vilarinho das Furnas towards the Serra Amarela, Mrz 2011.

7


8/28

consist. There is not a spontaneous outbreak of fire. But there in this region

there must be a greater sensitivity. There must be rules.

In the national park and somewhere else there is an old war, which due comes

already from the nineteenth century, this is the war of the commons. It is the

problem of the forced occupation of local ground by the forestry commission

beginning in 1800. While the memory of the urban population is short-term,

in the country people do not forget so easily. In Gers the occupation of thecommons was not very unprincipled, as Aquilino Ribeiro tells. This was more

serious on the edge of the park, and the annoyance linked with it still is too

freshly in recollection. No one ever tried to counteract against it. Up to the

25th of April there was an authoritarian posture in relation with the people

and the management was never able to approach them. Even I know that this

it is not easy to achieve. There are places where this is possible, but I must also

admit that it is very difficult in that region on account of the inheritance from

the times of the reafforestation. For the reforestation pastureland was used, the

forest guards were very repressive, there was much authoritarian affected be-haviour. However, nevertheless, that what is now the national park for more

than thirty years should have had time enough to leave all this behind. Also

because I feel generally that the

people are not against the park.

The people are against the

park management and that

pretty strongly.

Certainly. There is a problemfocused especially on the re-

gion of Terras de Bouro. That

war of the Serra Amarela, that

Vilarinho and the surrounding

mountains belong to the for-

mer inhabitants, and also this

war was never settled, includ-

ing a clearance from a juridical

point view.

What would fail certainty be-

cause of the superior strength

of the dinosaur EDP*.

Vilarinho das Furnas was aMountain pasturein the Serra do Gers, May 2011.

8


9/28

9

very striking and awful event for the inhabitants.

It was the only barrage of the world built for political reasons. It was estab-

lished to finish with this village which lived since centuries completely accord-

ing to its own rules, and this marks deeply. And even more, until now nobody

takes serious these social problems of the park.

The mayor of Ponte da Barca said in a statement, that the population doesnot agree with the fact that the park management is in Braga, far from Gers.

He demanded the formation of an autonomous park management for Peneda-

Gers.

When the statute was reorganised for the nature conservation two years ago,

it was created this structure of the regional management which obviously does

not work. A nature reserve or whatever must have as a face the responsible

leading person of a protected area. If it has no face, if it has no soul it dont

work. Someone cannot jump from Gers to Montezinho, from Montezinho to

Alvo and always so on. And it comes even more badly; all the wetlands haveonly one manager. He must be in Real de S.Antnio in Vila, he must come to

the Minho, and the solution is to buy a helicopter.

Now everything is done in the name of the saving resources what saves clearly

no resources, because who was a director, becomes adviser or whatever, and

the salaries of these people are farther paid. Loss of efficiency and possible in-

crease in losses by travel expenses are the result

I think, it is important that every protected area, it might be big or small, has

a face. This is the case of Gers. I heard from a model of the forestry commis-

sion in the past that there was a delegate in Motalegre, one in Arco de Valdevez

etc., because these areas are big enough and it is difficult to walk from one

point on the other. The national park must have somebody with the character

of duration and continuity who knows the area and the population. The acting

director does not make this, because he has piles of paper in front of him on

the desk, which applies his whole time, and this is bad.

After some conversations which I carried on with him I came to the conclu-

sion, that he has no autonomy in his decisions and is able to solve nothing,

whatever it is.

Just because he has no autonomy. He remains depending on Lisbon and,

hence, is afraid to say something, to refer a position, God prevents, that could

be contradicted.

How does one come out of this catch-22 situation?

Good question. This very question those directors should ask themselves.

First of all only we must come out of the crisis in which we are.

This lasts at least ten years.

I wished, these would be only ten years. This crisis will last at least thirty years.

So there will be during the next thirty years in Gers no reforestations?It seems in such a way. But they have to be made, because it belongs to the

most urgent duties of this country. There is even the opportunity of the aid of

EU funds. One must apply for the money with PRODER. But in addition it re-

quires the political intention.

Who has a very right vision for the forest here in our region that is the civil

management in Porto under Dr. Isabel Santos who never becomes tired to

complain over and over again that there is no forest here in the district of

Porto. Of course she speaks only in behalf of this district, and in particular of

natural forest, because it is from an economic point of view nonsense that

there is in the north a lot of furniture industry which must import their wood.

Never was there in Portugal planner's spirit, and if there was some, he fell apart

for pine and eucalyptus. It lies completely in the national interest to have oaks

to produce wood. To afforest Gers, it requires millions, I know. But what is

this on the edge of thousands kilometres of highway?


10/28

10

So there is the possibility to get money for it from EU fonds?

There is PRODER, the fund for agriculture, fishery and forestry. It lies in the

hands of the Portuguese government, whichever, to negotiate with Brussels.

Certainties, investments in the public forest or state forest, like in the case of

Gers, are much better for the state, because later they pay for the seeds. The

priority should lie on natural forest, because he is worthwhile eighty years later,however, then above all still Portugal will be here. It would be better used

money, as that which is given on agricultural projects without any interest.

Some of them are given up after two or three years, how in that scandalous

case of the greenhouses on the coast of Alentejo. A known French subject used

there one million or more from EU fund, disappeared and left behind every-

thing broken and desolate. There are even more of such cases.

With absolute sureness the European Community has funds for emergency sit-

uations like the present one.

Then this also becomes a question of confidence. Now the state lies down,

until Christmas nothing at all functions, just as in the national park. Which

solution is there? To organise money through NGOs like Quercus and to-

gether with other environmental groups motivate the people, to afforest the

national park?

This is impossible. At first , Quercus has no organisation, no appliance for such

an operation, that includes thousands hectares. To afforest everything what has

burnt, costs millions. As already said, one can apply from fund of the EU. How-

ever, they will require the submission of applications, proofs of the possession

relations and land use. Therefore, Quercus could never do this, because for that

they would need the permission of the national park, and he would have great

difficulties to permit something to others what is actually his duty. The refor-

estisation of the whole national park is a mission which lies in his hands and

in the political intention. The park management can promote such a project

only if there is the approval from Lisbon.

Together with my wife I founded the movement torched earth. We work

together with forest experts from Germany and other experts in this field,

people with many ideas and strong intention to contribute to the improve-

ment of the wretched situation. What do you think to establish a round table

which everybody assembles: The park management, politicians, experts, rep-resentatives of the local residents, to discuss these questions and look for so-

lutions?

I think, this is a very good idea. The more take up this subject, the better. I

think that up to now very few people realise what happens. Only a few look at

these mountain slopes of Vilarinho das Furnas and start to think about what

they see. Only a handful of people. It is necessary to indicate this, to speak of

erosion, because this is the moment to fight against the problem. Otherwise

only naked hills and rocks will remain to us with half-dozen herbs as it is quite

presently around the Serra Amarela.It is clear if we look at the history of the forest in Portugal, and we go back to

the seventeenth and eighteenth century, we see our mountains already in the

same state, in the nude and rocky. Then there was an extensive reforestation,

beginning in 1805, based exclusively on pines, and as a consequence we have

forest fires. What we needed in the beginning of the nineteenth century, was

wood. There was no perspective for the ecological importance of the woods,

although there was already some reflexion. However, the preoccupation was

basically of purely economic nature: To produce wood, namely fast. Firewood

was needed and wood for the construction, Therfore was placed on the pine,

because she permits the precipitation already after thirty years. Gers was com-

pletely forested, with some experience in some locations with other species,

however, at least with the intention, to maintain forests like the Mata de Al-

bergaria, Mata de Cabril etc.


11/28

A large part of the Mata de Cabril burnt last year.

Yes and also some years before she already burnt.

But as I already said, now we loses the work which was made by the forestry

commission and the people for many years; better or worse, however, it was

done, and now everything disappears.

The forestry commission itself was dismembered and disintegrated and, in ad-

dition, we live in the situation that the whole country stands still until Decem-ber. Everything decides on account of an election result. If the same party wins,

there will be no big changes. Wins the PSD, it will reorganise of course the

whole state in their manner, will anew name the directors of the whole and all

the others at the lower levels, and if

this happens, that claims two, three

farther years of the reorganisation of

the country. There through we stag-

ger since the 25th of April.

Manege free for the nomination ofManuel, what is followed by the

nomination of Joachim who substi-

tutes Manuel, and so forth. It is obvi-

ous, that if somebody takes over the

job of his predecessor, he needs the

sam time for the training. In Portugal

we change the direction, services,

parks, everything and still even more,

as somebody would change the shirt

and under it everything remains the

same.

I see at our neighbours, in Spain and

France, people in the technical lead-

ership positions which I know since

eternity. None of the Spanish political leaders it comes to the mind, to ex-

change the manager of a nature reserve, only because the government changes.

It takes years to train a capable manager.

In Portugal the manager of the national park changes practically all four

years. The people in Gers say, this is a political job, nothing else.

It is exactly this, but it should not be this. Of course there is a political com-ponent, but a technician must be above all an expert. He gets political demands

from the government, but he should not be a politician.

11


12/28

The present director is an economist.

It is this cycle from which the national park suffers like the whole country. Lack-

ing or basically wrong planning, missing restructuring, lack of resources and

their wrong use.

Some years ago the park began to redevelop sewage, I do not know why, because

there was not a lot to act. A minister, I already do not remind her name, made

a visit in every village, and it was the park which financed hurrying ahead thesewage disposal.

There is a national agency which was already liquidated, thats why someone

can openly speak of her, the national environment institute which financed the

reconstruction of that chapel which is situated on the foot of the shopping centre

Bom Sucesso in Porto. Can you believe this?

I am very pessimistic, I think that Portugal stucks in a dead end. And whom

we have to cure the illness from which we suffer, are those which they caused.

Both alternatives which we have for the government are identical to themselves.

Only, that now other groups want to come closer to the pots. It is not worthwhileto throw out to the window money for the elections. This is a country without

hope. Everything what is a productive, break down, and without production

there is no money.

It requires new ideas.

But the ideas are there, since the French revolution. We need people who read,

people that are not spiritual illiterates. It is necessary to read a little, to study

a little history, economy, philosophy etc. It is investigated everything, with the

exception of the ignorance. Just now I do not remember which writer said: As

I was born, it was already known, in which manner the world is to be saved.

Is missing only to save her. It is true, everything is known. We know, what

must be done in Gers, this is a technical and human task with financial sup-

port from the funds of the EU, and it remains merely to do so.

In the national park there is a problem with the reforestation because he has

12


13/28

13

no more nursery gardens. That existed were closed, and the few remained raise

mainly pines. If somebody wanted to buy 10.000 oak plants at this moment,

he would not get them in Portugal, I am sure. Then they launch these absurd

campaigns like the enterprise of Salvador Caetano: Buy a Toyota and you

plant a tree, and then they give 50 cents by the purchase of a car. Do they be-

lieve, it is proper to play around with such serious matters?

Quercus has a reforestation project, called create woods. Two employees

go by their cars from Lisbon up and down the country, and dig up volunteers

with whom they plant trees. At least, they make cultivations, however, but

then they are left to themselves.

Exactly, It is not enough to plant; afterwards you have to accompany groom-

ing the plantation.

Therefore, I always say, that it is essential to include the people of the

region. What still happens everywhere is alien work.Precisely, you are completely right. At the beginning of the big reforestations

in the beginning of the nineteenth century when the forestry commission

began to take commons etc., how they won the support of the local residents?

They started to give them work. I remember S. Jacinto. Before it became a na-

ture reserve, it was a small state forest of 700 hectares. The forester always had

twelve people under contract who worked for him. In a village of 200 residents

to have twelve people under contract has big weigh. The forestry commission

of Gers has occupied in the high time of the reforestation thousands of people

at the same time. It is clear if they go to Campo de Gers and contract hundred

people, they have conquered the population.

Now these are enterprises which solicits for upcoming works, like that by the

way noted questionable cleaning of the forests, and employ for low payment

workers from India, Brazil or Romania. Of course these companies are more

competitive, but again this is alienwork, and nobody has an idea what hap-

pens. The director of the national park, Lagdios Domingos, said to me dur-

ing an interview, that the park had searched workers from the region, but

have been nobody willing to do this hard work, therefore they had been

forced to hire foreigners. As I told this the local residents, they protested

against this lie and were badly outraged. They say unanimously that the na-

tional park does not exist any more, that he is dead; and we heard weighty

voices saying, they would go to Braga and make an end with the adminis-

tration department.

It is true that there are no more foresters, no guards, nothing.

When I took part in the reforestation, I got to know a forest ranger who said,

that he must live constantly with the fear to lose his job.

At this moment everything is possible, and it is the worst time to get us hear-

ing. Without this expresses my political approach, I must say: The best what

could happen to us is, that Scrates again wins the elections. It would be the

lesser of two evils and at least we avoid thus the long lasting transition, untileverything starts again. If this takes place, it could be that things work again,

if not it becomes awful.

On the last Friday I took part in a meeting with the general secretariat of the

forests in the civil management of the district of Porto. I did not know exactly

what I had to do with this; possibly he was mistaken in the calendar. He an-

nounced the measures which should be seized for the next season for the pre-

vention of forest fires and said, he had prepared a rank of proceedings,

however because we would have a temporary government, he could not carry

out them as announced, it would be already impossible. And this is our state!

What he had to announce, were additional proceedings to fight against forest

fires, however what interests us, are not announcements by means, but to end

with the fires. And to make end up with the fires, it requires above all a forest

planning with new orientation. Started with the tree species, with the planning

and the dealings with the people. We should no more feed to the interest in


14/28

14

arson, because this interest often comes from the people and the Mega indus-

try of the fire which needs to nourish herself further. If we reduce the gigantic

money supplies which are used every year to the fire fighting, possibly in a few

years only leftovers from these fires remained. Forest fires are not only disas-

trous by the loss of wood, but also by destruction by erosion and by the emis-

sion of CO2 caused in the atmosphere.

75% of the annually through forest fires released amount of CO2 above Eu-

rope, about one million tonnes, originates from Portugal, as Quercus disclose.

It is necessary to fix the complete forest; however, this is at nobody with deci-

sion-making power in view or even in the skyline. Then again there are the

pictures of the fire which deliver annually excellent pictures on television and

in the magazines. Which advantage had the fight of that fire in Gers of the

last summer if afterwards nothing happens for the reforestation? It would be

better to let burn everything, and the problem would be solved.

The situation is very different from that what happens on the other side of

the border in Spain?

There everything has another dimension. I remember how I came with an en-

gineer of the national park to Portela de Homen and we saw near on the bor-

der how a fire broke out. At that time there were still fire brigades of the park

and with a transceiver we gave alarm. As a result there appeared a very old ve-

hicle which expelled smoke in all directions with half a dozen men. In the

meantime, Spanish firefighters stood on the other side of the border and ob-

served what happens. As soon as they saw that the fire was about to spread out

to Spain, they came with their fire engine to the Portuguese area, extinguished

the fire and left again. So the Spaniards work differently. There was another

example two years ago when I saw a huge fire on the Spanish side near the na-

ture reserve of Marvo which was fought immediately and was extinguished.

In the next year the mountain was already afforested.

A german forest engineer and friend of us visited with me and a group of for-

est students the Serra de Valongo and they was baffled about what they saw.

Only neglected eucalyptus wood, everywhere garbage etc. What would be to

be done there to change this alarming scenery?

The Serra de Valongo is one of the most complicated cases of which we can

speak. It is a small area which has hundreds of owners.

Who persuaded the owners to plant eucalyptus there everywhere?

This happened in Portugal during the seventies with the expansion of the cel-

lulose industry, of the wooden economy and the eucalyptus. The major facto-

ries like Soporcell, Portucell etc., started to lease land everywhere in Valongo

for some twenty years. Because the majority of the owners had left their land

lie fallow, it was leased. For those which did not want to lease I do not know

why, burnt the land. Who knows, why. . . ***? Of course, this way the whole

Serra de Valongo became eukalyptised. To solve the problem of Valongo,

S.Justa and Castial, it requires a mega operation, because the owners alreadydont want to know anything more about it.

They get money for their land?

Those which have leased their land to the big companies, yes, others have

given up everything. What would be the only right thing for these moun-

tains is that they become the regional nature reserve of Porto. Since the

fortiesis talking about, however, nobody does anything. These mountains

should be taken over from the city administration of Porto, because it lies

in their interest, not in that from Valongo or other surrounding towns.

The mayor of Porto is for everybody obviously interested only in streets and

cars and has no any interest in nature conservation. Recently he let in the

former camp Prelada, a fairly large area, cut down the trees - to convert it

into a parking lot instead to preserve a city Park!


15/28

15

Lack of sensitivity. But then, arrange in a hurry some thousand euros for small

campaigns where we plant some trees because there is the day, or the hour, or

the minute of the tree and one can appear in front of the cameras. Such cam-

paigns use more money for propaganda than for cultivatian.

It is evident that these regional leaders have never gone for a walk in those

mountains. What can one expect from them? We can only defend what we also

know.

I do not see during the next years in Portugal, that there are people who could

make these decisions of which we have spoken.

We finish the conversation very pessimistically.

So it is. However, to be quite sincerely, I do not see any glimmer of hope.

I thank you for this instructive conversation.

* EDP: Energias de Portugal; one of the largest electricity producers of Europe.

** 1971: Odd coincidence, that in the same year the Peneda-Geres National Park was founded and in this way the

two events remain in the collective memory knotted together.

*** The history of the Portuguese forest fires has much to do with the prescribed fires not only in the Serra de

Valongo in the seventies, as the statistics clearly demonstrated. They have become, once introduced, an obsession,

a kind of bad habit.

Poking in the ashes

Cold ashes over burned forest

The cloudy eyes of tears

I saw the light in a lost paradise

Sitting on the veranda of the caf in the road curve in Covide, Gers, my usual

spot, the green mountains in sight, it came to my mind the first time I came

here nine years ago. The valley above Terras de Bouro was covered by clouds

of smoke. I asked people around me who had set the fire. Some smiles and

shrugs were the answer. Upon the mountains I found a hill completely charred.

Today I know that there was burnt down hard bushes, usual habits of these

grazing areas.

Time later on the mountain top despite rain a pastor burned around him the

bush, leaving behind a trail of fire and ashes. Under the umbrella he stared fas-cinated at the fire that ignited. Seeing me arrive, he wanted to leave, but then

he hesitated, waited for me and told me, it was to frighten the wolves. The pre-

vious day they had eaten her two goats and from them remained only the bells.

Mister George opened the bag and showed me two empty cups of yogurt.

I'm not like all the others who throw rubbish at the floor. I'm green here. I

keep everything and at home I put it in the trash.

This time I asked in the caf, who put the huge fire in Calcednia. The owner

of the cafe said that some people think, that were the loggers. The trees must

be felled and so they are cheaper. A man in front of me interferes, saying that

this year it could be because of revenge against the national park.

How and why that? I asked.

They prohibit everything. We cannot take firewood, cleaning the forest and to

build what is ours. These mountains belong to us, dammed! Now there have

room for a replanting project. A few days later in his patrol car saw him knock


16/28

down a road looking at the burned forest. For my part I noticed, during the

hours of sunset, the colours of Portugal. At roadside ferns half dark green and

half orange, because we enter the autumn, the pine two-thirds were painted in

roasted orange, being burned and the top still green. But now we have added a

different colour: black background! The man sitting opposite me is slim, alive

with a charming smile at the end of his fifties, wearing a simple shirt with the

sleeves rolled up.

Why there are in Portugal so many fires in the summer? I asked him. He took

the chairs into the tree shadow, because that day the Valley of Terras de Bouro

was hot.

You better sit down because this is going to be a long turn. I have to start from

the beginning,says the commander of the firefighters, sr. Jose Dias, leaning on

the table.

Because everything has changed. Everything has changed and not for the bet-

ter. The people abandoned their lands, were to other countries or major cities,

seeking a better life. Were only old people and those who had no legs to walk.When they come back, nothing holds them back to earth. Nobody, except peo-

ple like you and me, walk through the hills. Because of the fires have no animals

and livestock is scarce. It also changed the nature of our development as a result

unconscionable. This year we had six heat waves this summer were only three.

I come to be afraid of own nature with her big disasters. The great enemy is the

wind from the east. If he arrives, we are on red alert. Thunderstorms with

strong dry lightning that ignite the dry forest, full of fuel.

These days we talk a lot about the cleaning of the woods. An idea that comes

from Central Europe, particularly Germany, where are certainly well-controlledforests. But it is forgotten that the climate here and nature is quite different,

Mediterranean , much wilder.

Exactly, everything grows booming during the winter, but dries quickly in the

summer There is no chance, no. We see everything clear when a fire is fought

with helicopters or airplanes. Arrive, pour water and go away. Extinguished the

fire, but the evening is rekindled, sometimes even stronger. In the underground

roots and all that fuel is still burning. Just an animal make a little hole to

breathe, Just an animal make a little hole to breathe, a root or a blunt heavy

footprint of an animal and fire emerges. But of course, the first enemy yet re-

mains the hand of man. Often out of ignorance or negligence, but they are al-

ways criminal acts.

In the campsite Cerdeira some of the employees told me that the fire in Vilar-

inho das Furnas had been made by a tourist angry at being charged money to

enter there.

It's a lie. It was very crowded and the people even tried to extinguish the fire.

But it was impossible. It started directly in the input grid, on the side of the

dam. The fire leaped to the mountain, ate all up and when we arrived half an

hour later he was burning up there. Then split into two. To the left has moved

beyond Brufe and right up to the forest and Cabril Soajo. In the old village of

Vilarinho das Furnas fire came from the top down and then we can defend the

green space of old oaks. On top of the mountain yellow can barely reach theground is very hard for our cars. But defending the forest beneath the antennas

and a large part of the forest Cabril.

And at Calcednia? I heard that this fire was set because of revenge against

the national park.

This fire was set, with absolute certainty. Why I do not know. It started at five

different points simultaneously. Then it expanded to the left until Junceda and

right up to Caldas do Gers, almost entering the village, frightening the popu-

lation. The extent of this fire was caused by several errors. Just one small exam-

ple: a biologist forbade me to cut a tree that was blocking our passage. I triedto make her understand, that it was better to sacrifice a tree, than let burn hun-

dreds or thousands. She did not understand. I waited until she was gone and

ordered the cutting. When she arrived later, shouting and asking me who was

responsible for the drop, I just told her, 'wants to complain? We put out the fire

here or not? We did, but an error occurred even worse, for that I was not re

16


17/28

sponsible. After a major fire people have to go and put out the fire that still

burns beneath the ground. At the street just one guard had been keeping sur-

veillance; because all corporations were rushed to Caldas do Geres. I did not

really enjoy the atmosphere that only served to confuse and make even more

tension and nervousness. Journalists, the television, the executives of the town

and county, the whole circus was there assembled. When the guard saw the

flames emerge and leaping the road, he gave alarm. But when firefighters

finally arrived, it was already too late. I was stuck with my men and women in

another fight and could not put it down. I like working with my small team.

With eight, ten or thirteen firefighters and two cars sometimes we get better

results than others with fifty or a hundred men. We all know each other,

everybody know his duties and there is great confidence and teamwork. I have

not lost any of my firefighters. We have cars with twenty years, our most

important car there is this small and very achievable.

We cannot always fight with the force of nature. Sometimes we have to accept

and use it to defeat it. When the flames emerge as a wall in front of us we haveto run away and wait in another room where we can fight them. We must

always be smarter than the fire. I am always careful and watch it constantly

goes much longer time. How the winds are flowing in the reservoir? The

morning wind is a wind that falls from the hills, bumps on the surface of the

water and goes in the direction from which she runs and bumps into the wall

of the dam. Ali becomes a whirlwind, what I call crazy winds. This is exactly

what happened in Vilarinho das Furnas and made a small flame at the edge of

the water to become a hell - two hours later with forty degrees in the shade.

Sometimes the fire comes when least expected. I've been at war in Angola, inone of the worst areas, diamonds and gold and most of the time did not know

with whom we fought, who was our enemy, and whence he came. Only after

twenty April 5 saw those pictures, those faces, and knew that they were not

monsters, sometimes women and children. The fire also has a thousand faces,

always different.


18/28

18

Do you think the park, the pride of us all, is in danger?

Who created the park? The people who lived there with the animals and the

nature. This trinity has been disturbed and now everything is out of balance. I

live in the town of Gers and the half of my yard belongs to me and the other

half is integrated into the park, but I do not see any difference in this division!

A major problem arises with the lack of resources and personnel. Currently

work on it less than 10% of the people in the past. Another problem are that

biologists, how believe they can solve everything with prohibitions in this way

are losing the support and goodwill of the population. Would they really not

need? In the end, much bureaucracy and clutter.

In my opinion a major problem regarding to forest fires is the lack of justice.

Nobody knows who are the guilty and how they will be punished. About the

arson at Chalcedon has any information on who did it?

That's with the SEPNA, the Greens*. Our purpose is to fight fires without car-

ing about the criminal details.

In the police station I asked about this department and was referred to a verypolite man who led me into his small office. He was about thirty, very correct

and serious. As I introduced myself, he took notes, and remained for some time

distant.

Mr. Jorge Soares, unlike the fire in Vilarinho das Furnas, the fire in Calcednia

was put, as I was informed by the commander of the firefighters, Joseph Dias.

You already have evidence and suspects?

There he asked me if I know this mountains. Realizing my passion and how

much I've traveled to, his attitude changed, became more open.

In Vilarinho already I can confirm that it was negligent, in Calcednia weknow it was arson, but I cannot tell you details, it is delivered to the judicial po-

lice. We did our investigations, interrogate witnesses, we write our report and

sent to judicial police in Braga.

And you will know the findings?

In principle not.

I find it strange, that you do the fundamental work and are not being informed

of the results. About the fires the whole society is suffering by lack of informa-

tion and it is starting to happen here. This raises suspicions without evidence,

assumptions and hearsay. Is it possible for journalists to follow and accompany

the whole process until the trial?

Yes, absolutely! I even agree that this processes must have full clarity in the in-

formation to the public.

If the inhabitants of these zones would form vigilante groups with legal rights

and support of GNR, you dont think it would be a good idea?

It was the first time that he smiled: In my opinion is that a very interesting

idea. Any ideas that help to avoid this type of disaster are welcome.

I have noticed that there is no sufficient monitoring in the park. Mr. Dias says

it's for lack of funds and mismanagement.

The park no longer exists! Still there are watchtowers, but without guards, the

information desks are closed and the Mr. Director resides in Braga and there is

thirst. How can a park this large size be directed so far?Do you think it makes sense to go to Braga and talk to him?

Surely that makes sense. Please go there, ask all this questions youve done to

me and then come back to tell me the answers. To someone like me, nobody

will respond.

The last sentence I will pass to the voice of Dona Rosa, a resident of Campo

de Geres and former inhabitant of the village of Vilarinho das Furnas:

Yesterday I was in Soajo and was impressed. All burned off, up until the pain.

Who put that fire can be proud, because he did an extraordinary job.

* SEPNA: Servio de Proteco da Natureza e do Ambiente - Service for the protection of na-

ture and environment. Their uniforms have green markings.


19/28

Aer the fire means beforethe fire?

The pastor Manuel with his flock of sheep on top on the mountains of

Venda Nova in the district of Montalegre, said me: We had to flee before

the great fire some days ago. He makes a vague gesture to the left in the

direction of forest. His face was depressed, he softly spoke. Here the peo-

ple suspect a young couple, however, I do not believe in it. I think, these

are the boys with their terrain motorbikes. Youngsters without relation

with the earth.

After some time I was found lost in the black forest and found the enclo-

sure and Manuels house. I put him to myself before with his sheepdog and

his sheeps, exactly there, in their lively colours as installed in the somberly

plain background. A strong picture. I roved through the charred sceneryone and a half hours, before I found the way back to the life which heard

singing birds again and the voice of the wind in the pines.

In Paredes, a small desolate village, Mr. Jorge said me: This is a civil war

in which the victims have no arms. Some days ago I was in Geres and came

back shatteredly. I had to stop the carriage because of an intensive fire and

saw how a school broke fawns loud from it, frightens without their moth-

ers. However, the most awful was to see how they stopped and turned

round to run again in the fire. I never will this forgets. What we need are

to no farther fire-fighting airplanes from France, Spain, I do not knowwhere from We need laws which forbid that burnt land can be sold. We

need an effective criminal investigation department and an effective jus-

tice. Therefore we need a mindful government. And above all: Agricultural

formation and education for the youth, revival and repopulating the vil-

lages. Here there is a lot of desolate land and a lot of work to do.

Do we really need a sociology of the fire, how did an environmentalist de-

mand? Do we not know just too well in which society we live? In a quiet

society, close-mouthed and silently, in an immobile society, anxiously,

pushed in the corner, in a very particular society in which one deals merely

with private matters. Somebody said that every people have the govern-

ment which it deserves. However, the truth is that the fish from the head

starts to stink. A government which is absent in times of the danger be-

cause of her untouchable holidays, emit merely worthless and absurd an-

nouncements is worthy of our rejection.

And we what we will do? Do we stop with crossed arms and lowered head,

the eyes well protected by sunglasses ? Does mean after the fire further-

more before the fire?

The third power, the journalists, authors, photographers must lend those

that person their voice which know how to speak very well, but are not

heard. They must bother the responsible persons with direct questions and

consist on concrete answers.Here remains a question to the scientists: Is it possible to calculate the

CO2-emission in the atmosphere which is caused by the fires? This is

would be a case which should be punished by the European Commission.

I think, it is urgently necessary to bring to life a civil movement which col-

lects informations, witness's reports and suggestions, to fight against this

plague of our days and this country in which we live.

Vila Nova de Gaia, August, 2010

19


20/28

Without mercy

The dream of reason gives birth to monsters

During these days I hear these words often, spoken in connection with the ar-

sons. If I get one of these crossbreeds, I will kill him, definitely, says my gro-

cer, an otherwise really quiet type. And if it was one of Your relatives?

I also kill him, merciless.

I must confess, that also me quite such wishes seizes if I saw the destruction,

the end of the beauty, the charm, and to me the awful stench of the middle of

nowhere wafted. torched earth, this maniac dream of Hitler, becomes he now

year after year, slowly indeed, reality? A painful, outrageous thought. Those

which kindle the fires act pitilessly and, therefore, earn no mercy. However,

we, the victims earn her. The arsonists must be sentenced and be punished,

with our participation, wants to say, we have the right on information duringthe whole trial. Only then we have the opportunity to understand what goes

on and to put questions.

The responsible persons must understand that the right on information is a

basic democratic right in this matter which touches the society as a whole. Till

this day we must suffer from his absence and are forced to demand it. And it

helps in nothing if the Minister of the Interior announces before the fire front

that we already have sufficient laws for arson. Laws which are not applied and

enforced equal permits.

The capital punishment lies beyond our reach, the democratic constitution for-bids it with good reason. We should not call ghosts whom nobody can control,

exaggerations and the abuse are already waiting. This wish results merely the

feeling of the helplessness and has a much stronger relation with the destruc-

tion than we suggest. Youngsters, lost in the labyrinth of modern times, have

the same feeling of the helplessness. And feel the destruction around them-

selves certainly. The new building blocks which suddenly rise like termite con-

structions before us and wear names like pinewood of the Douro, gardens

of Arrbida, green hills and so forth make me pensive. On the one hand

they refer to the extinguished, on the other hand, they give a discreet instruc-

tion in the direction of the development which we suffer topically. Not to speak

of the latest and biggest scandal: of the construction of a monstrous shopping

centre in a protected green zone, a water catchment area, and all accompany-

ing facts. The planners, their assistants, hidden or known, the makers re-

mained not only at liberty, but, beyond it, got rich what excuses everything for

many. This case may as others become white-washed in public, however, in the

darkness of the rumours and the collective subconscious he will remain un-

forgotten.

Nevertheless, certain gestures of disgust and disintegration, how to pass a

wood on the highway and to throw out a scorching cigarette from the window

with big laughter, as I have already experienced, are little understandable and

deserve also denouncement. Not to forget the garbage heaps which are left be-hind regularly at the edges of the forests.

The purge must be much bigger, there is even more to clean, than the forests.

Basically, as a citizens, we are jointly responsible!

Vila Nova de Gaia, September, 2010

20


21/28

21

The reservoir ofVialrinho das Furnas, March 2011. In the opposite green valley until the middle of the lake was the village..


22/28

To learn the forest

Thoughts about Masanobu Fukuoka

Today many people are worry about drying up by old cash country and the

loss of the vegetation worldwide, but there is no doubt, that the human civ-

ilization and her inappropriate methods of the grain cultivation which orig-

inated from the arrogance of the man are mainly responsibly for this global

plight.

1.

I knew the pinewoods of Brandenburg, Germany since my childhood, I

thought. At least I had gone through them, had smelled their resin, seen theirswinging treetops, and heard the wind how he played in them.

One day asked me a friend, the poet Helga Novak, to go with her to Yugoslavia.

This was some years before the war, and the country with the national miscel-

lany on the powder keg still was called in such a way. We passed the border

control in Wannsee with its endless traffic jams, pointless questions (Do you

have weapons, transceivers, ammunition?) and drove finally through the

Brandenburg woods. It was a hot summer day; the windows were far wound

down right and left. Suddenly Helga squealed beside me: These are my forests!

The forests of my childhood!Later I visited her in Poland where she had been settled in the meantime, above

all because of the forests, as she said. These were pinewoods like in Branden-

burg with some essential differences. I had never before seen a spotted wood-

pecker, here, however, I heard hammering him and saw the shy bird also, and

not only one. I had never before seen juniper shrubs in the forest, everywhere

here they stood, tall, full of dark berries and fragrantly. I saw a sleeping fox,

leant in his bed on a pine trunk, saw big hares and now and again roe deers.

These were the pinewoods of her childhood, not mine. She had been born be-

fore the war, I after him.

2.

It had taken me on a journey away far out, near to the Chinese and Butanes

border in the north of India, in the city of Tawang. Somewhere very near the

Himalayas began. Located at 3,000 m altitude, she was surrounded by high

peaks. On a walk I roved through an old forest, which dark trees swung their

heavy, with fern, moss and flowers covered arms upward strangely crooked. It

was a forest which gives me respect, a childish emotion between admiration

and light shudder. Abruptly he ended, the execrated forest. I stepped out on

something which seemed to be a clearing, however, none was, also no fire-

break. The wood ended as pulled with the ruler, ended simply completely, was

finished. There was no transition from one world to the other and no connec-tion between them. The farther I went away from the wood to be able to esti-

mate what happened here, the smaller he became, already after few steps it was

like to look through reverse binoculars, until he had completely disappeared

from my view and left a violently aching emptiness. We probably feel tempted

everybody to be reasonable in face of such unfathomable incidents. However,

it is sure that nothing, whatever may originate here or grow again, can substi-

tute what was destroyed once so completely and had been perfect in itself.

3.In Meghalaya, some weeks later and some hundred kilometers farther to the

south, I met the holy forests. They belong to every village, are sometimes

smaller, sometimes big, and in them nothing may be destroyed, no leaf picked,

no branch cut off. These forests were created several hundred years ago and

surrounded with a whole swing of rules and myths as with an invisible protec-

22


23/28

23

tive fence. In each of these forests lives a tiger's spirit who is an embodied mind

of a forefather and is guarded by his companion, a mythical as well as real and

toxic mountain cobra. One could see through some these holy forests, in a vil-

lage lay the trunks of felled trees which were not sold merely and were taken

away because the Indian government forbade the trade with high-grade tim-

bers, finally.

4.

In the valleys of Kashmir the deforestation and the resulting erosion here was

progressed so far that whole slopes with meadows, houses and fields slipped

down in to the abyss. Also this I saw with own eyes. There it were these the

huge Himalayas cedars which had been felled massively by Indian compa-

nies.

5.

To stand in a desert and to make itself suddenly deliberate that rain simplydoes not fall from the sky, already presupposes a particular spiritual effort

which feeds itself from a deeper lying interest and connection like the evapo-

rating humidity. There is a peremptorily stone drawing from the mountains of

the Tras-os-Montes in Portugal which shows that the water cycle was already

known since primeval times. However, the extreme space is a desert is the suit-

able place to learn anew this elementary knowledge which is buried in the ex-

treme normality of a completely industrialized everyday life.

In a holy forest,f Meghamaya 1997


24/28

24

A message

Spiegel-online, 30. May 2011

London - The emission of harmful greenhouse gases has reached a record high

last year. According to a new report from the International Energy Agency

(IEA) global carbon dioxide emissions increased by a total of 1.6 gigatons in

2010. That was the highest ever increase since the beginning of the measure-

ments.

Overall, the CO2 emission in recent years have amounted to 30.6 gigatons

worldwide. This was an increase of almost five percent over the previous

record year of 2008, when 29.3 gigatons had been expelled. 44 percent of

emissions in the past year came from the IEA coal combustion, 36 percent of

oil use and 20 percent of natural gas.Between 2008 and 2009, emissions were initially decreased slightly, which in-

vestigators traced mainly to the global economic crisis. Because of the eco-

nomic recovery that began in 2010 they had expected a slight increase but

not with such a dramatic upward trend. I am extremely worried. These are

the worst news about climate, said IEA chief economist Fatih Birol the

Guardian. It is an extraordinary challenge, if we want to achieve that goal

and still keep global warming below two degrees.

The prospect darkens

Scientists believe that warming of more than two degrees have dangerous con-

sequences for the world economy and could lead to an increase in extreme

weather phenomena. Birol said, however, reaching the two-degree target was

probably just a nice utopia. The prospect darkened, said the economist.

That is the message of these numbers.

According to the calculations of the IEA, emissions from energy generation by

2020 should not be over 32 gigatons per year. If the emissions increase in

2011 but just as fast as in 2010, the critical limit could be reached nine years

sooner than planned. That would make it virtually impossible to keep global

warming to a manageable level.

The British economist Nicholas Stern, who made headlines in 2006 about theafter him named report about the looming costs of climate change headlines,

was no less concerned than Birol. The new IEA figures show that the world is

almost on a business as usual path. In climate policy jargon that stands for

a scenario in which virtually nothing done about the escalating greenhouse

gas emissions.

According to forecasts by the UN climate council IPCC means that a 50 per-

cent chance that global average temperature rises by 2100 to more than four

degrees. The result would be disastrous, warns Stern. Such a warmingwould threaten the lives of hundreds of millions of people around the world,

leading to mass migration and conflicts. Anyone in his right mind would try

to reduce this risk dramatically.


25/28

25

Confront the crisis

Project Reforestation of the Serra Amarela

With 10,000 ha of forest we can call the rain

Masanobu Fukuoka

1. P r e a m b l e

The Serra Amarela in the north of Portugal, integral part of the national

park Peneda-Gers, is after the disastrous fires of the summer, 2010

completely without trees and revealed to the erosion defencelessly. Her

precipitous slopes and largely also her heights are pasture-economicallynot useable in her present condition.

She rises behind the reservoir of Vilarinho the Furnas whose quantity of

water decreases in every summer drastically.

The Portuguese energy producer EDP has already signalled interest in a

reforestation and wil be an important partner of the presented project.

The forest creation in the Serra Amarela is an ideal pilot project which

farther reforestations should follow in the huge dry and stony zones in

Geres as well as in other mountains.

The movement torched earth has begun in last autumn, still without anysupport, to collect acorns in the big extent and to plant them since

March, 2011 in the few remained earth.

In search of a less painful and more efficient way we pushed into the

method of Masanobu Fukuoka, according to which tree-, shrub-, berry-

and herbal seed packed in Pellets or seedballs are sown.

2. The method

The Pellets consist of a specific mixture of local earth, red clay and cel-

lulose filings in which the seeds wait protected for the necessary

environmental conditions to the germ. This brilliant method has

Masanobu Fukuoka successfully applied in numerous threatened regions

of the earth, in deserts and dry savannas like in Ethiopia and Somalia.

The example most speaking for us which we want to adopt for the

mountains of Gers is the forest creation in 1998 in the mountains of

Arnissa, in the north of Greece. These mountains surround the third-

biggest lake of Greece, Vegoritida, and were completely deforested at

that time, stony and defencelessly exposed to erosion, very similar to

those in the Serra Amarela. Year after year the water level of the lake

sank and his surface had shrunk in the year of the forestation almost on

half of his original expansion. Disasters occur whenever people try to

improve nature and subject her to the strict, sole use of the humankind. The fishery on which traditionally 100 families lived was not pos-

sible any more, just as agriculture, because the soil had leached and

silted up by over-fertilization.

With the help of a group of locals were produced in cement mixers seed-

balls and spread out in the mountains. Each seedball contained between

two and four seeds from different species, whereby a high biodiversity is

of decisive importance for the success. Ideally is a variety of hundred

different seeds, in the case of the forestation in Arnissa these were 25. A

mixture of tree shrub-, herbal- and vegetable seed is to be used, this isthe quickest way to the success. Peas, beans, salad and herbs function as

a starter and donate the shoots shades and nourishment.

The sowing happens during the whole spring and summer fully demo-

cratically by everybody who would like to participate in the joy to cause

good in an simply manner: School children, travelers, tourists. And also


26/28

26

elder people can be glad about the fact that they are released to labori-

ous back aches causing bending down while planting.

The leaders of the camping place Cerdeira and the youth hostel in Campo do

Gers have already stated their great interest in the progress of the project.

The Pellets or seedballs must not be watered and unfold their effect every-

where many seeds have problems to grow. The capsules prevent from

blowing away by strong winds, hold the warmth and protect the seeds

against rodents, insects and birds. The use of seedballs as a method of the

restoration of natural habitat is innovative and exciting. Their mixture

merely separate for three habitat zones is a basis for the creation of a natu-

ral forest.

In the mountains around Arnissa a zone of 10,000 ha became wooded!

3. H er ad a pt at io n f or Ge r s

In Gers it is about the sowing of a natural forest with mainly indigenous

broad-leaved trees. The political condition is the consent and the participa-

tion of the local residents. How the rain does not fall simply from the sky,

sustained reforestation dependents on sustained, democratic decision-mak-

ing and its democratic implementation.

In September, 2011 in Gers will held an people's Assembly on which all

pending issues are brought up for discussion in search or solutions. We, The

Movement Torched earth, are integrated into the prearrangements and will

introduce there our demanding, however, in comparison to all other conceiv-able methods lightweight project.

Also the approval and logistic support of the management of the national

park Peneda-Geres is necessary.

We deal mainly with three different zones which require different seminal

mixtures.

1. The treeless and without shrubs, stony and dry zone which occupies

about 85% of the surface:

There will be seeded different oaken species like Quercus faginea, Quercus

robur, Quercus pyrenaica, Quercus pubescens, Quercus Ilex and Quercua

petraea; sycamore, flour berry, wild pear), wild apple and apricot; shrubs like

Kermes oak (Quercus coccifera), Ilex (Azevinho), red dogwood, broom

moor (Calluna vulgaris), white heather(Erika), gorse (Ulex); berries like wild

strawberry and herbs like white clover, dyer's camomile.

2. Humid- and water-bearing zones, in plateaus and valleys:

There are sown silver willow, black poplar, black alder, the Portuguese wild

cherry Prunus lusitanica, holly, wild pear and wild apple.

3. Pasture zones on the eastern plateau:

There different sweet grass and tumbleweed will be sown.

In the first years no preventive measures are necessary, after the second year

are in zones with free living horses, deers and goat herds are to build simple

wooden fences. This can happen in cooperation with the national park.

4. Te ch ni ca l c on d i t i on s

In Greece it was used for the reforestation of a surface of 10,000 ha the fol-

lowing materials) - except the seeds - to the production of the Pellets:

60 t of home earth, 10 t of red sound powder and 3 t of fine cellulose.

Furthermore three or four cement mixers, water connection, tubes, spray

nozzles, boxes, bags, workrooms and storerooms are required.


27/28

Text, photographs, design: Bernd Markowsky

Contakt: [email protected]


28/28

Documents

Booklet Forest Portugal