The Catalunya La Pedrera Foundation hosts the presentation of 15 forest bioeconomy projects being developed in Catalonia
More than one hundred experts and professionals from the sector gathered today, 6 June, at La Pedrera Auditorium for the presentation of 15 forest bioeconomy projects to be developed in Catalonia over the next two years.
These projects – including the Forest Bioeconomy in the Pyrenees (Bio For Piri) project led by the Catalunya La Pedrera Foundation – have received a total of €24.5 million in funding through the 2023 call for forest bioeconomy support grants from the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), under the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU.
Carles Ribas, Deputy Director General of the Catalunya La Pedrera Foundation, welcomed attendees and noted: “In addition to the forest management actions we carry out through the Forest Bioeconomy in the Pyrenees (Bio For Piri) project, we’re also working beyond our own territories, such as in Gavarres (Empordà). Our goal is to seek synergies that support the transformations needed to adapt to climate change.”
Anna Barnadas, Secretary for Climate Action of the Government of Catalonia, added: “Forest bioeconomy must become one of our region’s strengths, based on three pillars. First, supporting the local economy to help people remain in the territory. Second, improving the health and biodiversity of the land and its forests. And third, promoting a circular bioeconomy as a major opportunity to transform today’s reality and address the climate challenge.”
Finally, Francés Boya, Secretary General for the Demographic Challenge at the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, emphasised: “These 15 projects represent a new perspective on how to address the challenges facing rural areas. The forest map closely overlaps with the map of depopulation, and these forest-related grants must also support those territories. We must respond to the challenges faced by our villages so they may enjoy long lives and a sustainable future.”
The aim of the presentation was to showcase the innovative projects being developed in Catalonia in areas such as forest use, sustainable forest management to highlight mountain landscapes, extensive livestock farming as a tool for land management and fire prevention and the broader promotion of the forest bioeconomy.