Paralyze the felling of large pine trees in the forest at the source of the Tagus RiverIn the province of Teruel, in an area bordering Cuenca and Guadalajara, citizen platforms are the definitive target of SOS Montes Universales and the Observatory for Sustainability. They provide this The felling of thousands of trees to make pellets, as permitted by the Government of Aragon, is causing “serious environmental impacts in an area of ecologically high importance”..
They delivered a few months ago more than 100,000 signatures against the cut. They also filed a criminal complaint before the European Commission. community standards are violated. They also work to file criminal complaints in various national and international courts.
“Scientists concerned, alerted to the large-scale logging carried out at Vega del Tajo-Muela de San Juan, Montes Universales, the Aragon Biodiversity Strategy and the Natura 2000 Horizon 2030 Network, and even the Same Forest Law, if there is any scientific doubt about the appropriateness of an intervention. norms stating that it should be stopped because of a principle of prudence.” It is the first paragraph of the manifesto prepared by SOS Montes Universales.
Signatories are aware of this The landscape, ecological and environmental interests of the Universal Mountainsthey demand Immediate cessation of slaughter they consider to have been “performed by excessive and harmful mechanical procedures”.
“We cannot suddenly lose what nature has built over the centuries. The loss of our natural heritage would be tantamount to eliminating the main source of the future for the inhabitants of our mountains,” the document states.
Purpose: “First-person compliance by the Government of Aragon with the regulations it has approved”, “call for mental health and environmental responsibility concerned persons and public administrations”.
“Lack of precision and criteria”
The Universal Mountains form a “biogeographic junction that brings together”. high species diversity and natural habitats of high ecological importance“, underline the signatories of the text.
Therefore, the area corresponding to the Castilla-La Mancha community has been declared a protected natural area with the creation of the Alto Tajo Natural Park, and part of Teruel is included in the Alto Tajo y Muela de Community Interest (LIC) San Juan, Europe Natura The protected area of the 2000 network.
Depending on the platforms, Mass cutting of pines assumes “a serious wannabe natural habitat” and “contrary to the conservation goals of this area, compromising the coherence of the Natura 2000 Network”.
“Natural habitats are managed and exploited like forest products. These forests are a complex ecosystem where plants, animals and fungi form ecological relationships that produce more biodiversity and wealth than the exploitation of wood alone.“, collects the manifesto.
Signatories,lack of sensitivity and judgment“this forestry carried out with this forest management”destruction of habitats for the benefit of societyIn addition to the “serious impact” on the habitat of a species of community interest, such as the alkaline lowland peatlands, the iconic Elizabethan butterfly (Actias isabellae).
The signatories, including scientists, researchers, professors and professors from different branches, request from the Administration: immediate cessation of slaughteras well as the “review of the Forest Management Plan at Vega del Tajo”. the goal of sustainable forest managementNatura 2000 has been defined by citizen participation of the region’s residents, its top experts, in line with the goals of protecting landscapes, species and habitats for the benefit of the community in the conservation area”.
“Planned forest use”
The Observatory for Sustainability (OS), for its part, “serious environmental, economic and social impact“one of the segments “fragile and vulnerable” ecosystem how is tagus river reserve (the maximum degree of protection of a river in Spain) and in an area with endemism.
“The use of heavy machinery in peat bogs causes cutting of mature trees. corrosive effectsand creating gutters and simplifying and trivializing the ecosystem,” says the group.
The platform finds it surprising that while the future Alto Tajo National Park is being designed in Cuenca and Guadalajara, mass felling of trees by heavy machinery, which is not allowed in other parts of Spain in the Aragon region, is “severely affecting the species and its habitat”. nature’s 2000 network.
OS requests urgent stopping the log, liquidation of responsibilitiesrdamage restoration caused and Call for ‘a painting for the future’ with social movements, scientists and residents to protect ecosystems.
But platforms warn that this is just the beginning: The surrounding biomass plants are capable of producing more than 200,000 tons of pellets per year, which can destroy more than 6,500 hectares of forest per year..
Aragon Government advocates cutting trees
Meanwhile, The Government of Aragon argues that this is a “planned use of forest”. It is based on technical documents whose purpose is to “renew the forest mass” and to make the mountains “more resistant to fires or adverse climatic conditions”. In other words, “forGuarantees the sustainability and protection of the landscape“.
According to Javier Lambán’s manager, three forest businesses “outside the Alto Tajo Stream Nature Reserve”and the intervention is included in the Aragon Government’s Annual Exploitation Plan.
Download video of Alto Tajo (Borja Zausen / Observatory of Sustainability) login: https://www.observatoriosostenibilidad.com/documents/SOS%202.mov
SOS Montes Universales Manifesto: https://sosmontesuniversales.org/manifyto/
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