The international organization for the certification of sustainable forest management FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council®), has accredited with the Certification of Ecosystem Services the work that we are carrying out in the promotion and preservation of the biodiversity of our mountains.
The purpose of this certification is to promote, develop and channel economic aid to the owner so that he can develop sustainable initiatives for his properties, thus establishing a new compensation mechanism that supports and recognizes the specialized and professional treatment by forest managers.
The FSC® certification guarantees the protection of biodiversity by forest managers, defining specific measures that confirm that the forest is being managed properly, guaranteeing the preservation of biodiversity and benefiting society as a whole.
The forest management objectives under the scope of the “Ecosystemic Services” certification are based on the FSC® verification itself, that is, they are forest areas that have already been previously certified by the organization (with FSC® license code- C099970), in such a way that it constitutes an extension of scope and a step beyond its management, focused on guaranteeing the correct development and natural evolution of the treated areas, increasing the conservation surface, and the richness of the characteristic species of each environment, avoiding risk situations derived from sanitary aspects or invasive vegetation, and reducing the risk of threats.
Our company, as a forest owner and manager, and within its line of action and its objectives aimed at improving the environment, promoting sustainability and developing the environment, has carried out different studies within the framework of FSC® specific evaluation of the state of conservation of existing natural habitats in several of its managed areas. Two projects, one in the north of the Peninsula, specifically on Mount Santarandel, in Boimorto (A Coruña), and another in the south, in the Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche Management Unit (Huelva), have been selected for it.
The Mount Santarandel project, which focuses on the different native plant units found there, highlights the management carried out and implies our company’s commitment to maintaining and promoting its natural development.
The second project, developed in the Aracena Forest Management Unit, made up of a set of nineteen mountains managed by our company located in the north of the province of Huelva, sets its objectives to increase the conservation area, improve connectivity between the stands identified, increase the floristic richness of characteristic species of the natural plant communities and their corresponding habitats, eliminate the presence of invasive and non-native aliens in the identified habitats, and protect the identified and located communities and individuals of flora and fauna.
The sustainable forest management promoted by our company implies benefits for the natural environment and the society that inhabits it. Through this sustainable forest management, biodiversity is preserved in natural environments, both in terms of fauna and flora, and the fight against climate change is favoured, through the capture of carbon dioxide by trees. By obtaining this certification, FSC® recognizes the social and environmental values that our company’s management has intrinsic, so important in a society that is increasingly demanding and committed to all those actions that are carried out in nature, focused on guarantee the protection of our habitats.
