In Portugal, in partnership with Reforest’Action, Sylva Nova has been contributing for several years to the conversion of abandoned land into forest areas or to the restoration of ecosystems destroyed by the too frequent fires in the country.

The rising of temperatures in the Iberian Peninsula has obvious disastrous consequences. With peaks of temperatures close to 50 degrees, heat in Portugal is automatically associated with forest fires. Each year, acres of vegetation go up in smoke. The preventive measures put in place by the Portuguese authorities will progressively slow down this trend, but reforestation programs are still required to give back to the Portuguese forests their environmental, economic, social and landscape functions.

For the 2020-2021 season in Portugal, Sylva Nova has contributed to the planting of 98,870 trees. In Monchique, 14 owners were supported, and 63,130 trees were planted. In Leiria, 5 other owners were supported, and 35,740 trees were planted. Therefore, beyond the number of trees planted, when a landowner thanks us for the support received, we like to share it and to remind how much the European forests also need financing to build, rebuild or strengthen themselves:

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all the support we have been given, for some forest owners, it could be just a little more support, but in our case it is much more than that, it is enough to make us feel “safe and responsible”, responsible for maintaining our plantations and our lands in good condition to withstand both bad weather and less natural phenomena (fires, etc). And insurance, because with your help in this initial phase, it was not necessary to go into so much debt to cover part of the expenses, the planting, cleaning, and purchase of plants… it may seem little to some, but for those of us who are starting from scratch now is very, very much. Thanks for your attention and support.