The Regional Director for Forest Resources highlighted in Canaries the good use that the Azores have made of INTERREG Community funds to preserve, improve and ensure the sustainability of the archipelago's forest.
 
"The Regional Government is proud of the work that has been done in the preservation of forest on several islands as well as of the good implementation of these Community funds channelled to this sector," said Anabela Isidoro. The government official is taking part in a meeting held under the VALCONMAC project, an initiative aimed at the safeguarding and conservation of forest resources in Macaronesia.
 
Under this Community project approved in 2015, the Regional Directorate for Forest Resources included five actions, namely the selection of 25 notable trees in the Azores to make up the network of 100 trees of Macaronesia, a region that encompasses the archipelagos of the Azores, Madeira, the Canaries and Cape Verde.
 
The definition of a pedestrian trail in an area of forest relevance that is also a reference for ongoing forest management work, the recovery of a former forest ranger home to be turned into a dissemination centre, the research on wild rabbit impacts in natural, forest and agricultural habitats and the organisation of Macaronesia Forest Days are other actions selected by the Azores.
 
"This meeting taking place in the Canaries allows all participants to assess of their projects and to exchange knowledge and experiences," the Regional Director said, adding that the VALCONMAC works will run until 2020.
 
Concerning the projects in the Azores, Anabela Isidoro revealed that a pre-selection of trees has already been made and will be included in the list of Macaronesian trees. The government official also added that the Government will soon launch a service provision contract for the improvement of a circular trail that will serve as an alternative to climbing Pico da Vara, São Miguel Island.
 
The Regional Director also revealed that the project to improve the Forest Ranger House in Santo António Nordestinho, São Miguel Island, has been concluded and field trials are already being installed to evaluate the impact of wild rabbits.
 
In 2006, the Azores, Madeira, the Canaries and Cape Verde signed the so-called “La Palma Declaration" in which they made the commitment to collaborate in the development of a common forestry strategy to guarantee the long-term sustainability of forest resources.
 
"Since then, the regions involved have used Community funds from INTERREG programme to search for solutions, through technical and working meetings, in order to address common problems of forest resources in Macaronesia," said Anabela Isidoro.