The Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry announced at the Legislative Assembly in Horta that the Government will update the Azores forest inventory, adding the document should be completed by 2019.
 
"I can announce that the new forest inventory of the Region will be published in 2019," said João Ponte. He spoke during the debate on a draft resolution recommending the Regional Government to launch a tender for the cutting, sales and reforestation of cryptomeria forests that have reached an adequate degree of maturity on the island of Flores.
 
The archipelago of the Azores has had a forest inventory since 2007.
 
João Ponte pointed out that 50% of forest stands on Flores Island are over 30 years old while 30% are under 20 years old.
 
The Regional Secretary assured that, currently, there are no conditions for the cutting and selling of wood from public forests on the island of Flores, estimating a period of five to 10 years for this to occur.
 
"At the moment, there are no conditions for cutting. On the one hand, there are no companies prepared for this and, on the other hand, the existing public forests are in good health conditions," João Ponte said, adding that the wood cut in private forests has been sufficient to supply the local market.
 
João Ponte added that "there has not been any request for the exploration and cutting of public forest areas on Flores Island." In this regard, the Government estimates to launch a tender between five and ten years for the cutting of 10 to 13 hectares on average per year. The wood will be certified and destined for export.
 
The Regional Secretary rejected any unfair competition in terms of wood cut between public and private forests, stressing that, in the first case, the wood is certified and destined for export.
 
"There has not been nor there will be any unfair competition between public forests and private forests," said João Ponte.
 
The government official pointed out that the tenders launched by the Region for the cutting of wood in public forests were based on two important assumptions, namely the certification and export of wood. Therefore, "there could never be unfair competition" since the wood was not destined to the local market.
 
The Secretary for Forestry also pointed out that the sales of public forest areas is dependent on different factors that have different weights on each island. They are mainly related to the need to rejuvenate and reconvert forest areas managed by the Region, the demand for wood materials on each island, the supply of the public and private sectors, and the exploration and processing capacity of each island.
 
With regard to the island of São Miguel, the Regional Secretary stated that, between 2014 and 2016, 205 hectares of forests were put to tender for 380 thousand Euros. Currently, there are 70 hectares of forest under exploration and 40 hectares of reforested area, representing a total of 44 thousand cubic metre of cut wood and an export volume of about 25 thousand cubic metres.
 
The government official also emphasised the commitment to qualify human resources in order to meet local needs, revealing that his department has promoted courses for chainsaw operators and forestry operators. These training initiatives have covered one hundred participants working in companies and people registered in employment centres.