REACT MORE challenges children and teenagers from the municipality of Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo to raise awareness about desertification and promote reflection on the role that the forest has in reversing this phenomenon.
In order to raise the population’s awareness to the seriousness of desertification with negative impacts, namely drought, soil erosion, and rural depopulation, children and young people were invited to develop creative works that will be exhibited in the town of Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo, and some of them will be selected later to be displayed in the municipality’s billboards.
The opening of the initiative is scheduled for June 14, from 09.30 to 12.30, in Largo Dr. Vilhena in Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo, and will be attended by the children who participated in the action and the project promoters: Florestgal, CoLAB ForestWISE and APATA, among other entities. The initiative also has the collaboration of the Municipality of Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo, under the protocol signed for the implementation of the REACT MORE project.
The Desertification and Drought Day is celebrated annually on June 17, a date established in 1994 by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in an international agreement that relates the environment and development to sustainable land management. This day is celebrated with the aim of promoting public awareness of international efforts to combat desertification. It is a unique moment to remember that it is possible to reverse land degradation, through concrete actions, with community involvement and the cooperation of various entities and organizations at various levels.
REACT MORE – Action Project for Reforestation and Combating Desertification of Moreirolas, is the result of a partnership between Florestgal – Forest Management Public Company (project leader), CoLAB ForestWISE – Collaborative Laboratory for Integrated Forest and Fire Management and APATA – Association of Traditional and Environmental Agricultural Producers.
This project, which began in November 2022, being concluded on December 31, 2023, aims to reconvert a degraded area of 290 ha in the municipality of Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo into a more resilient forest, using native tree and bush species better adapted to the edaphoclimatic conditions of the region, increasing biodiversity, enhancing the territory and contributing to a greater efficiency in the regulation of the water regime, meeting the purpose of combating the phenomenon of desertification that affects more than 50% of continental Portugal.
More information: media@forestwise.pt
