Reforestation project begins in south of France after summer wildfires
This comes as the government announces plans to plant one billion trees across France by 2032, a measure described as a 鈥榮mokescreen鈥� by critics
A reforestation project has begun in Provence-Alpes-C么te d鈥橝zur after the region saw 5,500 hectares of woodland destroyed by 352 wildfires this summer.
鈥淲ith 1.5 million hectares [covered], the forests of Provence-Alpes-C么te d鈥橝zur represent 9.4% of French total woodland,鈥� the Office national des for锚ts (ONF) has said.
The region is the second most forested in France after Nouvelle-Aquitaine, and 48% of its surface area is covered by trees, compared to a national average of 29%.
The ONF has developed several schemes to help with the reforesting project, including an initiative called 鈥楳edForFutur鈥�, which aims to replant trees which are particularly resistant to heat and drought along the Mediterranean coastline.
Funding is also being allocated by regional authorities, whose president, Renaud Muselier, has promised to plant five million trees between now and 2028: one for each resident.
He hopes to transform Provence-Alpes-C么te d鈥橝zur into a 鈥渃arbon neutral region by 2050鈥�.
On a national scale, President Emmanuel Macron announced on October 28 that he aims for France to plant 鈥渁 billion trees鈥� by 2032.
Across France, 72,000 hectares of forest has been burnt by wildfires this year, so the new trees will help to restore woodland habitats.
However, Philippe Canal, the deputy secretary of the Snupfen Solidaires union, has that the government鈥檚 ambition 鈥渋s not much more than what is done currently,鈥� adding that 85 million trees are planted each year in France, equivalent to 850 million in 10 years.
He also claimed that the new trees will only benefit 10% of the land affected by climate change, and that the project does not currently have the funding to hire enough staff.
Eric Raffi, Snupfen Solidaires鈥� Provence-Alpes-C么te d鈥橝zur representative, said that this is a 鈥渟mokescreen to distract the population and journalists, while the state worries less and less about it.鈥�
He added that the money spent on new trees should actually be invested in research into ways to make forests more resilient and protected, as ecosystems normally regenerate automatically after a destructive event such as a fire.
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