The government delegate in Galicia, Pedro Blanco, reported on the aid that has just been granted by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), through the Biodiversity Foundation, for the promotion of the bioeconomy linked to the forest area and the contribution to the ecological transition corresponding to 2023. Grants that leave in Galicia just over 7 million euros for the 9 projects in which some twenty entities of the community participate.
In total, the Ministry distributed 77 million euros in this aid, ranging from 100,000 to 2 million euros per project and charging up to 95% of the total. All these projects must be completed by 31 December 2025, including extensions. This money, added to those of the call for 2021, which amounted to 20 million euros and of which 1.4 corresponded to Galician entities.
The Galician projects selected in this edition are oriented to the development of new strategies of valorization of the mixed Atlantic forest in protected areas of Galicia and Asturias (1.66 million euros), to the management of active communities and landscapes resilient to forest fires and climate change (1.14 million euros), to the collective custody of the territory (1.9 million euros), to the recovery of the aged forest for its proper use (1.42 euros), or to the valuation and #sustainable management of the ecosystem services of the mountains of Vigo (255,629 euros), among others.
Along with these projects, there are other entities such as the Galician Forestry Association (AFG), the Foundation for the Promotion, Research and Technological Development of the Automotive Industry of Galicia (CTAG) or the University of Santiago that receive about 900,000 euros for the execution of three projects led by entities from outside the community.
This initiative, financed from the funds of the Recovery Plan, supports projects that promote the first and second processing timber industry through management, sustainable forest management and certification, the characterization of new products and prototypes, such as counter-laminated timber, the optimization of the value chain, as well as the implementation and creation of local enterprises. Other forest products of high added value such as resin, bark, fruits, mushrooms, chestnuts or essential oils will also be promoted, studying their uses and launching workshops or new products, promoting marketing, identifying new markets and creating quality seals.