The Department of Sustainability, Environment and Blue Economy of the Andalusian Regional Government has highlighted the celebration of World Forestry Day on 21 March, which aims to draw global attention to the importance of forests for the global ecological balance and for human beings themselves. The Andalusian Regional Government recalled that public forests account for 22% of the surface area of the province of Almeria.
For the Andalusian Regional Government’s Sustainability Delegate in Almeria, Manuel de la Torre, «perhaps we are not aware of the importance of forestry in Almeria: in addition to our natural stone exploitations and the thriving agriculture in Almeria, it turns out that greenhouses occupy only 3.7% of the provincial surface while 70% of Almeria is considered forest land, land covered by natural vegetation (grasslands, bushes, shrubs, trees) that provide important services to society through the protective functions they perform». The proportion of forest land in Andalusia is lower, 53%, only Huelva has a higher percentage of forests than our province, «so we can say that Almeria is the second most forested province in Andalusia».
De la Torre explained that «more than 70% of the forest area is treeless due to the physical conditions of our province. This is land without trees, including areas of extraordinary ecological value». «That is why in our semi-arid Mediterranean environment, the delegate believes, we should celebrate Forestry Day and Forest Day, because they are not exactly the same thing».190,000 hectares of publicly owned forests in Almeria exceed 190,000 hectares, which means «that one in every five square metres of Almeria is public forest.
