Garnica teams up with forestry initiatives to replant pine and poplar trees

Our company has teamed up with different initiatives to support and preserve the extent of our poplar and pine forests. Our goal is to ensure that every poplar and pine tree that is cut down is replanted, thus maintaining healthy, sustainable forests. The result is a joint effort that will have a significant impact on the conservation of local poplar and pine trees.

• Agreement between Garnica and the Conseil National du Peupliers “Merci le Peuplier”

The Merci le Peuplier Charter is an initiative that provides assistance to poplar growers and fulfils several important functions, such as providing financial support to encourage reforestation after the felling of poplar trees. Landowners who comply with the conditions set out in the Charter receive financial support from industrialists once reforestation has been guaranteed. Garnica has financed the replanting of more than 300,000 poplar trees.

Furthermore, the Merci le Peuplier Charter promotes the development of forestry certifications, such as PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification), helps disseminate best practices for forest management and encourages the supply of certified wood to companies. The charter is a comprehensive tool that provides financial support, promotes forest certification, strengthens the sector, facilitates the implementation of support measures and highlights the key role poplar wood plays in sustainability and development.

As part of the BIOPOPTECH Operating Group, Garnica is currently working with AEFCON to replicate the “Merci le Peuplier” model in Spain. The project, which goes under the name “Gracias al Chopo” pursues the same objective as in France: to ensure that every poplar tree that is felled is replanted.

• Agreement between Garnica and the Basque Country Foresters’ Confederation

The Basque Country Foresters’ Confederation is an organisation that brings together the forestry associations of the three Historical Territories of the Basque Autonomous Community.

The main objectives of the Confederation are: to represent forest owners in different areas, to lead the Certification of Sustainable Forest Management (PEFC) on the regional level, to provide tools to tackle the challenges faced by forest owners, to promote the use of wood as a renewable material, to disseminate the values of forestry among Basque society, to contribute to the cohesion of the Basque forestry sector and to promote the genetic improvement of areas of forest.

In 2022, several forestry companies in the region joined forces with the Confederation of Foresters of the Basque Country to launch an initiative to promote the planting of maritime pine. Garnica contributed to this campaign with funding that is equivalent to planting more than 40 hectares of pine trees.

With these actions, the Confederation is seeking to protect and promote the forestry heritage of the region, encouraging sustainable practices and highlighting the important role of forestry in the socio-economic and environmental development of the community.

Ultimately, these types of agreements are an excellent way of ensuring that landowners are given assistance to replant their poplar and pine trees within a maximum timeframe. In doing so, we are helping to promote the conservation and regeneration of forests and tree farms, which in turn contributes to protecting the environment and biodiversity, and to mitigating climate change.

This action aims to reinforce our commitment to our social and environmental responsibilities. By supporting associations and working in partnership with different agents, we seek to make a positive contribution to the preservation of forest resources and promote sustainable practices in the wood industry.