CORTICEIRA AMORIM is launching for the third consecutive year a technical advisory service for forest producers with a view to identifying and adopting best practices in the management of cork oak forests and associated biodiversity.
This service is being implemented within the "Business & Biodiversity" initiative framework and is the result of an agreement entered into in 2007 by CORTICEIRA AMORIM, the National Forest Authority, the Institute for Conservation of Nature and Biodiversity, Quercus and the WWF and is directed at owners of cork forests located in Portugal.
This free technical advisory service translates not only into field visits conducted by technicians of the WWF and the Applied Ecology Centre Professor Baeta Neves but also into the subsequent delivery of a Technical Report which might allow to support the producer - if he/she so wishes - in preparing the process of sustainable forest management certification of his/her estate.
This advisory service is funded entirely by CORTICEIRA AMORIM. In previous series, this service got strong support from cork producers and those responsible for Portugal's cork oak forest management. Several applications in respect of approx. 16 500 ha of cork forest were received between 2008 and 2010; 25 scoping visits were conducted and, in most cases, a FSC® certification was awarded.
All these facts allow to conclude that this very positive measure is being conducive to the adoption of best practices for managing forests and enhancing biodiversity and will be the basis for a new series (recently announced) of this advisory service which is part of the celebrations of the 2011 International Year of Forests.
Owners of cork forests covering an area of not less than 50 ha or that are included in a Forest Intervention Area (ZIF) and whose forest management system is not yet certified, may apply for this advisory service.
Regulations and application forms available from our website.
