The CO 2 Stored in Forests Management Marche project, funded by Sub-measure 16.1 Action 2 of the Marche PSR 2014-2020, of which PEFC Italia was a partner, has officially concluded.
In its four years of activity, the project has brought great successes in the field of forestry training and in the achievement of the GFS Certification of forests issued by CSQA and managed by the SAF partners of the GO, thanks to the continuous commitment of the project partners SAF Marche (LEADER), Consorzio Marche Verdi Scaf, SAF Monti Azzurri, SAF Tronto, DREAm. Italia Soc. Coop., PEFC Italia, CURSA University Consortium for Socio-economic and Environmental Research, Pro.Mo.Ter. Soc. Coop. and the Italian Confederation of Farmers – Provincial CIA of Ancona.
The project as a whole has brought several successes thanks to the skills of the various partners and the desire of local realities to bring about innovation and real change in the management of their forest resources.
The project has come a long way through various stages :
- field training of operators on PEFC sustainable forest management,
- the revision of the forest management plans of the Marche areas affected by the project,
- the definition and subsequent construction of forestry sites in the territories of the three SAFs , where to experiment with different management typologies and carry out integrative forestry analyzes and field and laboratory analyzes on the soil,
- training meetings in the area,
- punctual training of partners on communication and fundraising.
All these activities led to the project's two major outcomes .
On the one hand, the certification of the sustainable forest management of the three SAFs involved in the project and of the newcomer the Azienda Speciale Consorziale del Catria (based in Frontone - PU), which in December 2022 received, after the CSQA control, the PEFC sustainable forest management certificate for a total of 9,208.25 hectares of beech woods, mixed broad-leaved woods, chestnuts, oaks, holm oaks and reforestation of conifers.
To date , the largest group certification in central Italy made up of the Marche Agricultural-Forestry Company, the Tronto Agricultural-Forestry-Pastoral Property Management Company, the Tronto Agricultural-Forestry-Pastoral Property Management Company and the Catria Special Consortium Company.
On the other hand, the quantification of sustainability credits developed by these areas thanks to the activation of additional active management practices which have led to the estimation of sustainability credits that can now be exchanged via the online platform developed by the project .
An important tool which, through the voluntary market, allows production companies to implement actions to neutralize their emissions by supporting the active and certified management of the Marche forest heritage. (Source: Francesca Dini https://www.pefc.it /)