Only a third of Collserola's 6,000 hectares of forest are managed.

BarcelonaThe forest management of our country's forests is a livelier debate than ever. The serious and voracious fire in Ponent at the beginning of July had characteristics of the dreaded sixth-generation fires. Under extreme conditions, a small spark can ignite a massive blaze that devastates everything in a matter of hours. And one of the most vulnerable areas is Collserola, declared a natural park in 2010. Located in the middle of the densely populated metropolitan area of Barcelona, it receives nearly 5.2 million visitors each year, has experienced the abandonment of its forests for decades, and is now suffering the effects of the climate crisis. These complex characteristics have turned this green lung into a powder keg. Furthermore, 60% of the land is private and 40% public, which adds to the difficulty of managing the park.

The majority of Collserola Park is made up of forests (60%) and scrubland and meadow undergrowth (26%). Furthermore, almost a tenth of the park's land area is covered with crops and orchards (7.4%), with 4.8% being developed land. However, nearly 16,000 people live within the park, a population that increases the risk of property and human damage in the event of a fire.

Furthermore, the former agricultural lands of the massif were abandoned years ago. This means that in hectares that were previously managed and where vegetation has now grown uncontrollably, a large forest mass and understory have been generated. The final ingredient in this dangerous cocktail has been the historic drought of recent years, which has caused the death of many trees, most of which have not yet been removed. All of this provides worrying fuel for a fire should one break out.

In short, Collserola has all the ingredients for a major sixth-generation fire, and time is running out to prevent it. In recent years, actions and resources have increased to expand and improve forest management, but much work remains to be done. The park covers more than 8,200 hectares, of which 6,000 are forested. However, only about 2,000 are being effectively managed, the vast majority through actions by public administrations. Therefore, only a third of Collserola's forest area is being worked on to prevent fires. "Collserola is suffering from a lack of forestry planning," Raimon Roda, managing director of the Collserola Mountains Natural Park Consortium, told ARA. "We are making an effort to know where we want to go and plan 20 years down the road what will need to be done to maintain and manage the land," he added.

According to data provided by the Consortium, some of these managed hectares fall within the framework of the priority protection perimeter (PPP)—the strategic plan that determines the areas requiring forestry interventions to prevent a major fire—the European Life Climark project, or the removal of dead trees. But the majority, around 1,000, are part of the maintenance of the prevention strips that municipalities implement in their residential areas. "The strips are designed to prevent a small-scale fire from entering or leaving a residential area; they are necessary, but they were not designed to deal with sixth-generation fires," warns Roda. The Consortium also carries out many other environmental tasks that contribute to fire prevention, such as surveillance, the removal of illegal dumping, and the promotion of new water resources.

Many actors for a single park

The reality of Collserola is complex at the forest level, but it is even more so in terms of the actors involved. On one hand, there is the public management of the Consortium, made up of the Barcelona Provincial Council, the Generalitat of Catalonia, the Barcelona Metropolitan Area, and the nine municipalities that have territory in the park. On the other hand, there are the nearly 1,000 private forest owners, whose land represents 60% of the massif. Many are involved for a relatively small park, which sometimes slows down some procedures and implies that both parties (public and private) are often not up to date with the actions carried out by the other.

"We should all work together and create a strategic plan for Collserola with all the stakeholders involved, something that doesn't exist today," says Manel Ferrer, president of the Collserola Iniciatives agroforestry owners' association. "We don't know much about what technical and financial resources we'll have next year," explains Ferrer, who calls for owners to be able to sit on the Consortium's decision-making bodies. The economic factor is the main reason why so few private hectares are under intervention, as it is estimated that managing a single hectare costs an average of €2,500. "We can't expect the owner to assume that cost; there are not enough resources," he states.

However, there are good examples of public-private partnerships in the park. The Forestry Project for Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change (PROMACC) is currently underway on a 56-hectare plot of land in Sant Cugat del Vallès. Collserola Iniciatives has promoted this project with the help of Nactiva, a social enterprise that has acted as a link between the entity, the Consortium and private companies investing in the project.

It is integrated into the Forest Climate Credits system of the Generalidad, which allows certification of the positive impacts of forest management on carbon, water, and biodiversity. The measure will allow for in-depth interventions in this forested area until next year to reduce forest cover and the risk of fires spreading. "The main objective is, through public-private partnerships, to generate ecosystems better adapted to the effects of climate change," explains Álvaro Poo, a forest specialist at Nactiva. Another PROMACC will be launched in the coming months on more than 50 hectares between Molins de Rei and Sant Feliu de Llobregat.

Mosaic landscape and new investments

One of the solutions to such a large forest area is to enhance the mosaic landscape. This involves creating tree-free areas in the middle of the forest as firebreaks, mostly new agricultural land. "If we create these open spaces, it would allow the flames to slow down slightly when they reach these areas in the event of a fire, which would give firefighters an advantage," explains Anna Badia, professor of geography at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB).

Specifically, the Consortium announces that next year it plans to increase its investment in strictly forest management by 16 times, increasing from the current €30,000 to €500,000. This will allow for approximately 200 new hectares, where tasks such as clearing and felling trees, removing dead trees, and creating these open spaces will be carried out. The announcement is in line with the government's recent commitment to increasing mosaic landscapes in forests throughout the country.

This system could generate a new agricultural and livestock economy in Collserola. Currently, there are approximately 25 companies in this sector in the natural park, as well as flocks of sheep grazing to naturally clear the forests. There are also projects to restore abandoned olive groves that could lead to oil production. The park also has the Alimentamos Collserola project underway, aiming to promote local and sustainable food systems and reactivate agricultural activity in the area.

Knowing how to act in case of fire

Ferrer asserts that some residents of the park's residential areas are "afraid" of the ever-increasing risk of fire. One of the largest fires occurred in 1994, with some 135 hectares destroyed. And every summer, a few fires occur, most of them small. These figures are not remarkable, considering Collserola's great potential.

In this sense, the UAB geographer calls for "joint responsibility between administrations and citizens" to know how to act in the event of a fire. "We need to transfer knowledge of risk culture to the population; understand the fragility of our environment and be aware that we are exposed to risk if we live in the forest," Badia asserts. "If a firefighter tells you that you must confine yourself or leave, you must know how to listen; these are tense situations for which we must be well prepared."