The 23 thousand hectares of woods and pastures that the Lombardy Region manages in its territory through ERSAF (Agency for Agricultural Services and Forests) and in particular the 20 forest complexes, will have a New Map of the Forests that will regulate their everyday life, for the coming years, . During the Annual Forum of EUSALP (the European Alpine Region) scheduled in Milan on 28 and 29 November, the president of the Region Attilio Fontana, the councilor for Agriculture Fabio Rolfi and the president of ERSAF Alessandro Fede Pellone will sign with 35 mayors in the Alps, and communities with environmental associations, this important document.
The main element of this Charter will be the extension of the Forest Contract: a formal agreement between the public and the private sector for the best possible management of this fundamental environmental heritage extending from the Alps to the Prealps, from the lakes to the mountain peaks, from the Po Valley to the border with Switzerland, and which constitutes an important mosaic of natural ecosystems, inhabited by an extraordinary variety of fauna and flora. The agreements will allow not only a conservation of flora and fauna, but also a substantial flywheel so that the economic resources that the forest produces remain in the territory and feed this conservation work.
In addition to performing the “ordinary” functions of the forest, forests are a privileged place for teaching, recreation, ecotourism and hiking. And this is why Fabio Rolfi, the Councilor for Agriculture, Food and Green Systems, announced that he is pursuing policies for the recognition of the so-called ‘educational forest’, especially for the youngest, for an essential education in the environment and safeguarding the values of the territory.
“Fifteen years after the signing of the first Charter – explains ERSAF President Alessandro Fede Pellone – I would like to support the same concept. On the one hand, because there has been a substantial continuity between those who managed the heritage. On the other hand, because those who frequent our forests today – for work, for passion, for fun, for sports, in the research for spirituality … -, finds a well-guarded treasure. The Lombardy Forests continue to offer incomparable ecosystem services to their patrons: air, water, wood, animals, fruits … A valuable environment, which is constantly valued “.
(ITALPRESS/MNA).
