After decades of neglect, mismanagement and population exodus, Spain is today a European forestry power. In light of the data, reforestation efforts have borne fruit. However, not everything is good news: the Spanish forestry ‘miracle’ is accompanied by risks and problems that are very difficult to manage.
Spain, forestry potential? Indeed. Spain has been climbing the European podium of forest area until reaching third position. According to Eurostat data, only Sweden (28Mha) and Finland (22Mha) surpass Spain, which with its 19 million hectares is in record numbers.
And in reality, we only count a small part of the forest area. In technical terms, not everything “forest” is “forest” and this is especially noticeable in Spain because, if we count the forest area, it surpasses Finland and reaches second place on the continent. No wonder: between 50 and 56% of the country is considered forest area.
Why is it important? Spain lost forest mass in a continuous and worrying manner from the beginning of the 19th century to the mid-20th century. The trend was so pressing that it began to be a problem: together with France and Germany, Spain concentrates a good part of Europe’s timber industry and overexploitation put the future of a good part of the country at risk.
Luckily, reforestation policies (and rural depopulation that led to a withdrawal of human productive activity) have caused this trend to reverse. It is not easy, almost two thirds of the forests are private and without active management; but as I say, during these decades the natural ‘movement’ of the Spanish forest was towards self-reforestation.
That means that we are not always talking about “diverse mature forest” and ecologically sustainable. But, still, it is good news.
Not all the mountain is oregano. Because, to begin with, poorly cared for forests, subjected to water stress, pests and indiscriminate logging, are sick forests. The evidence is clear: Europe’s forests have long been losing their capacity to absorb carbon.
Furthermore, since they are not well, everything becomes problems. Thus, what at another time would have been excellent news (a very rainy spring) becomes a ticking time bomb. Not for nothing, 2025 has been the worst fire season.
On the other hand, when we talk about forestry operations (with things like eucalyptus monoculture) what we find is that aforestation and increased density can affect aquifers and put an end to biodiversity.
The big step we have to take. Little by little, humanity begins to realize that it is inevitable that it begins to take direct management of the entire ecosystem. And yes, it is something expensive, costly, and it cannot be stopped when there are economic problems. It is a very long-term project that, honestly, in a very polarized world and in full energy transition, no administration can guarantee 100%. However, it is a necessary project.
That is, something that will mark our future in the medium term. And we’re not just talking about forests.
Image | Mitchell Orr | Manuel Lopez
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