The Ministry of Environment and Energy is promoting a bill that includes a forestry reform, expected to be available for public consultation soon. The purpose of this reform is to significantly reduce the risk of fires. To manage the public forest ecosystems effectively, the following measures will be taken:
The Minister of Environment and Energy will publicly invite bids to implement the management and exploitation of public forests or management units.
The invitation will announce the assignment of the implementation of the management and exploitation of one or more forests or management units, individually or jointly. The combination of forests or management units will be based on their productive capacity, the degree of difficulty of extraction, the distance between them, the risk of dangerous fire, and the year of the end of the relevant management studies.
The invitation will define the maximum quantities and types of biomass that are allowed to be harvested according to the approved management studies, forest clearing operations, the types and quantities of biomass that will be harvested with them, as well as the time schedule for the implementation of these operations. It will also specify the amount of biomass subsidy enjoyed per species and on a case-by-case basis, and the minimum percentage of the value of the sales invoices of the received biomass that will be attributed to the State.
The invitation will determine the amount of the participation guarantee, which is set at 4% of the budgeted value of the contract.
The implementation of the management and exploitation of public forests or management units is assigned by the decision of the Minister of Environment and Energy based on the most advantageous offer provided by the tender committee. The committee uses the following criteria:
1. The percentage of biomass that will be harvested compared to the amount foreseen in the management study and the fire protection study (40% weighting factor).
2. The period of time required for the implementation of the forestry maintenance and improvement works aimed at cleaning the forest, in proportion to the maximum limit set by the approved management and fire protection study (40% weighting factor).
3. The percentage of the value of the sales invoices of the received biomass that will be attributed to the State (20% weighting factor).
Forestry Labor Cooperatives (DA.SE) that meet specific conditions have the right to participate in the process of assigning the implementation of the management and exploitation of public forests or management units. It is also allowed to set up associations of persons with legal personality (Hybrid Cooperative Schemes - H.S.Schi.), in which DA.S.E. participates as parties with a total percentage of 50%, and other natural or legal persons of the private sector with a total percentage of 50%, for the purpose of forest management.
