University study sponsored by Navigator?

Navigator SA is a Portuguese company that owns and manages eucalyptus monocultures in order to produce paper from the wood. Every eight years, the eucalyptus trees are felled and transported to the Navigator Company’s factories in Setúbal and Matosinhos. The trees then grow back. Navigator and its predecessors Portucel and Soporcel have created an empire for themselves over the past 40 years. Around a tenth of Portugal’s 92,000 km² have been planted with eucalyptus monocultures. Portugal is far too small a country to be able to convert further areas. This is why the Navigator Company is also active in other continents, e.g. in Mozambique, in Africa. Today, in 2025, there are more than one million hectares of forest already planted with eucalyptus in Portugal. This Australian tree species is highly flammable. Eucalyptus burns like gasoline, say firefighters; eucalyptus grows quickly and consumes a lot of groundwater.

And now this…

Net greenhouse gas emissions in the EU are to be reduced by at least 55% by 2030, and by 2050 we want to be the first continent to become climate-neutral, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, told ECO123. However, this will only work if we place our forests in Portugal and Europe under special protection. This requires forest owners in Europe to strike a balance between making responsible economic use of their land and promoting nature conservation. Such a project starts with the selection of multiple native tree species to be planted in forests, continues with responsible management and ends with nature conservation with guaranteed biodiversity. Would something like this be possible in Portugal?

Every diverse forest in critical fire zones needs at least one sprinkler system to protect it, and the Navigator Company must contribute to the costs of civil defence. Because those who only enjoy the profit and do not suffer from the destruction caused to the environment should also be involved in damage limitation and risk minimisation.

The reality is that, in vast areas of southern Europe, from Portugal to Spain, France, Italy and Greece, and now also in Turkey, forest fires have been destroying our green lungs in the summer months. Once burned, these forests no longer convert CO₂ into oxygen and become dead regions on the map. As a result of a forest fire, an active carbon sink (as intact forests are also called) mutates into a carbon emitter and becomes an active climate killer. Every forest fire exacerbates the climate problem instead of solving it. Our forests must be better protected and enjoy greater diversity, especially because the majority of forests are privately owned. Portugal has a particular responsibility for ensuring its climate protection in this respect. Only 2% of the forest belongs to the state, the rest is in private hands. And they do what they want with it.

And what about the biodiversity of this forest? A recent study by the University of Aveiro (UA) looked into this question and came to the following conclusion: “the so-called WildForests team studied mammal communities in eight forests – two forests that were composed of native trees and six eucalyptus forests – and found that eucalyptus plantations, even if they are production forests, provide shelter for many animals, although the native mixed forests have a greater diversity of species and individuals.” (…)

“Carbon sinks” slow down climate change.

Carbon sinks play a crucial role in solving the climate problem. Natural sinks such as forests, oceans and soils absorb around 55% of the original CO₂ emissions. Forests absorb CO₂ during photosynthesis and store it in the trees, plants and soil.

Let us look at an example: the Amazon rainforest stores large amounts of carbon and plays a central role in the global climate system. Deforestation is one thing; reforestation is another thing entirely. One method of expanding carbon sinks is by planting new, native trees in order to absorb the carbon from power plants, motor vehicles and airplanes in the long term. But any form of sustainability will only be enhanced if forest owners and landowners first plan their forests in a non-commercial way from planting to maintenance. According to the Porto-based Alliance for Natural Forests: “Given the unsustainable deterioration of plant cover in our country, we are convinced that only the restoration of the original forest will allow us a future without the systematic catastrophe of forest fires.” (…) 

https://florestautoctone.webnode.pt/apelo/

Almost every university study seeks potential publication in the media. ECO123 online receives between 20 and 30 PR reports a day that are written for the sole purpose of greenwashing an institution or company. ECO123 has created its own botanical forest garden on three hectares of land and installed a sprinkler system for a simple reason. We work there with our own knowledge. After five forest fires in and around Monchique, with hundreds of hectares of eucalyptus monocultures, we decided to build a sprinkler system in this new forest before planting new native tree species that otherwise could immediately burn again in the next forest fire.

We are planting young cork oaks, umbrella pines, walnut and carob trees and various oak species, including casuarina, to improve the soil quality and many other native tree species: lime, ash, alder, elm, beech, etc. Mainly slow-growing tree species that consume little water: e.g. laurel and olive trees, as well as medronheiro. Would you like to take part and visit us? Write me an email and make an appointment to visit us. You can also visit our archive at:

Once upon a time, I saw a tree crying…