Funchal, Portugal, Nov. 29, 2024 (Lusa) - Mass tourism and invasive plants are the biggest threats to Madeira's laurel forest, researcher José Maria Fernández-Palacios said on Friday, emphasising that in Macaronesia, the general state of conservation of this type of forest is "quite bad".
"One exception is Madeira and another exception is La Gomera, in the Canary Islands, and both are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, because they are two areas of well-preserved laurel forest," he explained.
Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a subtropical forest in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and elongated leaves, known as "laurophyll" or "lauroid"
José Maria Fernández-Palacios, professor and researcher at the University of La Laguna, Canary Islands, was speaking in Funchal as part of the opening ceremony of the programme marking the 25th anniversary of Madeira's laurel forest becoming a World Natural Heritage Site of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), declared in 1999.
The expert pointed out that in Macaronesia — the region that includes the archipelagos of Madeira, the Azores, the Canary Islands, and Cabo Verde — only 10% of the original laurel forest is left, and its state of conservation is "quite bad" in the Azores and most of the Canary Islands.
"There are two types of problem. One is more linked to the Azores archipelago, because the economic development model is different, fundamentally agricultural, livestock and forestry. The other is linked to mass tourism, which is what happens in Madeira and the Canaries," he said, warning of the threat posed by introducing exotic species.
José Maria Fernández-Palacios did, however, focus on tourism, considering that Madeira receives around three million tourists a year and the Canaries 17 million.
"Most tourists are not aware of the natural values of our archipelagos; those who are and want to enjoy walking through the laurel forest are not a problem," he said, adding that, "as for the others, the best place to have tourists is in the hotel."
The president of Madeira's regional government, Miguel Albuquerque, who attended the ceremony, considered that the region doesn't have mass tourism, so this "isn't a problem".
"What we are dealing with is the coordination of certain points in Madeira that are visited a lot in order to ensure that there isn't too much-congested access," he explained, adding that the authorities aim to diversify the offer in terms of routes and attractiveness to manage the influx of tourists better.
"It's not just a question of human pressure. It's a question of people being able to enjoy the riches on offer when they visit this unique heritage site," he added.
The head of the Madeiran government explained that the main challenge is to prevent exotic plants and weeds from affecting the laurel forest, a circumstance that "will require constant investment by the government".
Miguel Albuquerque pointed out that around 65% of the regional territory has reserve status, which implies an "investment of millions", namely in monitoring and rehabilitation, as well as funding for the Forest Police and Nature Watch bodies.
"They're very keen [international institutions] to declare reserves, they give us big medals and big ovations, but then in terms of funds [for their maintenance] we're always limited," he warned.
Considered an ecological and biological relic, Madeira's laurel forest occupies an area of 15,000 hectares, the equivalent of 20% of the island's territory. It is essentially located on the north coast, from 300 to 1,300 metres above sea level, and on the south coast, it persists in some hard-to-reach places, from 700 to 1,200 metres.
According to the most recent reports for the Natura Network and those carried out by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the forest is in a good state of conservation due to interventions to control invasive species and reduce the risk of fires.
The programme to mark the 25th anniversary of Madeira's laurel forest runs until Saturday. Under the theme "25 years of Recognition, Millions of Years of Forest," it is an initiative of the Regional Secretariat for Agriculture, Fisheries and the Environment through the Institute of Forests and Nature Conservation (IFCN).
The event includes conferences, technical visits and debates, with the participation of national and international experts.
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