Sant Julià de Lòria Invests €60K in Feners de Juberri Forest to Curb Fire Risks

Sant Julià de Lòria has launched initial forest management efforts under a new plan covering 2027-2030, targeting 11 hectares in the Feners de Juberri woodland with a €60,000 investment to lower fire risks near housing.

The work, now underway in this sensitive area between Juberri village and the Rabassa forest—including the Naturland zone—aims to actively manage woodlands for better health and resilience. Cerni Cairat, the lead consul, said the approach goes beyond basic clearing. It seeks to boost biodiversity and wildlife recovery, restore pastures for primary sector use, and adapt forest makeup to changing climate conditions by thinning young or weak red pines and boxwood. This promotes less flammable native species such as oaks, holm oaks, and wild cherries already emerging naturally beneath the pine canopy.

The budget marks a sharp rise from €20,000 in 2025, enabling this first phase. Officials plan to ramp up spending and expand to other parish areas like Comabella, Montllobar surroundings, Naturland, Francolí woods, and Canòlich over the next decade, covering 152 hectares in total. Pre-studies highlighted decades of neglect after traditional logging ended, leading to dense red pine growth and heavy fuel buildup. Creating low-density buffer strips will disrupt fuel continuity, slow potential fire spread, and ease firefighting access.

Forest engineer Esteve Tor, overseeing the plan approved last year, described the site as leveraging natural shifts. Deciduous species like Martinenc oak in wetter spots and holm oak in drier garrigue areas are gaining ground and rising in altitude due to climate trends. Interventions form a half-horseshoe buffer below the 1,600-meter contour on Montllobar, with selective thinning over the first five or six years to let hardwoods prevail. Vegetation debris is shredded and spread to return nutrients, supporting micromammals and soil life without harming biodiversity. Andorra's terrain often limits fires by channeling them upslope to ridges, but Rabassa's gentler slopes and visitor traffic at Naturland heighten the urgency.

Cairat noted drones' growing role in forest analysis and inventories elsewhere, offering precise overhead views at low extra cost—though the parish has yet to adopt them routinely. He expects their use to expand in Andorra for planning. "Without this management, a fire here would pose major challenges," Cairat cautioned.