The City of Zamora, Aquona and its foundation, the Aquae Foundation, have planted 775 trees in the area of ​​La Candelada with the aim of introducing tree vegetation on an area of ​​two hectares, which will absorb 175.5 tons of carbon dioxide ( CO2) in the next 40 years.
The Councilor for the Environment of the City of Zamora, Romualdo Fernández with Aquona's manager, Nicolás Esmorís and Francisco Martínez of the Sylvestris group, presented the initiative this morning in the plantation area.
This planting that already had its first phase in Valderrey and Valorio and in which various groups of the city participated, aims to reduce CO2 emissions into the atmosphere by planting trees in areas that have suffered a fire or suffer mass loss forestry and the consequent drought and desertification. In this way, this contributes to offsetting the carbon footprint of the city that in 2019 stood at 55 tons of CO2. In this sense, Nicolás Esmorís pointed out that with this new activity it is intended to give “continuity to the plantation that we did in the surroundings of Valderrey that went very well, with a degree of acceptance of 97 percent. In the end, what we want is to achieve the objectives of sustainable development ”.
Thus, Romualdo Fernández has indicated that Zamora City Council is working to “compensate the carbon footprint of the city”.
In the Candelada they have been repopulated with native forest species with the intention of restoring an area attached to the city. Specifically, 450 copies of Pinus pinea, 225 of Quercus ilex and 75 of Prunus dulcis will be planted.
This plantation, which will recover more than 20,000 m2 of forest area, has been carried out by Sylvestris, a social enterprise expert in planting forest mass and has made it possible to hire 2 people in vulnerable situations who are part of the Labor Accompaniment Plan of the City Council of Zamora.
Trees act as “carbon sinks”, that is, they absorb CO2 (a tree can absorb up to 150 kg of CO2 in 40 years) and, in turn, generate oxygen (22 trees supply a person's O2 demand per day) ).
«Combating drought and desertification and removing CO2 from the atmosphere by introducing tree vegetation is fighting climate change. In this sowing, the 450 pine trees will absorb 130.5 tons of CO2 in the next 40 years; and the 225 holm oaks and 75 almond trees will absorb 22.5 tons of CO2 in this same period, respectively, ”explains Mikel de Pablo, Project Manager at Fundación Aquae.
In this way, the phase initiated in Valderrey is completed, where the City Council, Aquona and the Aquae Foundation have not only created a forest that absorbs CO2 and is registered in the Spanish Office of Climate Change, but will also offer residents a Green space where to walk and enjoy the surroundings of the Zamora capital.