2015_09_08_CIE_enarbolar

According to the expert in monumental trees of the Félix Rodríguez de la Foundation source, César Javier Palacios, the wooded area in Navarra occupies 64% of the territory and has increased by 24% in the last twenty years. This is what he said on the occasion of the opening of the exhibition "EnArbolar: Grandes Árboles para la Vida", a project BIGTREES4LIFE financed by the LIFE unit of the European Union and by the department of Monumental Trees of IMELSA - Diputación de Valencia that will remain at the School of Sciences of the University of Navarra until October 13.

In the opinion of the naturalist and scientific disseminator, one of the great values of the Navarre forest lies in the fact that 80% of the forest areas are autochthonous: "Most of them are protected and some, such as the Irati Forest, are considered a world reference in terms of sustainable forest management". Regarding the contribution of this heritage to the Economics, César Javier Palacios recalled that the network Natura 2000 - the network largest European network of protected natural spaces on the planet - provides citizens with services valued at between 200,000 and 300,000 million euros a year. "In the specific case of Spain, its development represents an increase in GDP of between 0.1 and 0.26%. It also generates quality jobs work related to rural tourism or direct sustainable exploitation. For this reason alone, protecting well-conserved forests is good business," said the expert.

Art and environment

The exhibition, open to the public, simulates a grove of display modules that include the sound of forest birds to help the viewer recognize and appreciate the importance of this natural heritage as a refuge for endangered flora and fauna.

The goal, as stated by the Associate Dean of research and academic staff Rafael Miranda, is promote science, culture, environment and art through the Spanish arboreal heritage. To this end, the viewer is invited to take a virtual journey through the most outstanding trees and mature forests of Navarra and Spain.

La muestra itinerante ha recorrido 14 capitales españolas en los últimos dos años, donde ha recibido más de 36.000 visitas.

EnArbolar counts with the participation of the Valencian cartoonist Paco Roca, award National Comic Book 2008 and award-winning nature photographers such as Jorge Sierra, Juan Carlos Muñoz, José Díaz and Jonathan Díaz Marbá. Also collaborating is the watercolorist Fernando Fueyo, who has portrayed the great Spanish monumental trees throughout a year of travel and work.

The opening ceremony was attended by Rafael Miranda, Associate Dean of research and academic staff; César Javier Palacios, director of project BIGTREES4LIFE of the Fundación Félix Rodríguez de la source; Bernabé Moya, director of department of Monumental Trees of IMELSA-Diputación de Valencia; and Mikel Belasco, member of association of Amigos de los Árboles Viejos de Pamplona.