Beyond timber: MULTICAS puts fruit and fungi at the heart of a new strategy for chestnut forest profitability
- The technical event, held last week in Tineo, analysed the opportunities offered by chestnut groves in the face of the main challenges currently affecting forest areas.
- The initiative promotes sustainable forest management to generate employment and retain the population in rural areas.
The municipality of Tineo hosted the official launch event of the MULTICAS Project this June, an ambitious innovation initiative aimed at transforming the future of rural areas in Asturias and north-western Castile and León by revitalising chestnut cultivation and promoting the bioeconomy. The work carried out under MULTICAS over the coming years will be made possible by the support of the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), with co-financing from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
The project was presented by representatives of the three partner organisations that make up MULTICAS: the Forest Owners’ Association Juntas de Montes (JUMA), which coordinates the project, together with the Fundación CETEMAS from Asturias and Fundación Cesefor from Castile and León. The event brought together forestry experts, landowners, technicians and institutional representatives from the region to address the main structural and environmental challenges facing this natural resource, including the impacts of various diseases and pests and the vulnerability of forest stands to climate change.
MULTICAS was established with the objective of improving the profitability and resilience of chestnut groves through innovation in the use of their main resources: timber, fruit and fungi. The project also promotes new models of joint forest management and the transfer of practical knowledge to forest owners and managers.
Chest forest profitability
During the event’s opening, the strategic value of the chestnut tree was highlighted not only as an emblematic element of the region’s landscape and culture, but also as a viable, sustainable economic alternative capable of generating local employment and addressing the demographic challenge. The technical part of the event outlined the action lines of the MULTICAS Project, which combines scientific research with applied forestry practice.
Among the key points presented were the study of biodiversity, the implementation of management models, mycological harvesting, forest health and the management of forest ownership. “The chestnut tree is a real opportunity for our rural economy,” the project partners agreed during their presentations, stressing that MULTICAS aims to “provide concrete solutions that enable producers to optimise resources and turn forest heritage into a long-term engine of sustainable development.”
The event also introduced new public funding opportunities aimed at modernising and revitalising the forestry sector, presented by the Government of the Principality of Asturias. The event concluded with an open debate in which participants exchanged views on the sector’s needs in the region, agreeing on the urgency of coordinating efforts among public authorities, research centres and forest owners to ensure the initiative’s success.
About the MULTICAS project
MULTICAS is supported by the Fundación Biodiversidad of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), through co-financing from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).