Support for forest recovery in municipalities affected by Storm Kristin has begun and could reach 1,500 euros per hectare for landowners affected by the bad weather. The program involves 22 municipalities in the Central region and includes simplified rules to speed up the allocation of money.
According to , global funding reaches 40 million euros and will be provided through the Recovery and Resilience Plan. Registration opened on May 14th and runs until June 29th, and management is handed over to the Environmental Fund.
There are municipalities that receive more than 13 million
The distribution of support will not be made directly by the State to the owners. According to the same source, the total amount will first be delivered to the municipalities covered, which are then responsible for channeling support to the owners of the affected land.
Leiria appears as the municipality with the largest amount allocated, receiving more than 13 million euros. Porto de Mós appears in the opposite position, with around 155 thousand euros available for local distribution, writes the newspaper.
Process has been simplified
One of the most relevant changes to the program is precisely the reduction in bureaucracy associated with applications. According to the same source, the Government chose to eliminate the need to present invoices or proof of expenses related to cleaning work.
The Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, explained that the objective is to speed up the arrival of support on the ground. According to Jornal de Negócios, it will be enough to present evidence of the cleaning carried out, including photographs of the land affected.
A photograph may be enough
The model created by the Government aims to facilitate access to support, especially in areas where there are small forest owners. The same source mentions that the logic involves prioritizing the speed of the process over the documentary component normally associated with this type of applications.
The simplification comes at a time when several municipalities continue to count damage caused by Storm Kristin, which hit different areas of the Central region and caused damage to forest areas and agricultural land.
Support can also cover more municipalities
Although the program is currently targeted at 22 municipalities, the number of municipalities covered could still increase. The publication adds that the list remains under evaluation, depending on the evolution of surveys carried out by local and central authorities.
The model initially envisaged by the Government pointed to the creation of direct support “vouchers”. However, according to the same newspaper, a system based on the distribution of financing among the affected municipalities was eventually adopted.
Recover areas hit by the storm
The objective of the program is to quickly recover the areas most affected by bad weather, especially in territories where trees have fallen, vegetation has been destroyed and forest residue has accumulated. According to the same source, financial support can reach 1,500 euros per hectare intervened, acting as an incentive to accelerate cleaning and recovery actions on private properties.
Applications are being managed by the Environmental Fund, the body that will be responsible for operating the program together with the municipalities served. Interested owners must meet criteria set locally by each local authority. The application period runs until the end of June, at a stage when many property owners continue to assess the damage left by Storm Kristin in forested areas of the Central region.
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