Some very good reasons to sign:

To preserve biodiversity

  • Because cork oak forests are ecological sanctuaries
  • They are home to an exceptional flora and fauna, including several endangered species. These include the
  • Iberian lynx (there are only 150 individuals in Portugal), and the Iberian imperial eagle (one of the most
  • endangered raptors, there are only 150 pairs in Spain and Portugal)…
  • The suberaies (Mediterranean oak forests) belong to one of the richest plant heritage in the world after the tropical Andes (up to 135 species per m2)
  • However, they could be threatened by urbanization and the abandonment of a sustainable management method (the traditional method of harvesting cork does not destroy the tree, but rather guarantees the renewal of this forest resource, because the cork naturally regenerates).

To fight against the greenhouse effect

  • Cork oak forests are excellent carbon sinks
  • Portugal’s cork oak forests alone sequester 4.8 million tonnes of CO2 / year, or 5% of the country’s emissions. They represent 32% of the global surface of suberaies.
  • 1.3 hectare of forest to produce 1 ton of corks, absorbs 2 tons of CO2 in 1 year.

To preserve nature

  • Cork oaks naturally play a role as a bulwark against the erosion, desertification and fires that regularly occur in the Mediterranean region.

To preserve men and a fair form of work

  • 100,000 people live with cork via the cork stopper on the Mediterranean rim, from Portugal to Algeria
  • The cork oak forests are home to a local economy and valuable know-how: Iberian pork, mushroom picking (Spain, Portugal, Italy), firewood collection (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia), tourism …

The cork oak forests are maintained by those who live there, for the manufacture of cork stoppers for still wines and sparkling wines (70% of the economic production of a suberaie), and for the manufacture of insulation materials ecological and efficient.