European funds arrive for forests destroyed by Vaia, companies and institutions in the north-east working to revive the forests.
We are pleased to inform you that the LIFE VAIA project (Valuing Afforestation of damaged woods with Innovative Agroforestry) has been accepted for funding.
Objectives
The VAIA project aims to develop and valorise sustainable products and services, in forest areas destroyed by extreme events (such as the VAIA storm that hit North East Italy in 2018), increasing the ecological, economic and social resilience of forest ecosystems to cope with climate change.
The main innovative actions envisaged by the project are:
- Development of innovative intervention techniques for forest reconstruction, adapting forest vegetation to climate change;
- Development of innovative agroforestry techniques aimed at producing organic products with minimal impact, increasing biodiversity and sustainable use of resources (energy through renewable sources and water through rainwater harvesting);
- Innovations in the breeding and cultivation of wild blueberries and other small ‘wild’ fruits in forest ecosystems;
- Development of innovative techniques for enhancing bee production in forest areas destroyed by extreme weather events;
- Development of innovative systems of citizen participation in the reconstruction of destroyed forests.
Project Partners:
Rigoni di Asiago: Lead Partner
- Agenzia Veneta per l’Innovazione nel Settore Primario (ex Veneto Agricoltura)
- Università di Padova – Dipartimento Territorio e Sistemi Agro-Forestali (TESAF)
- Fondazione Edmund Mach
- Comune di Asiago
- Comune di Gallio
- Association Française d’Agroforesterie (France)
- World Biodiversity Association (WBA Project)
- Fiera Longarone Dolomiti
- Università di Santiago di Compostela (Spain)
- Venetian Cluster
The project will last 5 years and will have a budget of almost 6 million, of which 3.5 million in Veneto, 55% financed by the EU through the LIFE 2014-2020 programme.
Venetian Cluster coordinated the writing, preparation and presentation of the proposal and is satisfied that this complex project has been positively evaluated by the European Commission.
Venetian Cluster considers the LIFE VAIA project important as it represents an exemplary innovation for the reconstitution of destroyed forests through collaboration between public and private entities.
Cambiamento climaticoEcosistemi forestaliLife VaiaNaturaResilienza Ecologica
