How a Franco-era pine reforestation plan left Spain without forest management

Pines everywhere: the phase II that never came

Spain today has more forest than it did half a century ago and, at the same time, more burned land. The paradox has a name: the pine. The Franco regime's reforestation plan planted millions of pines as a first phase, and included a second one that was supposed to remove them and replace them with broadleaf and better-suited species. That second phase was never carried out.

From mass planting to management neglect

Forest management became the responsibility of Spain's autonomous regions with the arrival of the state of autonomies, but the recurring criticism is that they have failed to do the basic work: thinning and clearing pine stands, creating islands of broadleaf vegetation, maintaining firebreaks and clearing ditches. The lack of this management turns the pine forest into a continuous stretch that, once dry, is perfect fuel. It is not just the original tree: it is what has not been done with it decades later.

Blaming instead of putting out the fire

Some argue the fault lies not with the pine but with political management: whatever the topic, the political debate turns into settling scores with the Franco era or into propaganda. Against that, the more pragmatic voices point out that alternatives are on the table: replanting with birds that bury acorns, keeping only some pine stands for porcini picking, and starting to diversify the landscape. The consensus, once you cut through the noise, is that the plan's second phase should have been carried out long ago. The open question: with the mountains burning, who is interested in completing it now?