The Ministry of the Environment of Panama (MiAmbiente) reported this Saturday that, during the preparation of the map of Forest Cover and Land Use, 2021, technicians of the entity have managed to detect the emergence of new secondary forests in different regions at the national level.

The entity details that these new secondary forests consist of a natural regeneration of green areas, which has emerged during the last five years in the eastern region in the province of Darién, the central region in the provinces of Veraguas, Herrera and the province of Los Santos, as well as in the western region in the Comarca Ngäbe Buglé and the province of Chiriquí.

He explains that through this natural regeneration, the stubble became secondary forests. The stubble are plant formations made up of herbaceous, shrubby, woody, and occasionally invasive arboreal species of 1 to 5 years of age, that do not exceed 5 meters in average height and that grow in deforested or abandoned spaces. After five years, these spaces become secondary forests, and the forest species begin to present a different composition and size.

"It is very important to discover this new forest mass that has gone through a whole process of natural regeneration, becoming new forest spaces that serve as a shelter for trees, habitat for animal species and carbon sinks", highlighted Víctor Francisco Cadavid, director National Forestry Ministry of the Environment.

He pointed out that most of the secondary forests were located in the province of Darien, which could be due to the fact that the type of soil in this area is more fertile; However, he emphasized that all surfaces of the national territory have different characteristics, this makes the growth of flora fast or slow.

On the other hand, the National Director of Environmental Information Diana Laguna, National Director of Environmental Information, reported that the map of Forest Cover and Land Use, 2021, has 65% progress, and it is not ruled out that at the end of evaluate the remaining points, new secondary forests are discovered.

“Secondary forests remove from the atmosphere an average of 4.9 tons of carbon dioxide per hectare per year (this is equivalent to absorbing the emissions generated by 23 vehicles for one year). Meanwhile, the country's total absorptions for 2017 correspond to 31,989 kilotonnes CO2 (3.99 million tons), where secondary forests and stubble are the ones that mostly contribute to these absorptions, with 67.3% and 24.8% respectively, followed by mangroves and forest plantations. These percentages are significant, since they show the great importance of these forests in mitigation; and its contribution to the country's vision of transitioning towards a low-emission development ”, the Ministry of the Environment points out in a statement.