- Endesa aimed to make a practical contribution to the global mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through its Endesa Forest initiative.
- In 2016, a 20-hectare plot of land that had been devastated by a fire in 2012 that affected a large number of habitats and species was reforested.
- Endesa will make use of an innovative system: This consists of a drone associated with a software that identifies the plants and their state, together with physical sampling of the terrain to corroborate the data obtained from the flight.
Bosque Endesa Atalaya is celebrating five years since its implementation. North of Madrid, in the municipality of Valdemaqueda, in 2016 Endesa reforested a 20-hectare plot of land devastated by a fire in 2012 that affected a large number of habitats and species such as the imperial eagle, the black vulture and the stork.
This reforestation by Endesa, which became a pioneering project in the energy sector and for which in 2017 the company obtained registration in the national registry of Carbon Footprint Compensation and Absorption Projects of the MITERD, is now awaiting official verification that the project is in good health.
The Spanish Office for Climate Change (OECC in Spanish) in the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITERD) requested evidence of the good state and growth in the forest that was planted in 2016, and for this Endesa will use an innovative new system: This consists of a drone associated with a software that identifies the plants and their state, together with physical sampling of the terrain to corroborate the data obtained from the flight.
This system will make it possible to know the state of the pine trees, ash trees, willows, strawberry trees and holm oaks planted in 2016, which occupy a reforested area of 20 hectares.
The methodology for the inventory consists of evaluating the sowing and planting undertaken by the Bosque Endesa through simple statistical sampling using circular plots of known radius in the repopulated areas by means of orthoimages taken from a DJI Mavic 2 Zoom drone. These sampling points are chosen in a regular mesh every 100 metres in each zone in order to obtain statistically significant data.
The above-mentioned drone flies at a constant height of 10 metres since this gives the best image quality, enabling a 20 m2 orthomosaic image to be taken at each point.
Photointerpretation techniques enable the planting points identified in each sampling plot to be counted and the survival and species of each plant present can be verified.
Since a priori the quality of the images taken does not enable each species to be identified, an inventory is made by the technicians in the field, which can contrast the data for at least 5% of the existing plants in each area.
Demonstrating the good state of this initiative is a milestone for private companies to participate in the executive and speedy recovery of ecosystems, because on the planet there is room to plant 1 trillion trees that would absorb between 300 and 400 gigatonnes of CO₂, a third of the emissions generated by man since the pre-industrial era. Capturing this CO₂ would give us more time to undertake ecological transition.
Bosque Endesa
That is why, as part of its Sustainability Plan, and its commitment to fight against climate change, Endesa would like to make a practical contribution to the global mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and is doing so through the Bosque Endesa initiative. The project is an essential feature of the aim of reforesting and restoring land damaged by fire by planting native species which will contribute to the recovery natural assets, reducing CO₂ and boosting the local economy, and this consists of four projects: Bosque Endesa Atalaya (Madrid); Bosque Endesa Doñana (Huelva); Bosque Endesa Teruel and Bosque Endesa Balearic Islands.
Bosque Endesa Forest generates a triple environmental, economic and social benefit in the environment where it is undertaken, so it can be considered a benchmark in sustainability. The environmental impact of this restoration is very positive, since it makes it possible to recover an environment that has been devastated by fire and contributes to the mitigation and adaptation of climate change. These new forests are better adapted to climate change and the risk of fire is reduced They also enable the recovery of the natural assets, biodiversity and ecosystem services that they provide for society.
Within the economic field, it contributes to boosting the local economy, since the recovery of a forest helps to generate additional activity associated with the use of the resources and services it provides, which favours the generation of companies and cooperatives whose activities include tourism and hunting/fishing, as well as sustainable forest use and management.
In the social field, the initiative's projects contribute to promoting local employment, since priority is given to unemployed people, young people, women, people over 45 years of age and those at risk of social exclusion when recruiting personnel for plantation and maintenance work for the project.
About Endesa
Endesa is the largest electricity company in Spain and the second largest in Portugal. The company is also the second largest gas operator in the Spanish market. Endesa operates an end-to-end business from generation to marketing and through Endesa X also offers value-added services aimed at the decarbonisation of energy uses in homes, companies, industries and public administrations. Endesa is firmly committed to the United Nations SDGs and therefore strongly supports the development of renewable energies through Enel Green Power España, the electrification of the economy and Corporate Social Responsibility. The Endesa Foundation is also active in CSR. Our workforce numbers around 9,600 employees. Endesa is a division of Enel, the largest electricity group in Europe.