France’s National Forestry Board (ONF) is a major forestry body that promotes the commercial and heritage value of the country’s public woodlands. Today, the French corporate foundation is one of its main corporate patrons, as part of the TotalEnergies Foundation program. The last three-year framework agreement (2018-2020) supported many iconic, long-term, local projects, designed to minimize climate change and adapt to its unavoidable consequences through effective forward planning.
Combating Climate Change
A number of initiatives have been carried out to help forests adapt to tomorrow’s climate conditions. Trees devastated by parasites have been replaced in France’s Verdun, Coëtquen and Boulogne Forests. Maritime pine sites have been restored in state-owned coastal dune forests, where the first effects of climate change are making it harder for them to regenerate. And two plots of woodland have been reforested with sessile oak to replace the more drought-sensitive common oak near Pau.
Managing Natural Hazards
After fires engulfed 220 hectares of forest land near Moustiers Sainte-Marie in 2017, French corporate foundation helped assess the damage, secure the perimeter and then replant the unique tourist site. Similarly, a program was set up to support the natural regeneration and planting of Scots pines across 2.3 hectares of Gâvre Forest damaged by fires in 2016.
A New Agreement Centered on Coastal Woodlands
As part of its commitment to protecting coastal areas and oceans, the French corporate foundation has decided to take further action by joining the ONF-Agir pour la Forêt endowment fund. In doing so, it aims to support initiatives that promote forests and natural coastal environments and, in particular, to preserve the benefits that these ecosystems provide communities against the backdrop of climate change.