Portugal’s cork forests are major carbon sinks - but they face threats from climate change - video Dailymotion

For each kilogram of cork produced, the trees can capture 73 kg of CO2, according to Portugal's leading cork company.

Transcript

00:00 Portugal is the world`s leading producer of cork. Its natural material comes from the

00:12 bark of the cork oak tree. It`s renewable and sustainable.

00:17 The country`s cork exports amounted to 1.2 billion euros in 2023, 75 percent of which

00:24 came from cork stoppers. Demand for cork has been growing over the years. Sustainability

00:30 is the reason why the industry is thriving.

00:34 We are the only forestry industry where the trees are not cut. The skin of the tree is

00:39 removed every nine years and it regrows. Cork trees are a carbon sink. For each kilo of

00:47 cork produced, it has captured 73 kilos of CO2.

00:53 The sustainable industry is under threat. Climate change and a dwindling workforce are

00:58 hampering the sector. Forest management is key to preventing the spread of wildfires

01:04 as temperatures rise.

01:06 You have small shrubs, patchy areas where you have the herbs and the shrubs, you have

01:12 the livestock and so you decrease a lot the amount of vegetation that is there to burn.

01:18 And so, wildfires are not common in this region.

01:22 Still, drought and disease pose growing threats to trees.

01:27 You plant 400 trees per hectare, you know, and after the first summer, if you don`t do

01:34 any kind of irrigation, you can have only 100 trees or less.

01:40 It`s not ready.

01:43 Cork harvesting is a craft that requires skillful workers. Mistakes come at a price.

01:50 This is a scare of the cork oak. When you damage that skin, that part will never give

01:56 you cork again.

01:58 Although cork harvesters earn on average 120 euros per day, the profession struggles to

02:03 attract new workers.

02:05 The people that knows how to extract cork are older. If we don`t do anything to try

02:10 to teach some young people to harvesting cork, it will get harder and harder to find the

02:16 right people to do this job.

02:19 Despite this problem, demand for cork continues to grow. Sectors such as construction, design

02:24 and fashion are attracted by the material sustainability.

02:28 [END]

02:35 (upbeat music)