For more than a week, the Landes have been burning. This Thursday, July 20, the firefighters, however, declared themselves “reasonably optimistic”, the megafire which ravaged 42,000 hectares in Gironde still being stabilized.
Particularly vulnerable to fires, the Landes de Gascogne forest was created by man “from a local species, the maritime pine, present in Aquitaine for more than eight thousand years”, specifies the National Center for Forest Property on its site. In the 19th century, it expanded significantly.
Today, the Landes de Gascogne massif extends over 570,000 hectares and makes the Landes one of the most wooded departments in France. The vast majority of the forest is private: only 10% belongs to the State and local authorities, the rest of its surface being divided between around 38,000 owners, according to the National Center for Forest Property. The average surface area owned by each is therefore quite small, less than 15 hectares.
More than 70% maritime pine
In France, private owners own around 75% of forests, but with strong regional disparities. The private sector thus owns nearly 90% of the surface area in Landes, Pays de la Loire and Brittany. But there are exceptions due to historical particularities, such as in the Grand Est region where the State retains more than half of the massifs.
The forest code requires different owners to preserve biodiversity, soil and water quality, while protecting them against natural risks, notably fires. The remaining quarter belongs to the public domain: national forests are state property and municipal forests are managed jointly by the municipality and the National Forestry Office (ONF).
The Landes forest constitutes a major economic and strategic pillar for the region. With almost three quarters of maritime pine, its trees are primarily intended for the production of lumber (construction, framing, carpentry or furniture), then industrial wood (particleboard, paper and cardboard) and finally energy wood (for heating).
In 2023, the turnover generated by the forest-timber sector of New Aquitaine, of which the Landes de Gascogne massif represents around three quarters, will be around more than 13.5 billion euros. The region alone accounts for around a quarter of the national timber harvest.
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