APFP - Rebuilding the Forest: from fallen timber to sustainable value

Storm Kristin devastated the Central region, severely impacting the land, the local economy, and creating an environmental risk. Instead of the risk of fire, we want to see homes, furniture, and energy. Our app connects those who have timber with those who can use it.

The forest in the central region is on the ground. Literally. In January 2026, Storm Kristin swept through central Portugal, felling millions of trees. The problem worsens with each passing minute due to the following technical factors:

• Urgent need to remove fallen wood before it deteriorates due to moisture, fungi, and pests.
• Abandoned land or land with unknown owners is increasing pressure on local authorities and public entities.
• The mismatch between the availability of wood and the capacity for distribution, given that the central region is completely undersupplied with wood and its derivatives, makes it essential to involve the distribution and customers of the entire sector at a national level and perhaps even in Europe.
• The absence of efficient mechanisms linking those who have timber to remove (landowners) to those who can add value to it, such as loggers and the industry in the sector at a national level and not just locally.
• Extreme fire risk as summer approaches.

This scenario justifies the need for a structured, rapid, and scalable digital response, aligned with the principles of reconstruction and sustainable development promoted by the Crowdfunding Platform.

The solution exists. Create a digital platform that connects, simply and quickly, those who have timber with those who can use it. An app available on iOS and Android, with an interactive map, GPS land registration, and direct contact between owners and buyers, streamlining and organizing the removal of timber from the land. A tool designed to be launched in 6 weeks, before the summer. There are no financial transactions. There is no bureaucracy. It is a direct, traceable, and free communication channel for users. Why do we need support? To implement the digital platform at the speed that the urgency demands. Every euro raised here accelerates development and ensures that the platform reaches the ground in time to make a difference. Supporting this project is contributing to the preservation of the forest and its owners. So that timber that is rotting today can be transformed into houses, furniture, and energy. So that landowners have a concrete solution in their hands. So that Portugal evolves in its response to the tragedy experienced.

The forest cannot wait.

About the author

We are from the forest. We know it from the inside . APFP — the Pombal Forest Producers Association — is a non-profit association with the objective of supporting forest producers and owners, promoting forest resources, defending the forest against fires, and enhancing the environmental and cultural value of the forest space through good forestry practices. We are based in Pombal, in the heart of the central region, the area most affected by Storm Kristin and, historically, one of the most vulnerable to major forest fires in Portugal. We are not an organization that looks at the forest from afar. We work in it every day, alongside owners, local communities, and public entities. Within the scope of the National Forest Firefighters Program, APFP manages three teams of forest firefighters, each with 5 members, who carry out preventive silviculture activities throughout the year — for members and for the ICNF (Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests) in the National Forests and Forest Perimeters — and are pre-positioned for surveillance, first intervention, and support in firefighting during the critical fire season. We are also regular partners of public and associative entities, both local and national, in awareness campaigns, forestry promotion projects, and fire prevention. It was precisely this proximity to the field that made us realize, after Kristin, that the problem wasn't just fallen timber. It was the lack of connection between those who have the timber and those who can add value to it. This platform aims to create that link, and we, who know both sides, are best positioned to promote it and ensure it reaches those who need it. The investment will build a digital tool, with a tight deadline and a clear objective.

Budget and due dates

Detailed budget

Scheduling