The president of the Valencia Provincial Council, Vicent Mompó, and the deputy for Environment, Avelino Mascarell, have presented the novelties of the subsidy program for forest management and fire prevention for the 2026 edition. This program, known as Gestifoc, has been redesigned to simplify its operations and reduce bureaucracy.
“"We continue to consolidate a way of understanding public action that is more useful, more intelligent, and connected with the reality of our town councils."
For the Safor region, the overall allocation from the Environment department amounts to 626,960 euros, which will be distributed among 26 municipalities. The amounts range from 8,950 euros for towns such as Almoines or Piles, to 51,000 euros allocated to Simat de la Valldigna. The allocation is based on technical criteria such as the size of the municipality (prioritizing smaller ones), forest area, the existence of forest or fire prevention plans, and the presence of protected natural areas or public utility mountains.
“"The halving of the bureaucracy that until now accompanied this plan has a double benefit: it simplifies management by the town councils, and, more importantly, it allows preventive actions to be carried out more agilely."
The Gestifoc 2026 program has a total budget of 8 million euros. One of the most significant novelties is the reduction of bureaucracy, which will allow for more agile management by local councils and faster execution of preventive actions. Furthermore, the call for these subsidies has been brought forward to March, three months earlier than in the previous year, to improve the preventive impact of the actions.
The aid is divided into two lines of action: 2 million euros will be allocated to municipalities owning mountains for forest management work, such as silvicultural treatments and improvement of plant masses. The remaining 6 million euros will be mobilized to execute infrastructures planned in local fire prevention plans, including firebreaks, improvement of forest roads, and water points for extinction.
