LISBON, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa Saturday called for better exploitation of forests through technology innovation.
"We have to rebuild an economy with the forest as a base," said the prime minister at the inauguration of BLC3, a technology association in Coimbra in northern Portugal, according to Lusa news agency.
While commenting on BLC3, which works to develop technology to transform biomass in fuel, Costa said this enables "a new economic value" of forests while saving the money the country would have spent on importing fuel.
"It is an excellent example of how we can marry investment with knowledge, developing what still has to be developed and in turn achieving a better energetic balance," said Costa.
He also called on the public not to only see forests as a problem, fire risk for example.
"The country only hears about the forests when summer arrives and fires break out," Costa said, adding "The forest is not a problem. The forest should be seen as an opportunity to create value."
