Nature given a helping hand in the Sierra de las Nieves

Anyone who has not headed into the Sierra de las Nieves National Park to see the Spanish 'pinsapos' firs, a rare, unique type of ancient spruce fir that has settled in this mountain range, needs to add it to their bucket list. The pinsapos were ravaged for years, mercilessly cut down to build roofs and other structures, to make charcoal, ship masts, railway sleepers and even chopped down to become ideal Christmas trees.

However, tree species never grow in isolation. The pinsapos were part of a very biodiverse forest and the logging most deeply affected the gall oak that also frequented the higher reaches of this sierra alongside the pinsapo. By the 1990s the gall oak ('quejigal' in Spanish, quercus faginea subspecies alpestris being its scientific name) was endangered - currently classed as "vulnerable" Back then only about 4,000 specimens remained. That is as many as the Spanish fir, but this oak forest was already dying.

The plan to combat erosion and desertification that was put in place at that time has been completed some 30 years later. Of the 16,000 new gall oaks planted there are now about 25,000 thanks to natural regeneration. They have grown blending with a vast mass of Spanish fir trees and 230 low walls and embankments, which prevent severe erosion from causing the Guadalhorce, Costa del Sol and Malaga to flood with sediment from the upper basins of the Verde, Turón, Genal and Grande rivers. Today, a splendid, typically Mediterranean high mountain forest - the 'quejigal de Tolox' - stretches proudly along the Froncaire ravine.

Humans took away much of the forest, but now other people have given nature a big helping hand here - quite the miracle.

The dreadful rains of 1989 had generated a high level of erosion and desertification on the peaks of the Sierra de las Nieves, to which were added the intense grazing and troubles with the mountain goats for which the young tree shoots, the saplings, are manna from heaven to eat. All together it was a fearsome Molotov cocktail, which caused six centimetres of topsoil to be lost during the torrential rains. It was a disaster.

This story is told by Miguel Ángel Catalina, who was the director of the natural park at the time (now retired), and who, on this occasion, ascends these mountains with the current director of the now national park, Rafael Haro, and the head of the Junta's forestry department, Pepe Quintanilla. With the joint aim of protecting Malaga city, the Guadalhorce and the coast against flooding and to do everything possible to prevent the loss of the jewel that is the gall oak forest, a plan to combat erosion and desertification was launched in 1991, initiated by the ministry of agriculture at the time and now with the finishing touches completed by the regional government's environment office for Malaga province.

These interventions in the natural environment, known as 'hydrological-forestal corrections', are essential to protect the populated areas nearby and the Mediterranean forests themselves. The forests suffer from strong desertification processes because here, in the Mediterranean, the mountain ranges are nothing like forests across the Atlantic or elsewhere in Europe where the greenery just acts like a sponge. Here every centimetre of green has to be cultivated, nurtured.

The climb to Puerto Pilones, from where you can see a large part of the mountains of the province and the coast at an altitude of 1,700 metres, is a real breath of fresh air.

During the walk everyone's thoughts turn to how the Dana storm devastated the towns and villages in Valencia and how important it is to take action in the environment to protect the population when there are torrential rains.

The forestry specialists wanted shepherds to play a leading role in their reforestation plans because they had to give their approval to the project as their livestock would be grazing in the same parts of the Sierra de las Nieves. At the beginning, in order to save the trees from being nibbled by the sheep and mountain goats, plots measuring 5x5 metres were created in which three gall oak saplings were planted, and/or a Spanish fir, a maple or a rowan tree.

Quintanilla is proud of what his friend Catalina started and which he has finished. They believe that anyone who reforests in a homogeneous way, always with the same tree, does not know what they are doing. Forests with a variety of species withstand fires, pests and bad weather better.

Shepherds José Sánchez, now 85 years old, and Juan Vera Leiva (67) welcome the hikers. Leiva, who is an old acquaintance, explains the initial reluctance to such a project mostly because the sheep would have large areas closed off to them.

In exchange, however, the shepherds were left large grazing spaces between the reforested areas. This philosophy of 'let's respect each other' has pretty much lasted a lifetime. This is the job of the forestry engineers to convince them that people can coexist with the forest.

Along the way, the spongy-looking, spiky bush nicknamed 'cojín de monja' (literally nun's cushion) appears, a bush that resembles a green porcupine giving ground cover in the high mountain areas and mixing with creeping juniper. Dozens of mesh fencing with support poles surround the gall oaks, firs, yews and maples to protect them. The mature ones, now over 30 years old, are no longer protected, but others still need saving from the voracious mountain goats.

Nearby are some of the reatining walls with stones held in place by wire cages. These support the soil, slowing down the passage of rainwater to stop erosion and were designed by Catalina. Anything that comes down from the summits with the force of a flash flood of water is extremely dangerous.

We are now right in the heart of the Sierra de las Nieves National Park. A thick fog accompanies the visitors as the sun tries to break through. The humidity provided by this cloud bank shows up as condensation on the protective netting wrapped round each tree like a cylinder. In August the soil of the sierra is dry, and yet these saplings have damp roots thanks to Catalina's walls and mini-dams retaining water to feed both the trees and the vegetation surrounding them.

The project is nearing completion, but there is one important detail left. Some retaining walls need refurbishing, and all those nets around the strong trees should be removed, as they can now survive on their own. Others will still need them until they reach two metres, but in general, it's time to restore the forest to its natural state.

Haro and Quintanilla check the final touches being done on the project with current project manager and forestry engineer Marta Ríos and coordinator Cristóbal Becerra, together with adviser to the national park and forestry engineer Natalia Ríos. In the final stage of this project they will also make changes to the footpaths and clear vegetation to create mountain pastures, so that both flora and fauna will benefit from the last of the work overseen by the Junta's environmental office.

This has been a very special day, and you can see it on everyone's face. Quintanilla, guardian of the pinsapos for 38 years, has ended his professional career and is retiring. Facing all the greenery now on show near where the locals come to venerate the Virgen de la Victoria de Málaga in a small shrine, they toast Quintanilla on his retirement who, together with Rafael Haro, have formed an unbeatable team to defend the Sierra de las Nieves National Park. Nobody is irreplaceable, but Pepe is very close to this definition. These mountains will surely miss him.

Night falls and the route through eight kilometres of high mountains ends in the Sierra de las Nieves National Park, the greatest natural jewel in the province of Malaga. Behind it lies a dreamy glen full of Spanish firs, gall oaks, maples and yews. A miraculous forest that grew back thanks to human intervention.