Forests in soria are consolidated as shield against climate change

• The LIFE Soria ForestAdapt Project, coordinated by Global Nature Fundation, will be developed with the co-financing of the European Union through its LIFE program and with the support of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, through the Biodiversity Foundation.
• For more than three years, a team of experts from different areas will work in the field with an analysis tool capable of guiding decision-making for adaptive forest management.

The great benefits of forests in the absorption of carbon dioxide circulating in the atmosphere are well known, but not so much their role in water cycles by increasing humidity, in protecting the soil against erosion, in harbouring great biodiversity or in their function as mitigators of climate change. These benefits are linked to good forest management, and this is where Soria is getting more and more support to consolidate its forests as shields against climate change. The first big bet came from Europe, which approved the LIFE Soria ForestAdapt project coordinated by Global Nature Fundation, so that, for four years, a team of experts from various areas will work in the field. Now, this project also has the support of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, through the Biodiversity Foundation.

This area was chosen because it is home to the largest forest area in Spain and is a historical reference in forest management. In fact, the region of Castile and Leon has the largest forest heritage in Spain with more than 4.8 million hectares, while Soria, for its part, concentrates 13% of the region's forest area. The result of this project aims to make the province a pioneer as a model to be replicated in other areas of Spanish and European territory.

Specifically, work will be carried out on more than 36,000 hectares of public and private forests, directly benefiting more than 200,000 hectares of forests in Soria in the medium term. The work will also be carried out on private land susceptible to reforestation programs.

The Life Soria ForestAdapt project

The project has a total budget of 1.5 million euros and a four-year implementation period. Global Nature Fundation is coordinating the project in collaboration with the "Fundación Centro de Servicios y Promoción Forestal y de su Industria de Castilla y León" (Cesefor), the "Fundación Privada Empresa y Clima" (FEC), the Forest Stewardship Council in Spain (FSC Spain), the "Asociación para la Certificación Española Forestal" (PEFC Spain), the University of Valladolid (UVa) and the "Fundación General de la Universidad de Valladolid" (FUNGE).