Estado proyecto 27: On going

The SocialForest project addresses the growing environmental pressures affecting forest territories in the SUDOE area and their impact on forest management, agroforestry systems and rural socio-economic development, exacerbated by rural abandonment and the lack of active management. With the aim of strengthening adaptation to climate change in Spain, France and Portugal, the project develops a Transnational Forest Strategy tested through seven pilot actions based on transnational cooperation and innovative methodologies. A key element of the approach is co-creation, implemented through a participatory and inclusive methodology involving public authorities, the economic sector, academia and civil society, enabling the design of viable and socially acceptable adaptation strategies structured around the pillars of resilience, resistance and transition, and translated into priority actions and operational tools for forest managers and local actors.

The European SocialForest project has organised technical workshops in Spain, France and Portugal to bring together experts and local stakeholders with the aim of adapting forest management in the SUDOE area to the challenges of climate change. Based on a shared diagnosis of issues such as drought, rural abandonment and loss of profitability, participants defined priority objectives and assessed management measures aimed at improving ecosystem services and the resilience of different forest habitats. These conclusions will serve as the basis for a practical tool to support local managers in making coherent decisions aligned with public policies.

Mediterranean forests in the SUDOE area are facing an increase in droughts associated with climate change, threatening their stability and the ecosystem services they provide. A temporal assessment focusing on representative forest stands in south-western Europe analyses their resilience to these events using NDVI time series and environmental factors such as altitude, aspect, slope and forest management. The results show that adaptive forest management significantly improves post-drought recovery capacity, highlighting its key role in a context of growing climatic stress.

These actions are helping good practices expand beyond the pilot sites, generating networks of knowledge and cooperation among regions facing similar challenges