The Regional Ministry of Environment, Industry, Universities and the Mar Menor presented the SocialForest project, part of the Interreg Sudoe Programme, and the LIFE Token CO2 initiative, also funded by the European Union, at the General Assembly of the Spanish Association for Forest Sustainability (PEFC Spain), held on 28 and 29 May in Comillas (Cantabria). Both initiatives complement each other and strengthen sustainable forest management, the adaptation of Mediterranean forests to climate change, and the enhancement of the ecosystem services provided by forests.
The participation of the Region of Murcia in this national forum provided an opportunity to present to key representatives of the forestry sector the results achieved to date in both projects, as well as the potential of the tools developed to improve the resilience of forest ecosystems and create new economic opportunities linked to their sustainable management.
During her speech, the Regional Secretary for Energy, Sustainability and Climate Action, María Cruz Ferreira, highlighted that sustainable forest management “is one of the most effective tools for tackling climate change, reducing wildfire risk, conserving biodiversity and ensuring that our forests continue to provide essential services to society as a whole”.
Ferreira explained that the results obtained through SocialForest are making it possible to validate, in real conditions, adaptive forest management measures capable of increasing forest resilience to drought, wildfires and other climate change-related risks. At the same time, LIFE Token CO2 is developing innovative tools to quantify and economically valorise one of the benefits generated by such management: carbon sequestration.
Complementary projects
The presentation of both projects to PEFC Spain reflects the importance of sustainable forest certification as a guarantee of transparency, traceability and credibility in carbon markets. The integration of these methodologies with recognised standards will provide greater assurances for forest owners, businesses and consumers, while also helping to prevent greenwashing practices.
Both projects share a common objective: to demonstrate that active forest management generates measurable environmental benefits and that these can be transformed into real opportunities for the sustainable development of rural areas. While SocialForest evaluates and validates forest adaptation measures in the field, LIFE Token CO2 provides tools to quantify and economically valorise ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, thereby helping to create new sources of funding for the conservation and improvement of forests.
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