Gestión agroforestal regenerativa del castaño para aumentar la captura de CO2, restaurar la biodiversidad y generar nuevas oportunidades para el medio rural
1.- Project Data Coordinator: Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (IBADER)
Type of organisation: University
Partners: España: FUNDACION CENTRO DE SERVICIOS Y PROMOCION FORESTAL Y DE SU INDUSTRIA DE CASTILLA Y LEON; UNIVERSIDADE DE SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA; COOL NATURE BIO SL; Lituania: MYKOLO ROMERIO UNIVERSITETAS
Project reference: LIFE25-CCM-ES-LIFE-CHESTNUTRAP/101294476 Duration 01/06/2026 to 31/05/2031 Total Budget: 1.796.611,00 € EU contribution: 1.077.967,00 € Project location: Galicia (ES), Castilla y León (ES), Andalucía (ES), Nafarroa (ES), Trasosmontes (PT). Project Manager USC (IBADER): Pablo RAMIL REGO
2.- Project description:
Climate change, land abandonment, and pests are threatening chestnut agroforestry systems in Southern Europe, reducing their productivity, biodiversity, and resilience. At the same time, rural communities face declining incomes and limited access to emerging carbon markets. There is an urgent need for innovative, credible, and scalable management models that combine climate mitigation, ecosystem restoration, and new economic opportunities for farmers. To tackle these challenges, LIFE CHESTNUTRAP will demonstrate regenerative management of chestnut agroforestry systems as a scalable solution for climate change mitigation, biodiversity recovery, and rural resilience. Across 104.44 ha of demonstration sites in Spain and Portugal, the project will apply adaptive silviculture, soil regeneration, and circular use of residues to increase carbon sequestration, improve nut yield and quality, and reduce wildfire risks. A digital Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) prototype, aligned with the EU Carbon Removals Certification Framework (CRCF) and ISO standards, will be validated to certify removals and enable smallholders’ participation in carbon and nature credit markets. The project will deliver at least 2,250 tCO2e sequestered in five years, issue ≥800 verified credits, raise yields by 18%, and engage ≥120 smallholders in collective carbon farming schemes. These results will provide transferable management models and MRV protocols for perennial crops, ensuring direct relevance to LIFE Climate Change Mitigation priorities (Area 6) and offering practical contributions to the EU Climate Law, CAP eco-schemes, and the EU Forest Strategy.
Natura 2000 sites ES0000051 Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche ES1120001 Ancares - Courel ES4130010 Sierra de los Ancares ES4130117 Montes Aquilanos y Sierra de Teleno ES4190033 Sierra de la Culebra
