tierra pura pioneering project to promote spain as a reference for nature-based solutions

During the 2021-2022 planting season, the Foundation Tierra Pura, executed the ground work for the restoration of an area of 133 hectares in the municipality of Grandas de Salime (Asturias).

The project Tierra Pura Grandas de Salime, is part of Motor Verde Asturias, led by the Principality of Asturias, Fundación Repsol and Grupo Sylvestris.

The main objective of the project is to mitigate climate change through large-scale forest restoration, generating additional benefits for biodiversity and promoting voluntary offsetting of emissions throughout the country.

To carry out the plantations, local people were hired, with special attention to vulnerable groups, creating local and inclusive employment.

The project promotes a social, green and sustainable economy in the long term, with a transformative effect on the rural environment.

It is a differential project, which seeks to generate a triple positive impact: environmental, restoring natural areas and contributing to action against climate change; social, creating local and inclusive employment; and economic, betting on a green investment for the future, boosting the business fabric in rural areas.

Restoration work began in autumn 2021 in the southwestern area of Asturias, with the planting of about 165,000 trees of native species in about 135 hectares belonging to the municipality of Grandas de Salime, razed by two fires in 2017. The intervention, in addition to capturing 55,000 tons of CO2 within 50 years, will recover the native forest, protect the soil, contribute to improve biodiversity and recover heritage elements of high cultural value.

Twenty-five local workers will be hired for the plantations, 70% of whom belong to vulnerable groups, thus helping to fix the population in the region.

The intervention will reduce the high erosion of the steep slope above the Salime reservoir.
This is a common area for brown bears and Iberian wolves.

In addition, the project will implement training programs and promote innovation and technological development in the forestry sector. The aim is to position Spain as a quality, competitive and pioneering carbon sink in Europe.

During the autumn of 2022, the project will be registered in the Registry of Absorption Projects of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge. This will allow the inclusion of around 10,000 tons of CO2 available for offsetting emissions from national organizations.

Tierra Pura will establish a series of criteria and requirements to ensure that organizations wishing to acquire the tons available from this project have a real and credible commitment to emissions neutrality and the improvement of national ecosystems.