9 February 2024 — Taking the four years of work of the Laboratory as a starting point, the proposal selected by the call for grants for the promotion of the forest bioeconomy of the Fundación Biodiversidad del Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico (MITECO) is the result of the collaboration of Fundación RIA, Plataforma pola Defensa do Monte (and the common land communities of Araño, Campelo, Isorna, Leiro, O Fieitoso de Taragoña, Paradela), University of Santiago-CISPAC (HISTAGRA and UXAFORES groups), Pablo de Olavide University of Seville, Fundación Montescola and Concello de Rianxo, who join forces to launch this transformative project.

With the objectives of generating employment and economic opportunities, conserving biodiversity and preventing forest fires, over these two years, work will be carried out in the forests to reactivate abandoned areas, introduce regenerative livestock farming and use and transform resources in a sustainable way; capacities will be generated through a programme of training workshops, educational activities and environmental volunteering; assess the capacities of community land management, collective energy use, soil regeneration and carbon sequestration possibilities; and communicate the whole process so that it can serve as an inspiration to other territories and inform public policies.

Support 

The Barbanza Ecosocial Lab is supported by the Fundación Biodiversidad del Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico (MITECO) within the framework of the Plan for Recovery, Transformation and Resilience (PRTR), funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU.

A total of 144 projects were submitted to the Fundación Biodiversidad’s call for forest bioeconomy projects, of which 56 will receive the requested subsidy, with scores ranging from 66 to 83 points. The Barbanza Ecosocial Lab obtained 75 points, placing it in 16th place.

Further information

Fundación Biodiversidad del Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico (MITECO)
Resolución de la convocatoria de bieconomía forestal
Página del proyecto en la web de la Fundación Biodiversidad