WATCH LIVE! SER Europe together with SER and WWF, have recently developed Standards for Mediterranean Forest Restoration projects.  The Standards will be officially presented at the premises of the Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition, which has also collaborated in their development.

The event, in Spanish, will take place on Wednesday, June 19, 2024, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (CEST) at MITERD auditorium (Sala Domingo Jiménez Beltrán; Plaza San Juan de la Cruz, 10, Madrid).

During the event, representatives of public and private organisations and NGOs will address the opportunities to use the standards, under the new perspectives and scenarios for ecological restoration in Spain. The possibility of the recognition of these Standards under existing forest certification systems will also be discussed.

You can sign up for the event, live or streaming, HERE

In 2023, SER, SER-Europe, and WWF Spain revised the standards for certifying Mediterranean Forest Restoration projects in Spain. This update includes practical guidelines and tools, developed and tested with the support of the Audemars-Watkins Foundation over the past three years. SER and WWF have collaborated to integrate their standards systems, resulting in the publication of version 3.0 in January 2022, and the updated version 4.0 in November 2023. This new version includes additional sections and annexes, providing a comprehensive guide for forest restoration in the Mediterranean region.

Download the WWF-SER Standards Certification Forest Restoration (EN version) and WWF-SER Estandares Certificacion Restauracion Forestal (versión Castellano)  .

Spain has indicated intentions, that when the European Nature Restoration Law passes, these Standards will be integrated in the National Restoration Plan, aligning with the CBD Global Biodiversity Framework. The standards will guide professionals, staff, managers, and regulators in restoring damaged forests, enhancing biodiversity, and improving ecosystem services in Spain.

These Standards provide clear instructions for planning, implementing, monitoring, and managing restoration projects, encouraging stakeholder involvement and considering social and cultural needs. They are based on the SER Principles and International Standards for Ecological Restoration and the WWF Standards for certifying forest restoration projects.

The updated Standards also include information on the importance of forest restoration in both global and European contexts and details on certification schemes. This comprehensive approach aims to make restoration projects more effective, guiding organizations, businesses, individuals, and policymakers in creating and supporting successful restoration initiatives.

The project to revise the Standards was funded by Audemars-Watkins Foundation for the last three years. Across the organisational involvement in the project, collaborating entities include the Valencian Regional Government, VAERSA, TRAGSA, LAFARGE HOLCIM ESPAÑA and the Andalusian Regional Government (who collaborated on the field tests planned and implemented to verify the applicability of the standards) and a broad technical working group who collaborated on the revised publication, which includes representatives from organisations such as CEAM, University of Madrid Complutense, CREAF, University of Alicant, Aragón´s Government, University of Castilla y La Mancha, CENEAM of Valsaín, University of Valladolid, and the Polytechnic University of Madrid, to name a few.