Line of action:

Terrestrial ecosystems

Status:

En ejecución

Location:

Zamora y León (Castilla y León)

Geographic scope:

España

Execution date:

2026

End date:

2027

Duration:

18/02/2026 – 31/12/2027

Total budget:

1.198.100 €

Amount of aid from the Biodiversity Foundation:

718.860 €

It promotes a comprehensive model of sustainable rural development that, through the conservation of pollinators (especially the Iberian black bee), multifunctional forest management and the use of Non-Timber Forest Products (NWFP), generates bioproducts with high added value (such as organic honey, natural cosmetics or mycorrhizal mushrooms), thus contributing to the recovery of degraded ecosystems, the creation of green employment and the fixation of population in areas affected by the demographic challenge in the regions of Sierra de la Culebra (Zamora) and El Bierzo (León).

Among its specific objectives are:

• Recover pollinators (black bee) with genetic conservatory and honey habitats.
• Reforest with mycorrhizal species (rockrose/chestnut/pine) for sustainable mushroom production.
• Revitalize chestnut groves: combat pests and create derivatives (flour/preserves).
• Generate rural employment with training in beekeeping, ecotourism and the sale of bioproducts.
• Develop a scalable model of forest bioeconomy through technology transfer.

• Beekeeping and pollinators: actions for the renaturation of the Sierra de la Culebra and its foothills.
• Measures for the conservation of chestnut (Castanea sativa) for the use, transformation and marketing of chestnuts.
• Reforestation measures with mycorrhizae to improve the production of edible mushrooms of high commercial value.
• Exchange of experiences, promotion and dissemination of the project.
• Project management and coordination.

• Functional recovery of ecosystems and the local economy through the conservation of pollinators in the Sierra de la Culebra, through reforestation with native honey flora, the restoration of 50 traditional hives, the conservation of the Iberian black bee (increasing its population by 40%), the training of 30 students in beekeeping, and the creation of 15 linked local jobs.
• Productive conservation of the chestnut tree (Castanea sativa) as a driver of rural bioeconomy in the Sierra de la Culebra and El Bierzo, with a diagnosis of the chestnut groves, measures to control the pests and diseases that threaten them (reducing the incidence of pests by 50%), restoration of 20 hectares of traditional groves, and generation of short channels for the marketing and processing of the chestnut (flours, preserves, etc.), selecting resistant native varieties and training in grafting and pruning techniques, with the creation of 15 local jobs linked to the chestnut tree.
• Resilient and value-generating forest ecosystems through controlled mycorrhization, through the implementation of a pilot mycological production plan from the reforestation of 50 ha, using mycorrhizal plants for sustainable production of fungal species of high commercial value, such as Boletus edulis for Rockrose (Cistus ladanifer) and Chestnut (Castanea sativa), and Lactarius deliciosus and Suillus luteus for Pine (Pinus pinaster and Pinus sylvestris), based on controlled inoculation techniques. A 200% increase in mushroom production and 15 local jobs are expected.
• Exchanges of experiences, and conferences, practical workshops on microization and pest control, participation in agri-food fairs and events, along with informative material and establishment of a project network with a total of 120 participants and 12,000 visits to the project website.