The Forest and Climate Change Forum, Cesefor Foundation, CETEMAS Foundation, ICIFOR-INIA-CSIC, and the BISITE (University of Salamanca) and Cambium (University of Valladolid) research groups presented the results of the eco2for project after two years of work.
A comprehensive digital platform that facilitates the design, validation, registration, and monitoring of forest carbon sequestration projects and an intelligent assistant for advanced queries of the carbon credit market are among the tools promoted.
New Methodologies for the Generation of Carbon Credits
The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico, MITECO) hosted on 4 November 2025 the final conference of the eco2for project, under the title “New Methodologies for the Generation of Carbon Credits.”
The event brought together more than fifty representatives from the forestry sector, public administration, research centers and companies working in the fields of sustainability and carbon management.
During the seminar, representatives of the six organizations that make up the eco2for consortium —the Forest and Climate Change Forum, Cesefor Foundation, CETEMAS Foundation, ICIFOR-INIA-CSIC, and the research groups BISITE (University of Salamanca) and Cambium (University of Valladolid)— presented the project’s main results.
Over the two years of the project, three new Improved Forest Management (IFM) methodologies have been developed to quantify the increase of carbon stored in forests, together with their respective calculation tools. These methodologies address different management strategies, from productivity improvement and extended rotation periods to the conversion of managed areas into conservation zones.
The project has also produced biomass and carbon calculation tools for reforestation projects, capable of estimating both the carbon sequestered during the early years and the long-term absorption potential according to species, planting density, and environmental conditions.
Digitalization in the fight against climate change
Within the framework of the project, an integrated digital platform has been created for the design, validation, registration and monitoring of forest carbon-sequestration projects. The platform combines remote-sensing-based biomass models, a mobile app for field data collection, and an automated monitoring system that will enable verification of carbon absorption through objective and traceable data.
In addition, an intelligent assistant for advanced queries on the carbon credit market has been developed —a pioneering tool applying artificial-intelligence and data-analysis techniques to provide up-to-date information. This assistant allows users to perform natural-language queries, access official registries and international platforms such as Verra, Gold Standard or MITECO’s National Registry, and compare prices, project types and available credit volumes across different markets— a strategic resource for project developers, administrations and companies interested in developing or investing in forest-carbon projects. It is available at eco2for.bisite.es
Tools for climate-change adaptation
eco2for has also developed a climate-change adaptation methodology to analyze the vulnerability of forest species under different climate scenarios and to project their potential future distribution across the Iberian Peninsula, helping to plan forest management and reforestation in a more adaptive and sustainable way.
Complementarily, eco2for has defined a biodiversity and sustainability indicator system to assess qualitatively and quantitatively the ecological impact of carbon-sequestration projects.
Panel discussion on the role of forest management in decarbonization
Participants highlighted the growing importance of forest sinks in climate-neutrality strategies and the need for robust calculation, certification and traceability tools to ensure the credibility of the carbon-credit market. The potential of the voluntary carbon market was emphasized as a complementary funding source that can help make forest management economically viable. Participants also underlined the need to advance towards solid, transparent methodologies capable of demonstrating project additionality and fostering cooperation between public administrations, research centers and private companies to scale up forest-based solutions.
The event concluded with remarks from María Jesús Rodríguez de Sancho, Director-General for Biodiversity, Forests and Desertification at MITECO, who highlighted eco2for as a model project to accelerate climate action through sustainable forest management.
About the eco2for project
eco2for has been carried out by a consortium of forestry, technological and scientific organizations coordinated by the Forest and Climate Change Forum, and formed by Cesefor Foundation, CETEMAS Foundation, ICIFOR-INIA-CSIC, Cambium research group (University of Valladolid) and BISITE research group (University of Salamanca). Over two years, these institutions have worked jointly on the design of methodologies, digital tools and forestry projects that strengthen the role of forest management in climate-change mitigation.
The project has collaborated closely with the Spanish Office for Climate Change (Oficina Española de Cambio Climático, OECC), with the aim of advancing the development of improved forest-management methodologies that may, in the future, be integrated into Spain’s National Carbon Footprint Registry and help promote forest-sequestration projects nationwide.
eco2for is supported by the Fundación Biodiversidad of MITECO under Spain’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR), funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU.
