Over 5,000 People Engaged, Concrete Actions, and New Prospects for 2025

3 minutes

A year and a half since the launch of the LIFE ClimatePositive project, we are excited to share our progress. Since 2022, over 5,000 people have participated in our activities, contributing to developing a more resilient and sustainable forest management model.

Why LIFE ClimatePositive?

Italy is characterized by high land fragmentation, leading to the abandonment of many forests and making them more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

For this reason, the main objectives of the LIFE ClimatePositive project are to:

  • Promote forest associationism as an effective tool to consolidate fragmented forest areas, combat abandonment, and encourage collective and sustainable management.
  • Increase the planned and responsibly managed forest area to reduce forest vulnerability and enhance climate change mitigation effects.
  • Develop innovative business models that enable small forest owners to access financing related to carbon compensation and ecosystem services.
  • Support the development of a National Carbon Code for the voluntary carbon market, defining a methodology for carbon and ecosystem service calculation aligned with the European regulatory framework.

2024 Results: Key Achievements

In the past year, the project has achieved significant results:

  • Over 2,800 people engaged in 40 events, including field demonstration days, study visits, training sessions, and online and in-person dissemination events.
  • SMART Associations Toolkit: A practical 10-step guide to starting and managing SMART forest associations, available in digital format and as a printable PDF at https://www.lifeclimatepositive.it/toolkit/.
  • Sustainable forest management interventions were implemented in 12 pilot areas (Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, Tuscany, Molise) to mitigate climate change and enhance ecosystem services.
  • Technical and territorial support: A help desk for land associations has been launched in Lombardy, offering technical, legal, and fiscal assistance, along with a series of legal support video resources.
  • Online educational and outreach materials: Informative video clips, webinars, reports, and in-depth studies on forest associationism, available on the project website.

Outlook for 2025: Challenges and Opportunities

2025 will be crucial, with several initiatives planned to strengthen responsible forest management and promote sustainability. Upcoming activities include:

  • Forest Association Contest: A competition to support the creation of ten new SMART forest associations in Italy.
  • Thematic podcasts: Six episodes covering forest management, Nature-based Solutions, forest associationism, and success stories.
  • Advanced training tools to support creating and maintaining new forest associations are free on the project website.
  • Webinars on public measures supporting forest associations.
  • An interactive digital map of all FSC-certified forest areas in Italy, listing certified ecosystem services and providing guidance for private investors interested in enhancing certified ecosystem services.
  • Development of the Forest Carbon Code: Defining new public measures to reward responsible forest management.

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LIFE ClimatePositive is a project co-financed by the European Union’s LIFE Program and implemented in collaboration with ETIFOR, TESAF, FSC Italy, Comune di Luvinate, CREA, Regione Lombardia, Walden, Eticae, and ERSAF.