The Repsol Foundation and Grupo Sylvestris launched a new reforestation and carbon sequestration project in Barranco de Madriros, in the municipality of Monchique, Faro district. This is the second project of the partnership to be registered and validated on the Portuguese Voluntary Carbon Market platform, five months after the first project carried out in Sabugal with 18.83 hectares. The project falls under the new afforestation methodology and is part of the Motor Verde +Floresta program.
The Monchique project covers an area of 13.28 hectares and estimates the removal of approximately 1,911 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent over 40 years, corresponding to an average of 144 tonnes per hectare. The initial estimate of carbon credits was calculated based on technical criteria of prudence, additionality and permanence, with the removed carbon to remain securely stored for at least four decades.
Beyond carbon capture, the initiative aims to transform non-wooded land into new forest patches, using species such as maritime pine and strawberry tree. The benefits identified include soil protection against erosion, strengthening landscape resilience and reducing the risk of wildfires in a vulnerable area, combining forest restoration, carbon sequestration and soil stabilization.
The registration of Barranco de Madriros positions the Repsol Foundation and Grupo Sylvestris as pioneering entities in the Voluntary Carbon Market in Portugal, highlighting that forest restoration also contributes to biodiversity, soil and water protection, landscape valorization and territorial resilience, with potential to boost local economic activity in rural areas. This approach reflects the actions that the companies have been developing in Portugal and Spain.
