INTERREG-SUDOE Flore Project: Local Flora for Ecological Restoration

The territories of the SUDOE area harbor exceptional biodiversity, but the acceleration of the consequences of global warming, together with the intensification of human activities in some cases, and the abandonment of territories associated with the depopulation process in others, are causing the degradation and fragmentation of ecosystems.

In this context, the challenge of the FLoRE project is to demonstrate the economic and organizational feasibility of large-scale implementation of a package of ecological restoration solutions based on the use of a local resource: wild and native herbaceous seeds. To achieve this, practical tools will first be designed, tailored to the current needs of the target groups (government agencies, businesses, specifiers, landowners, managers, etc.), based on lessons learned from previous projects.

Next, a network of demonstration sites will be established in environments with varying challenges to showcase different solutions (including at least three ecological restoration methods and different seed multiplication sites). Simultaneously, a participatory, multi-stakeholder process will be led to design and test new models of economic cooperation focused on user self-production of seeds or the supply of products and services to third parties according to a shared catalog. Support will also be provided to public authorities and companies wishing to incorporate local herbaceous seeds into their restoration processes, and public awareness campaigns will be organized. These planned actions will also contribute to preserving the quality of life and promoting the development of rural areas.

The consortium comprises eight partners (three in France, three in Spain, and two in Portugal). The pilot projects are located in Occitanie, Auvergne, Extremadura, Soria, Murcia, the Serra da Estrela mountain range, and on the left bank of the Guadiana River. This transnational cooperation will allow the range of proposed restoration solutions to be adapted to the regulatory frameworks of each country and the specific realities of each territory, impacting the diverse environments representative of the SUDOE region.