Building climate resilience in south-eastern Spain through the ‘Four Returns’ Framework

The AlVeAl association promotes the socio-economic and environmental revitalisation of the plateau in south-eastern Spain (Granada, Almería, Murcia), a world-leading region for organic and rain-fed almond farming. Founded in 2015 by experts in agriculture, pastoralism, entrepreneurship and research, the association manages over 16,500 hectares of organic and regenerative land, with more than 450 members. In collaboration with Commonland, it applies the ‘Four Returns’ framework to combat desertification, rural depopulation and the loss of biodiversity. The initiative focuses on three areas: natural (ecosystem restoration), economic (sustainable production) and social (restoring hope). By 2021, 137 hectares had been restored, involving 140,000 plants, 204,000 seeds, 60 km of hedgerows and 109 monitoring stations. A green ecological corridor links the restored areas. The restoration plan is expected to last 20 years. For further details, please see the press pack: https://alveal.es/PREN/SA.