Living Formentera — Urban Biodiversity Credits for Island-Wide Ecosystem Restoration (Spain)

Formentera, the smallest inhabited island in Spain's Balearics, has under 10% urban tree cover and retains only about 42% of its original vegetation, leaving it exposed to summer heat and water scarcity.
Living Formentera, unveiled in 2025 at Sala Baleària in Formentera's port, is led by Fundació Baleària and the Nature & People Foundation, coordinated by EverTree with AI-based satellite mapping from Agforest, legal support from Mishcon de Reya and local delivery through IbizaPreservation, with funding channelled via Conservation Collective and backing from the Balearic and Formentera governments; participatory resident workshops began in 2024. It is the first pilot in the Balearic Islands of Urban Biodiversity Credits (UBCs), built on the Urban Biodiversity Standard developed by ecologists at the University of Seville, intended to let private investment monetise ecosystem services such as cooling, water regulation and pollution absorption.
The plan's published targets are to plant 475,000 native trees and expand vegetation by 1,000 hectares, lifting green coverage by 22% over 20 years and cutting island temperatures by at least 1°C (up to 3°C in developed areas). Its financial model projects that €20 million invested in vegetation could generate roughly €90 million a year in ecosystem-service value once mature — described as a return of over €50 per euro invested — though these are modelled projections tied to the Urban Biodiversity Standard's own valuation method, not yet independently audited outcomes.
As a pilot only launched in 2024-2025, Living Formentera has no multi-year measured results yet: its planting, credit issuance and the underlying valuation methodology all remain to be tested and independently verified at scale.

Read the full analysis: https://www.ibiza-spotlight.com/magazine/2025/05/formentera-unveils-pioneering-biodiversity-plan