On the 25th of August Montis has signed an agreement with a private landowner, for the management of 2.3 ha of land in Valadares, São Pedro do Sul, Portugal.

The agreement will last for 10 years and will allow a conservation-based management favouring natural processes. 

This is the first agreement Montis signs with a family, which therefore is a strong contribution to the pilot action (A.06). The motivations behind the agreement are mainly related to the lack of resources to manage the property and the occurrence of forest fires in the area. The owners used this plot for the production of wood for pulp (eucalyptus plantations), and the propriety burnt down in October 2017 during a wild forest fire. 

Montis will be testing the crowdsourcing tools on this property within LIFE ELCN, and management actions will be focusing on boosting natural regeneration and providing a gradual convertion from the production area to a native forest.