TUI Forest Navarra Holistic environmental restoration
- Arguedas
- NAVARRA, SPAIN
- 2026
From Wildfire to Restoration:
The Story of TUI Forest Navarra
The Bardenas Reales region in Navarra, Spain, is a unique, semi-arid landscape and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, popular for hiking, cycling, photography and wildlife watching. It’s close neighbour, the nearby Sendaviva Nature Park in the adjacent municipality of Arguedas also offers high quality nature tourism. Both destinations together usually attract over 570,000 visitors annually.
In June 2022, a devastating wildfire burned nearly 2,000 hectares of these important environmental areas, including 862 hectares of forestland and shrubland, leaving them vulnerable to desertification, flooding, and ecological degradation. The fire affected 7,000 residents in three villages, destroying livelihoods, and changing the landscape into a barren terrain that no longer appeals to nature-based tourists.
TUI Forest Navarra restores 91 hectares of fire-affected forest as part of a broader 320-hectare restoration initiative in Arguedas, Navarra. It takes a future-proof approach by tackling environmental and social challenges simultaneously. Science-based reforestation combines natural forest recovery with native tree planting and water management improvements to prevent erosion and flooding. Alongside this, conservation measures for endangered species help to restore the ecosystem whilst creating sustainable economic opportunities. The initiative engages residents through employment, environmental education, and tree planting activities, whilst developing nature-based tourism experiences connecting visitors to restoration efforts.
Land Life Project: Arguedas, Navarra, Spain
The wildfire that devastated Arguedas occurred in June 2022, burning nearly 2,000 hectares of land near the Bardenas Reales Biosphere Reserve. Land Life is restoring part of this landscape through the TUI Forest Navarra project, combining native tree planting, assisted natural regeneration and water management measures to support ecosystem recovery. Image source: Land Life.
Restoring Nature, Biodiversity and Community in Arguedas
The project improves water management through small wooden dams that reduce erosion and flooding risks, while fire-damaged trees are removed to improve soil health and reduce the likelihood of future fires. At the same time, restoration actions help protect species such as the lesser kestrel and the eagle owl by improving nesting and habitat conditions. Local communities are directly involved through employment, tree-planting activities and environmental education initiatives, while educational trails and awareness activities help visitors understand the importance of restoring landscapes after wildfires. Despite strong winds in the project area, our 97,000 tree plantation, which also uses Cocoon, has an overall health score of 75%. Land Life's approach is to halt soil degradation in Fresno and Quintanapalla and return the area to the native forest that once prevailed before the fire while creating an environment that promotes biodiversity.
Project highlight
4
Key goals
- 01
Support for natural regeneration
- 02
Native reforestation
- 03
Hydrological interventions to reduce erosion
- 04
Landscape improvement to support the ecosystem
91
Hectares planted and regenerated
Assist natural regeneration
- 01Clear-cutting
- 02Barrier construction
- 03Raft Construction
320 hectares
total project area
Who did we work with?
