Ancient Olive Trees Key to Protecting Region’s Ecology and Economy

Climate change requires rethinking agricultural practices; and a collaboration between Certified Origins and one of Catalonia, Spain’s oldest environmental NGOs is a model for enhancing conservation efforts and sustainable practices in the olive oil industry.

Sponsored Content | / This article is sponsored by Certified Origins | By Marta Sas Castilleja | Published 2 months ago | About a 5 minute read

Image: Lucía Fabó

One of the most impressive agricultural landscapes in the world lies in Terres de l’Ebre in Catalonia, Spain — where thousand-year-old, monumental olive trees cluster along the Sénia River. These olive trees are so revered that the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization declared them a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System in 2018; they reflect the region's agricultural history and its strong commitment to sustainable land-management practices.

Heritage olive groves under threat

Despite their significance, some wish to uproot and trade the region’s olive trees to flaunt in public spaces and private gardens worldwide. This is possible due to the trees’ insufficient legal protection, which would otherwise guarantee their survival and conservation.

If not entirely uprooted, the tree’s branches and roots are cut off — leaving them with the bare minimum to survive. Wounded, they seldom survive these amputations; in fact, the trees that are traded barely make it through transport due to injuries they sustain during uprooting. The beautiful ecosystems that flourish alongside the trees are also disrupted in the wake of this destructive, but lucrative, trade.

GEPEC’s conservation efforts

But one entity understands this threat to Catalonia’s heritage and is campaigning to protect it.

Founded in 1985, the Group of Study and Protection of the Catalan Ecosystem – Ecologists of Catalonia (GEPEC – EdC) — one of the oldest environmental NGOs in Catalonia — is dedicated to the conservation, research, dissemination and defense of the region’s biodiversity.

GEPEC concentrates its key efforts in Camp de Tarragona and Terres de l’Ebre*,* where they have been fighting to defend and conserve ancient olive trees and the surrounding lands in which they’re rooted for years; today, they have about 1,150 olive trees under their protection.

A campaign to protect monumental olive trees

The campaign began in 2005, when GEPEC compiled an inventory of Montsià’s monumental olive trees to locate, quantify and analyze the state of the region’s conservation efforts. This inventory was crucial: GEPEC not only counted the centenary olive trees but also quantified the natural heritage of the area, providing vital data required for legal protection.

The campaign denounces the extraction of olive trees and promotes their protection, something that requires collaboration between all local stakeholders, as well as an agreement to not promote the sale or distribution of monumental olive trees — instead, establishing laws and publishing articles that call for their conservation and protection.

With GEPEC’s support, the Catalan Parliament passed a law protecting monumental olive trees (at least 3.5 meters wide, 1.3 meters tall); however, smaller olive trees are still at risk — as is the surrounding landscape.

GEPEC prioritizes engaging more farmers through land-custody agreements and advice on biodiversity conservation and organic practices, rather than production targets. Although not their main goal, boosting profitable olive oil production is recognized as beneficial for conservation efforts. To date, GEPEC has acquired 28.11 hectares through leasing and 74 hectares more through land-custody agreements to protect areas rich in monumental olive trees and heritage elements.

But more needs to be done, and the campaign calls for more action.

Protecting the land

In addition to fighting for the protection of olive trees, the GEPEC campaign seeks to secure monumental olive tree groves to create “the reserve of monumental olive trees of Terres de l’Ebre.” Acquiring the groves of value — that are endangered or strategically located — assures the conservation of the trees, the land and its biodiversity.

Currently, the campaign boasts monumental olive groves in production in the municipalities of Ulldecona and Santa Bàrbara and other estates with fostering contracts in the municipalities of Masdenverge and Godall. Monumental olive trees occupy about 35 percent of the owned hectares; among those is the oldest olive tree on the Iberian Peninsula — the Farga de l'Arion — a monumental specimen more than 1,700 years old and more than 8 meters in circumference.

Restoration of the area and protection of the monumental olive trees will help revitalize the area’s economy, too, and falls under the campaign’s overarching goals. GEPEC aims to promote a responsible way of growing olive trees and producing olive oil — ultimately, proposing a transition of the area from conventional to ecological and setting organic farming standards to produce oil sustainably.

GEPEC also promotes biodiversity and sustainable agriculture through promotional and educational outreach materials. Its mission is to attract eco-tourists and raise awareness about the significance of the olive groves and promote the project through didactical programs in schools.

Collaborating with Certified Origins for sustainable development

Certified Origins, a company specializing in extra virgin olive oil and private-label food programs, has embraced GEPEC's olive tree conservation project as a key sustainability initiative. With an office just five minutes from GEPEC in Reus, Certified Origins has committed to engage continuously with the project — beyond simple donations.

This proximity allows Certified Origins to immerse itself in GEPEC's approach, which is to connect directly with farmers and gain hands-on experience with the ancient olive trees that are fundamental to their business.

The collaboration brings together two complementary perspectives — GEPEC's expertise in biodiversity conservation and Certified Origins' manufacturing and market operation knowledge — enabling a valuable exchange of ideas between an environmental organization and a commercial entity.

For Certified Origins, whose team includes many Catalonia natives, this project not only represents a way to support their cultural heritage but is also one of the missing puzzle pieces in the struggle to adapt to the ever-changing climate. Climate change necessitates rethinking agricultural practices, and this collaboration stands as a model for enhancing conservation efforts and sustainable practices in the olive oil industry.