Regenerant Catalunya Maps

Regenerant Catalunya Maps

Ways to contribute

Every known modality for contributing time, attention or money to regenerating Catalunya — 6 routes, 36 direct links, 11 of them to entities already mapped on this site. Part 2: funding needs of restoration initiatives →

There is no single door to regeneration in Catalunya — the field is organised as a network of hundreds of environmental, agroecological and cooperative entities, and each one opens its own way in. The closest thing to a shared front door is the Xarxa per a la Conservació de la Natura (XCN): the network of 205 conservation entities that collectively steward 41,744 hectares and publish around 1,000 volunteer actions a year. XCN splits its front door in two — voluntariatambiental.cat for time, and donantambiental.cat for money. Everything else (citizen science, land stewardship, cooperative finance, public aid) runs through the specific programme or entity. This page gathers every known modality with direct links, and flags the ones that are already mapped on this site.

Legend — what the badges mean:

01

Time — volunteering

Hands-on work: one-off actions or long-term commitments, from beach clean-ups to forest stays.

Catalunya's volunteer infrastructure is organised around the Portal de Voluntariat Ambiental, which aggregates one-off actions and long-term positions from environmental entities across the territory — filterable by duration, audience (schools, companies), citizen science, protected natural areas and wildlife recovery centres. The park volunteer tables (e.g. Terres de l'Ebre, Ports, Delta de l'Ebre) and the wildlife centres (Torreferrussa, Vallcalent, Aiguamolls de l'Empordà) run stable programmes tied to specific places. Corporate volunteering is handled explicitly by the portal and by the XCN.

  • Portal de Voluntariat Ambiental Portal

    The central volunteer marketplace: filter by duration (one-off / long-term), audience (schools, companies), citizen science, protected natural areas and wildlife centres. Contact: info@voluntariatambiental.cat.

  • XCN — Voluntariat Ambiental Portal

    XCN's own volunteer gateway into the same network of 205 entities.

  • Eixarcolant On the map

    Seed-collective cooperative; runs an annual volunteer call for its Jornada Gastronòmica de les Plantes Oblidades (120+ activities).

  • Arran de Terra On the map

    Agroecology cooperative with projects in several comarques: territorial dynamization, farmer support, research and advocacy.

  • Associació GENS On the map

    Environmental association with long-running volunteer programmes.

  • Aigua és Vida On the map

    Social and environmental platform defending public water; volunteer actions linked to water defence.

  • Cambium Permacultura On the map

    Permaculture school offering courses and hands-on volunteering.

02

Attention — citizen science & monitoring

A lighter, distributed way to contribute: observations and measurements that feed real research and management.

Citizen-science schemes turn attention into data. Most require short training but no sustained presence: you observe, photograph or measure, and the results feed monitoring programmes used by researchers and public managers. Examples run from bat acoustics and butterfly transects to river sampling and coastal bioblitzes (BioMARató). Several are hosted or driven by entities already mapped on this site. Cetacean photo-identification outings (Associació Cetàcea) are a sea-going variant.

  • Natusfera Platform

    The Spanish node of the global iNaturalist network, driven by CREAF (mapped on this site): photograph any species and the observations flow into GBIF.

  • Ratpenats.org — Programa de Seguiment de Ratpenats Platform

    Bat monitoring platform (Granollers Natural Sciences Museum): acoustic surveys, roost censuses, river transects, nest-boxes and advanced working groups.

  • Museu de Ciències Naturals de Granollers — citizen science Platform

    Hosts the Catalan Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (butterfly transects), the bat platform, SEMICE (small mammals) and the Liró project.

  • Projecte Rius Platform

    Volunteer river monitoring by Associació Hàbitats: sample water and riparian life; results published yearly; training and donations welcomed.

  • Observatori del Paisatge On the map

    Landscape Observatory of Catalunya: participatory landscape observation and citizen initiatives feeding landscape policy.

  • BioMARató Catalunya Portal

    Coastal bioblitz run by the Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC), listed every year on the volunteer portal.

03

Money — donations & philanthropy

From one-off gifts to recurring memberships, with a 15% regional income-tax deduction as the standard route.

Two parallel rails exist: the dedicated environmental donation platform (donantambiental.cat — choose a project by habitat) and direct giving to any entity registered in the Registre d'Entitats de Medi Ambient, which unlocks the 15% Catalan income-tax deduction (Llei 16/2008, art. 34). In 2024 the register recorded 76,634 donors giving €5.3M to 69 entities. Crowdfunding platforms add project-specific rounds, often with matchfunding from public bodies, and membership (socis) is the recurring-giving backbone of most entities.

  • Jo sóc donant ambiental Portal

    Donate to a specific project by habitat (terrestrial, aquatic, marine-coastal, fauna, other) via PayPal, BIZUM (code 03963) or bank transfer; 200+ entities participate.

  • XCN — Donant Ambiental Portal

    XCN's donation gateway into the same network of conservation entities.

  • Registre d'Entitats de Medi Ambient Public programme

    Official register (Decret 2/2022): check that an entity is registered — the requirement for the 15% deduction — and download the data as open data.

  • Goteo Platform

    Civic crowdfunding with donation certificates and a fiscal calculator; matchfunding convocatories such as Arrela't Alt Pirineu i Aran and Arrela't Delta de l'Ebre multiply citizen contributions with public money.

  • Xarxanet — 39 environmental projects to collaborate with Portal

    The classic curated list of NGO projects seeking support (Donant Ambiental campaign).

  • Eixarcolant — Fes-te'n soci On the map

    Recurring membership sustains the seed collective; its Singulars project raised €2.5M in a recent investment round.

  • XCN — Fes-te'n soci Portal

    Membership sustains the network and its coordination role (205 entities, 41,744 ha under stewardship).

04

Land — custody & long-term commitment

Catalunya's land-conservation mechanism: agreements, inventories and public funds to take land out of speculative use.

Land stewardship (custòdia del territori) is the main Catalan instrument for private-land conservation: an entity and a landowner sign an agreement to manage the estate for conservation, restoration or cultural value. The XCN network keeps the inventory (796 active initiatives, 41,744 ha, ~1.3% of the territory) and an interactive map. The Catalan government funds stewardship programmes and, since 2025, a €5M fund for nonprofits, municipalities and consortia to buy estates with community-interest habitats — the first acquisition (Fundació Alive, Empordà ponds) was announced in July 2026. The water agency runs 30 river-custody agreements.

05

Capital — cooperative finance & ethical banking

Align where your savings, energy bill and investments sit — the cooperative economy regenerates from inside the money system.

Regeneration needs patient capital. The Catalan solidarity economy has built its own financial layer: cooperative savings-and-loans (Coop57), a cooperative ethical bank (Fiare Banca Etica), and energy cooperatives (Som Energia) that anyone can join with a capital contribution. Public instruments exist for organisations: the ICF's Ecoverda green loans and Coop57's sector loans. Switching consumption (energy, banking, insurance) through the XES Mercat Social is the lowest-threshold form of this modality, and several impact investors mapped on this site operate from Catalunya.

  • Coop57 Cooperative finance

    Cooperative ethical finance: become a member (person or entity), put savings to work in the social economy, or request financing. New guarantee agreements with the European Investment Fund (InvestEU).

  • Fiare Banca Etica Cooperative finance

    Cooperative ethical bank: 110,000+ clients and 47,000+ socios in Spain/Italy; zero financing of fossil fuels or arms; deposits fund positive-impact projects.

  • Som Energia Cooperative finance

    Renewable energy cooperative, 87,480 socias: join with a capital contribution, switch your contract, or invest in shared generation (Generation kWh).

  • Barcelona Energia On the map

    The 100% public electricity marketer of Barcelona and its metropolitan area: switching supplier is an immediate, cost-free contribution.

  • XES — Xarxa d'Economia Solidària Portal

    The solidarity-economy network and its Mercat Social: route consumption, finance and services through ESS entities.

  • ICF — Institut Català de Finances (Ecoverda) Public programme

    Catalan public finance institute: green loans (Ecoverda, up to €5M / 20 years) and sector loans for primary, social and sustainability projects.

  • Oikocredit Funder On the map

    Impact investor mapped on this site: cooperative finance for agriculture, energy and inclusion worldwide, with a strong cooperative base.

  • Ship2B Foundation Funder On the map

    Venture philanthropy and impact acceleration for social innovation in Catalonia and Spain.

  • CEL COOP On the map

    Quality seal for cooperative local energy communities — the entry point for joining or creating one.

06

Organizations & companies

Corporate volunteering, sponsorship, procurement and tax-efficient giving — the institutional routes.

Companies can register volunteering days through the same volunteer portal — its "companies" filter is explicit — make tax-efficient donations under Llei 49/2002 (corporate income tax, on top of the regional regime), or sponsor events and programmes. The XCN maintains a dedicated companies gateway. Institutions can multiply citizen donations through Goteo's matchfunding convocatories, and public bodies have their own aid lines (custody grants, the finques fund, river-custody grants).

The tax route

If you are a tax resident in Catalunya, donations to entities registered in the Registre d'Entitats de Medi Ambient are 15% deductible on the regional income tax (Llei 16/2008, art. 34; cap of 5% of the tax quota), on top of any state-level deduction under Llei 49/2002. A Catalan patronage law currently in the legislative pipeline could raise these limits — micro-donations up to €250 could become up to 95% deductible. Goteo issues donation certificates and provides a fiscal calculator for its campaigns.

How to choose

Match the modality to your time horizon, your assets and your appetite. A practical rule of thumb:

A free afternoon

Filter 'one-off activities' on the volunteer portal — beach clean-ups, planting days — or open Natusfera and contribute from anywhere.

An ongoing commitment

Long-term volunteering in a protected area or wildlife centre, or become a member (soci) of an entity or cooperative.

You prefer observation to shovels

Citizen science: bats, butterflies, rivers, species photography — short training, no fixed schedule.

Money, one-off or recurring

One-off: donantambiental.cat or a crowdfunding round (check the 15% deduction first). Recurring: membership of an entity or cooperative.

You own or manage land

Sign a stewardship agreement with a custody entity in the XCN network, or work with entities using the finques purchase fund.

You are an organization or company

Corporate volunteering, matchfunding, ICF or Coop57 financing, and EU programmes (LIFE, Horizon Europe) for larger restoration projects.

Part 2

Part 2 — Funding needs of restoration initiatives

This section maps the money side of ecological restoration in Catalunya: what is being funded, what is asking for support right now, and where the visible gaps are. Figures come from the sources cited on each card and were verified on 2026-08-11; restoration asks change quickly, so treat this as a dated snapshot. Part 1 above explains the channels (time, attention, money, land, capital) — Part 2 points those channels at specific initiatives.

Public programmes in motion

The largest money in Catalan restoration is public. These are the main programmes running now — the channels to support them are political (citizen pressure, procurement, votes) rather than donations.

In motion

Protected-area grants (Natura 2000)

Departament de Territori, Habitatge i Transició Ecològica

Territory 35 protected natural areas, all of Catalunya

Money ~€10M to 31 environmental entities (2024–2027); regional tranches: €2.4M Lleida, €1.4M Tarragona

The main public mechanism funding NGOs to manage and restore protected spaces.

Departament de Territori — Medi Ambient →
In motion

Fluvial restoration & river custody

Agència Catalana de l'Aigua (ACA)

Territory Internal basins; 30 river-custody agreements

Money Grant lines for riparian entities: €642k (2019), €1.15M + €908k (2020 calls), €150k wetlands

Connectivity works (70 km since 2020), riparian restoration, LIFE Alnus, and invasive-species control.

ACA — fluvial restoration overview →
In motion

Marine ecosystems restoration plan

Generalitat de Catalunya (new programme)

Territory Costa Brava, 4 key habitats

Money >€3M; sampling already underway

Evolves from passive restoration (reducing pressures) to active actions such as macroalgae and seagrass plantings.

Departament de Territori — Medi Ambient →
In motion

Fincas purchase fund (land for conservation)

Generalitat de Catalunya

Territory Estates with community-interest habitats

Money €5M (2025)

Lets nonprofits, municipalities and consortia buy land — on condition of conservation or restoration work. First acquisition: Fundació Alive, Empordà ponds (July 2026).

Custòdia del territori — Gencat →

Entity-led asks you can fund today

The most direct way to put money into a specific restoration project. These asks are live on the platforms listed; each card gives the channel and status.

Open ask

L'Aube — the white goat of Rasquera & agroforestry spaces

Associació L'Aube

Territory Terres de l'Ebre

Featured campaign on the environmental donation platform: defends the white goat of Rasquera and the agroforestry spaces of the Ebre lands.

donantambiental.cat — donate →
Open ask

NatMont — Montnegre & Tordera conservation fund

NatMont

Territory Massís del Montnegre / Tordera basin

Patrimonial fund endowing the conservation of natural spaces in the Montnegre massif and the Tordera basin.

donantambiental.cat — donate →
Open ask

Acció al riu Anoia — a clean, living river

Local entities of the Anoia basin

Territory Anoia river

Featured campaign for the restoration and defence of the Anoia river.

donantambiental.cat — donate →
Open ask

Arrela't Delta de l'Ebre

Goteo matchfunding convocatòria

Territory Delta de l'Ebre

Matchfunding round that doubles citizen donations with public money for rooted projects in the Ebre delta.

goteo.org — Arrela't →
Funded

Arrela't Alt Pirineu i Aran

Goteo + comarcal councils of Alt Pirineu i Aran

Territory Alt Pirineu i Aran

2024 edition: €24k of matchfunding, 6 projects, 100% success — the reference model for territorial crowdfunding in Catalunya.

goteo.org — Arrela't channel →
In motion

Empordà ponds restoration finca

Fundació Alive

Territory Alt Empordà

First acquisition under the fincas fund (July 2026); the restoration works phase is the next ask to follow.

XCN — news →
Open ask

River monitoring — Projecte Rius

Associació Hàbitats

Territory All Catalan basins

Volunteer river sampling that feeds yearly ecological results; funded by donations and institutional support.

projecterius.cat — donate →
Funded

Singulars — rural food-system round

Eixarcolant

Territory Catalunya (regional)

Collective investment round closed at €2.5M (target €2M) — an example of a completed ask; membership sustains the ongoing work.

eixarcolant.cat — membership →

Where the gaps are

What the numbers suggest is missing — the structural gaps behind the individual asks.

In motion

Custody covers 1.3% of the territory

XCN inventory (2025 edition)

Territory 796 active initiatives, 41,744 ha

Relative to the territory and to accumulated pressures (drought, fire, fragmentation), stewardship coverage remains thin — the inventory itself is the tool to size the gap.

XCN — land stewardship →
In motion

Citizen donations are an order of magnitude below public programmes

Registre d'Entitats de Medi Ambient (2024 data)

Territory Catalunya

Money €5.3M donated by 76,634 donors in 2024

Against €10M+ of public grants for protected areas alone, recurring giving is the underused lever — membership of an entity multiplies the sector's predictability.

Registre d'Entitats de Medi Ambient →
In motion

Rivers need more public investment

XCN citizen campaign (22 July 2026)

Territory Catalan rivers

Citizen organisations publicly demand more public investment to protect and conserve rivers — the political channel for the fluvial tier.

XCN — news →
In motion

Private finance for nature restoration is an open frontier

XCN at European meeting on private financing (July 2026)

Territory Europe / Catalunya

Blended and private instruments for restoration are being designed at European level; Catalunya's stewardship network is positioning itself — early territory for capital in Part 1.

XCN — news →
In motion

No shared pipeline for restoration funding asks

ReFi BCN operating system

Territory Catalunya

Individual asks live on entity pages and platforms. ReFi BCN tracks an internal funding pipeline (LIFE, Horizon Europe, Gitcoin rounds and more) and can connect grant-seeking entities — this map is a first public attempt at making the asks visible.

ReFi BCN →

Grant-seeking? The ReFi BCN operating system maintains an internal pipeline of funding opportunities for entities (LIFE, Horizon Europe, Gitcoin, local grants). This page is a dated snapshot — asks change weekly.

Method and provenance

This page was drafted from a research file on ecological restoration and socio-environmental contribution in Catalunya (2026-08-11) and from the entity registry behind this map (ReFi BCN CRM). Every link was verified on 2026-08-11; where a domain could not be reached (e.g. the Associació Cetàcea site), the entity is mentioned in prose but not linked. Entity websites marked "On the map" come from the CRM records shown in the organizations directory. Part 2 is a dated snapshot of funding needs — asks change weekly, so each card carries a status and a source.

Sources — Part 1 (contribution modalities)

Sources — Part 2 (funding needs)