From the Muga Valley, one of the largest watershed regeneration projects we know, we talk with Stef van Dongen, founder of The Pioneers of Our Time about nature credits, taking into consideration water, carbon biodiversity, regenerative forest management, but most importantly, how to build trust again between communities living in the valley, trust between people living there, but also with local and regional authority.

This is a region which if there isn’t a strong series of interventions over the next years, most likely will be hit by a massive forest fire, which will burn all the way to Basque country. And slowly that sense of urgency is landing. What is needed is a lot of experiments and then a lot of public private partnerships, which is easier said than done, but it seems to be going really fast in this landscape, and we try to find out why.

We talk about why the small water cycle restoration space is still not really landing with people, policy makers, investors, entrepreneurs, and what to do about it.

Sitting at the fireplace we trace how neighbors who barely spoke began phoning across ridgelines, how tourism money are flowing uphill to fund forest work, and how a dense, abandoned woodland started opening into a living mosaic that holds water, softens fire, and invites wildlife back. 

We walk through the mechanics of a cost-based climate credit that pays for what a hectare truly needs over 15 years measured across water, carbon, biodiversity, and fire safety. It’s a public–private framework that the regional government helps certify: pilots sold out, and a thousand credits are now in sight as the valley scales from dozens to thousands of hectares, all within a 40,000-hectare fire prevention plan designed to be holistic from day one.

WATERSHED GOVERNANCE AND SCALING UP

The conversation goes deeper into governance and replication. How do you manage a watershed you don’t own? Start with trust, map the layers- forest, water, biodiversity, agriculture, economy- and build a campus where scientists, foresters, and investors can monitor, learn, and iterate. We compare desalination’s billion-euro price tags to the cheaper, cleaner gains from soil sponge restoration. We talk predators and grazers, “green deserts” and beavers, and the hard pivot from carbon-speak to water security, a narrative that resonates across politics because everyone needs a shower, a harvest, and a forest that won’t explode each summer.

The discussion outlines a visionary approach to managing the landscape through a new governance model based on watershed boundaries rather than political ones. This involves creating collaborative systems between public, private, and civil society actors to enable work at the necessary scale for ecological and climate impact.

“We’re working towards a bioregional governance system, so having the watershed as basically a unit of governance which then will be the foundation for society and economy and ecology.” – Stef van Dongen

WATER AS THE KEY TO CLIMATE RESILIENCE

The narrative positions water security as the central, tangible manifestation of the climate crisis in the region, making it a powerful and apolitical focal point for action. Restoring the watershed’s natural water cycles is framed as the core strategy for building resilience against drought, fire, and social instability.

“Water is the manifestation of the climate crisis we have, especially in the Mediterranean. What do you see? Forest fires and floods. Where do functional watersheds come from? Because the sponge where the forest is drying out and turns into fire.” – Stef van Dongen

THE POWER OF COMMUNITY FESTIVALS

The Muga local festival has evolved into a cross-village event, serving as a catalyst for connection and community engagement. It demonstrates how such gatherings rebuild social fabric and empower residents to advocate for their needs.

“Yesterday there was a hunter here, and he said he got a phone call from Tarara, which is two villages upstream from the Muga, and he was really surprised […] They asked specific questions, and he said that this is because of the festival. Because now the festival is growing into a festival of three villages, […] and people start to speak with each other andstart relating to each other.” – Stef van Dongen

BUILDING TRUST IN THE MUGA VALLEY

A foundational element of the work in the valley has been intentionally developing trust and relationships among villagers and between villages, where previously there was little communication or cooperation. This deliberate effort is seen as essential for any long-term, collective action.

“We’ve been investing a lot of time and effort and also resources in building trust and relationships between people and identifying what are really the hopes and the wishes, but also the fears of people.” – Stef van Dongen

OTHER POINTS DISCUSSED

Koen and Stef also talked about:

• Wildlife reintroduction
• Nature credit mechanisms
• Agricultural challenges and tensions

LINKS:

• Pioneers of our time

LINKED INTERVIEWS:

• Stef van Dongen – Regenerating a 100.000HA watershed in Spain while preventing the forest from burning and people from burnouts
• Water Cycle series

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The above references an opinion and is for information and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Seek a duly licensed professional for investment advice.