ProSustentia accompanied 360 Conservación Patagonia in the validation audit of the Pewma Patagonia Carbon Forestry Project under Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), currently listed in the Verra Registry with ID 5764.
The Pewma Patagonia project functionally recovers degraded lands in the Patagonian steppe through a sustainably managed forestation strategy. Its design combines non-commercial pine plantations in degraded steppe areas with the restoration and enrichment of native forest relicts, applying an innovative approach to these ecosystems. Experts from INBIOP, INBIES and INTA provide the technical support and background necessary for this initiative.
The project has the technical support of a team of highly experienced experts from the Instituto de Biociencias de la Patagonia (INBIOP), Instituto de Biotecnología Esquel (INBIES), the Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), and the Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), and the validation audit began with the field visit carried out between December 9 and 12, 2025, constituting the first stage of the validation process under the VCS standard. This stage is part of a broader audit process, which continues with the documentary review and the corresponding technical analysis, and is carried out by the AENOR audit team.
During these days, technical tours and face-to-face and virtual interviews were conducted with key stakeholders in the territory, in the towns of Esquel and Río Pico, as well as in the Las Vertientes field, where project activities are being carried out. The institutions that collaborated with the design of the project were interviewed, as well as local authorities such as the Chubut Forestry Directorate, the Río Pico Production Directorate and the Río Pico Forestry Secretariat. as well as interviews to neighbors and local referents.
Throughout the visit, environmental, social and governance aspects of the project were evaluated, including the design of forestry activities, the definition of strata and permanent monitoring plots, environmental and social safeguards, and the process of local stakeholder involvement, consistent with the documentation submitted to the VCS standard and the information publicly available in the Verra Registry.
ProSustentia celebrates the beginning of this key stage and continues to accompany 360 Conservación Patagonia in the development of a project that seeks to generate high integrity carbon removals, restore degraded ecosystems in Patagonia and strengthen the link with local communities, under the highest international standards.
