Causas de Raiz
Causas de Raiz is an independent, non-profit citizen map tracking environmental conflicts in Portugal, with over 100 documented and sourced …
Land Stewardship & Trusts
Holding land in trust for the long term: the montado agroforestry of Herdade do Freixo do Meio, Eternal Forest's thousand-year sanctuaries, and conservation charities like MONTIS and Faia Brava. Ownership as a promise to the future.
Projects in this focus
Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian – Nature and Biodiversity Protection Programme
The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation's Nature and Biodiversity Protection Programme provides core funding to eight environmental NGOs across P…
IPR — Instituto de Planeamento Regenerativo
IPR — Instituto de Planeamento Regenerativo is a Southern Portugal-based technical organisation that designs and implements regenerative ter…
Reservas da Biosfera de Portugal
Reservas da Biosfera de Portugal is a digital territorial platform that showcases Portugal's 13 UNESCO Biosphere Reserves, promoting their n…
Floradata
Floradata is a Porto-based environmental consultancy specialising in biodiversity, ecology, landscape, forestry and risk management, with 15…
NBI - Natural Business Intelligence
NBI – Natural Business Intelligence is a Portuguese consultancy specialised in biodiversity, ecosystem services and natural capital, helping…
Ocean Alive
Ocean Alive is Portugal's first cooperative dedicated to protecting the ocean. It works with coastal and fishing communities to conserve sea…
Regen Waves
Regen Waves is a non-profit movement working to regenerate the Arrábida bioregion through native “superforests”, community-led Regen Walks a…
Palombar
Palombar is a Portuguese environmental NGO founded in 2000 and based in Vimioso, Bragança. It works to conserve nature and rural heritage in…
Parque de Natureza de Noudar
Parque de Natureza de Noudar is a 151-hectare conservation and nature tourism project near Barrancos, Alentejo, created by EDIA as an enviro…
A Rocha Portugal
A Christian environmental NGO founded in 1983, A Rocha Portugal works on conservation, scientific research and environmental education from …
FAPAS – Associação Portuguesa para a Conservação da Biodiversidade
FAPAS is a long-standing Portuguese NGO for biodiversity conservation. It manages protected natural areas and runs education and advocacy pr…
OArborista
OArborista is a certified arboriculture company based in Sesimbra and Lisbon, led by the professional arborist Ruben Oliveira, who has over …
VERDE - Associação para a Conservação Integrada da Natureza
VERDE is a nature conservation association in Lousada, Portugal. It protects old-growth trees, supports biodiversity and offers carbon offse…
Faia Brava – Associação de Conservação da Natureza
Faia Brava - Associação de Conservação da Natureza is a Portuguese environmental NGO with more than 25 years of history, and a pioneer in th…
MONTIS – Associação de Conservação da Natureza
MONTIS is a Portuguese environmental NGO founded in 2014 and based in Vouzela, Viseu. It manages 313 hectares across 38 properties in centra…
Reflorestar Portugal
A non-profit NGO working on ecological regeneration, biodiverse reforestation and agroforestry across Portugal, helping communities restore …
Terra Agora
Fundação Terra Agora is a Portuguese public-interest foundation working on a land stewardship model in which donated land is permanently pro…
Eternal Forest
Eternal Forest is a long-term art and ecology project founded in 2018 by artist and poet Evgenia Emets, working towards a global network of …
Rewilding Portugal
Rewilding Portugal is a non-profit association working to make Portugal a wilder place by restoring ecosystems and wildlife corridors, with …
Land stewardship and trusts in Portugal
Buying land is the easy part; keeping a promise about it after the buyer dies is the hard one. These organisations use ownership structures (foundations, associations, conservation charities) to hold ground beyond the lifespan of any single owner.
MONTIS manages several hundred hectares of restored woodland near Vouzela. Faia Brava was the first privately protected area in the country. Fundação Terra Agora works on a stewardship model out of Tomar, FAPAS and A Rocha manage protected land in the north and the Algarve, and Herdade do Freixo do Meio holds its montado under a protective statute.
Most accept donations of land as well as money, and several take on parcels nobody else wants. See also habitat restoration, rewilding and cork oak montado. Dated activities from these projects are listed in our events calendar.