Portugal's oldest nature reserve burns again after nine years

The Vouzela wildfire, now considered the largest of 2026 in Portugal, swept through the Cambarinho Botanical Reserve, less than a decade after the 2017 fire that also destroyed it. The reserve, created in 1971 and home to one of Portugal's most important rhododendron populations, is the country's oldest protected area. Conservation groups LPN and the Portuguese Botanical Society are demanding an independent assessment of the damage, disclosure of unfinished post-2017 measures, and a buffer zone separating eucalyptus plantations from the reserve. Experts believe the rhododendron will resprout, but warn repeated fires are eroding the ecosystem's resilience and favouring fire-prone shrub species and invasive plants.