ZERO calls for grasslands to lead desertification policy in Portugal

Ahead of World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought on 17 June, environmental association ZERO argues that grasslands, covering nearly a fifth of mainland Portugal and over half its agricultural land, should be central to national desertification policy, as they largely overlap with land vulnerable to degradation. ZERO says relevant policies remain poorly coordinated and calls on the government to use the ongoing revision of the National Action Programme to Combat Desertification to better align climate, agricultural and land-use planning efforts. It warns that overgrazing degrades soil, while solar energy infrastructure has consumed 3,000 hectares of grassland between 2018 and 2023.