ZERO says Girabolhos dam won't stop Mondego floods

As the public tender for the Girabolhos dam launched in Seia, environmental group ZERO called it a false solution to Baixo Mondego flooding, arguing the dam's catchment covers less than 15% of the Mondego basin and cannot contain flows like the 2019 Ceira floods. ZERO says fire-degraded soils in the Serra do Açor, not lack of storage capacity, drove the record floods of early 2026, and demands a new environmental impact assessment comparing the dam to reforestation upstream. It argues part of the estimated €300-500 million cost should instead fund forest restoration, which would be cheaper and more effective at reducing flood peaks.