News

What was reported

• Ecosystems

  Tourists filmed crossing protective fence in Fanal, Madeira

  A video showing tourists crawling under a fence in Madeira's protected Laurissilva forest sparked online fury.

  18 June 2026MadeiraIFCN

• Ecosystems

  Portugal pledges first Red List of fungi by 2030

  Fungi have long been overlooked in Portugal's conservation efforts, but a new deadline aims to change that.

  18 June 2026ICNF

• Ecosystems

  MEP asks Brussels to halt logging in Ovar pine forest

  A Bloco de Esquerda MEP says 363 hectares of mature pine are falling with no environmental review whatsoever.

  18 June 2026CentroICNF

• Ecosystems

  Portugal lets firms clear forest land in summer with council approval

  A new ICNF platform now lets mayors sign off on summer clearance operations they previously could not permit.

  17 June 2026ICNF

• Ecosystems

  Portugal updates national biodiversity strategy through 2030

  The plan sets targets like halving hazardous pesticide use and protecting 30% of land and sea.

  17 June 2026ICNF

• Ecosystems

  ZERO calls for grasslands to lead desertification policy in Portugal

  Solar infrastructure has already claimed 3,000 hectares of Portuguese grassland in five years, ZERO warns.

  17 June 2026ZERO

• Ecosystems

  Portugal reopens turtle dove hunting for two mornings in August

  Up to 15,000 turtle doves can legally be shot in Portugal this month, despite the species' threatened status.

  17 June 2026ICNF

• Ecosystems

  Portugal to relaunch Floresta Ativa forestry support scheme

  Landowners across Portugal will soon be able to apply for 650 euros per hectare under a revived forestry scheme.

  17 June 2026ICNF

• Ecosystems

  Groups urge Portugal to protect grasslands against desertification

  Solar farms have already swallowed three thousand hectares of permanent Portuguese pasture since 2018.

  16 June 2026ICNF

• Ecosystems

  Setúbal residents to march for public access to Arrábida

  A new barrier on the road to Arrábida's beaches has sparked a citizens' protest planned for Sunday.

  16 June 2026LisbonQuinta da Comenda

• Ecosystems

  Lisbon university sequences reference genome of Azorean bullfinch

  Only about 1,000 of these rare Azorean birds remain, and their genes reveal a worrying weakness.

  15 June 2026AzoresSPEA

• Ecosystems

  New satellite map flags high fire risk in a third of Portuguese parishes

  A wet winter left unexpected fuel buildup in areas long considered low-risk, while last year's burn scars tell a different story.

  15 June 2026ICNF

• Ecosystems

  Rare harbour seal roams Ria Formosa lagoon in Algarve

  A seal far from home has been touring Portugal's coast, from the Berlengas to the Algarve.

  13 June 2026AlgarveICNF

• Ecosystems

  Zoomarine releases six rehabilitated loggerhead turtles into ocean

  Found stranded from Sagres to Ireland, six young loggerheads were tagged with satellite trackers before returning to the sea.

  12 June 2026Algarve

• Ecosystems

  Experts advise leaving most fledglings found on the ground alone

  Picking up a baby bird from the ground could actually reduce its chances of survival, say wildlife experts.

  12 June 2026SPEA

• Ecosystems

  Algarve body joins two EU wildfire-prevention projects

  Researchers combed a burnt Algarve hillside for soil samples as part of a wider cross-border fire strategy.

  11 June 2026AlgarveICNF

• Ecosystems

  Rewilding Portugal calls for tortoise reintroduction in nature plan

  Fossils show tortoises once lived across Portugal, from Peniche to the Algarve, before humans wiped them out.

  9 June 2026Rewilding Portugal

• Ecosystems

  ZERO lists 73 pollution-free beaches across 34 Portuguese municipalities

  Grândola and Porto Santo top the list, while Sintra, Sines and Nazaré have quietly dropped off it.

  29 May 2026ZERO

• Ecosystems

  Wall works in Trancoso threaten Portugal's largest swift colony

  Nine environmental groups say construction work is sealing the nesting gaps of Trancoso's ancient wall as the birds return from Africa.

  27 April 2026CentroRewilding Portugal

• Ecosystems

  Águas do Algarve joins Ria Formosa awareness week again

  Schools across five Algarve municipalities are being mobilised for a week dedicated to a fragile lagoon ecosystem.

  16 April 2026AlgarveICNF

• Ecosystems

  Rewilding Portugal condemns minister's attack on ICNF over blocked project

  A minister called environmental officials "liars, cowards and radicals" after a rejected project went public.

  27 January 2026Rewilding Portugal

• Ecosystems

  Green Giants project aims to train 325 tree ambassadors

  Volunteers have already mapped over 17,000 trees, more than double the original target set for last year.

  2 January 2026VERDE

• Ecosystems

  ICNF nears completion of Leiria forest storm-clearing near town

  Roughly 23,000 cubic metres of storm-felled timber are being cleared from Portugal's largest pine forest near a town.

  1 January 2026CentroICNF

• Ecosystems

  Second National Rewilding Symposium draws thousands in Porto

  Over 2,000 people tuned in online while the Porto venue nearly ran out of seats.

  5 November 2025NorteRewilding Portugal

• Ecosystems

  Wild grazing herds shown to slow wildfires in Iberia

  In one Côa Valley reserve, horses introduced just two years ago changed how fire moved through the landscape.

  18 September 2025CentroRewilding Portugal

• Ecosystems

  Côa Valley farm blends rewilding with traditional farming

  A couple who left France to run a family sheep farm now turn wool into drainage systems instead of buying industrial geotextile.

  24 June 2025CentroRewilding Portugal

• Ecosystems

  Study finds Sorraia horse grazing cuts wildfire risk in Côa Valley

  Three years of monitoring in Portugal's Côa Valley reveal what wild horses do and don't do to reduce fire risk.

  23 June 2025CentroRewilding Portugal

• Ecosystems

  Foundation head says land stewardship must secure Portugal's nature restoration beyond funding cycles

  The hard part of restoring nature, according to one foundation chief, only begins once the money and the projects have run out.

  Terra Agora

• Ecosystems

  UTAD and partners sign accord to boost native tree seed supply for forest restoration

  A university, a state conservation body and an energy grid operator are teaming up around something very small: the seeds that tomorrow's native forests will grow from.

  NorteICNF

• Ecosystems

  EU monitors LIFE SOS Pygargus harrier project two years in, with field visit to Castro Verde

  Two years in, evaluators left the meeting room for a cereal-growing area in Castro Verde, home to one of the species' biggest colonies in the country.

  AlentejoLPN