Associação Dunas Livres

Associação Dunas Livres emerged in 2020 from a group of citizens determined to confront the disproportionate expansion of tourist resorts and golf courses along the Costa Azul, in the northern Alentejo coast, an area of exceptionally high ecological and social value. This stretch of coastline between Tróia and Melides represents the largest remaining truly wild coastal area in Portugal — 40 kilometers of beaches bordered by dunes, lagoons and salt marshes that shelter unique but declining biodiversity. The organization works to raise public awareness while conducting in-depth investigations into ongoing development cases, uncovering legal inconsistencies and instances of corruption tied to mega-developments such as Dunes at Praia do Pego, Terras da Comporta, Six Senses Comporta, and Costa Terra in Melides — projects that have already destroyed hundreds of hectares of protected dune habitats. In 2022, the movement formalized itself as Associação Dunas Livres and joined forces with 10 other environmental NGOs to form the Plataforma Dunas Livres, amplifying their collective voice against the Urbanization Plan for the Tróia Peninsula and further water extraction amid worsening drought conditions. The association campaigns against the privatization of coastal land for elite tourism, arguing that such development undoes in a few years what nature took thousands of years to create. They actively run a crowdfunding campaign to fund legal and advocacy efforts, publish manifestos, produce educational videos and infographics, and mobilize public participation through social media and community events.