Bom dia. Today the ocean takes the lead — a reserve the size of a small sea awaits its rules — while inland the vines are picked earlier than ever and a river beach in Leiria turns into a stage.
Six Portuguese environmental organisations, among them Sciaena, WWF Portugal and ZERO, argue that the planned Dom Carlos Marine Nature Reserve needs more than a ban on bottom trawling. They want every fishing gear that touches the seabed excluded from the 173,000 square kilometres between Madeira and the mainland, plus tamper-proof GPS tracking, onboard cameras and observers. The public consultation drew 61 submissions, now under review.
What exactly lives in those 173,000 square kilometres? Researcher Catarina Abril, of Sciaena, names five: deep-sea sharks vulnerable to bottom-contact gear, migratory makos, an electric ray recently found pregnant in large numbers at the Gorringe Bank, migratory turtles, and black corals estimated at up to 4,200 years old. Almost all are highly sensitive to seabed damage — which is precisely the argument for stricter rules.
Melgaço council has warned that public supply risks running short in some parishes. Summer consumption has surged with tourists, returning emigrants, pool filling and garden watering, while climate change lowers groundwater levels: reservoir levels normally seen in September were reached before mid-August. Nightly cuts are being used to find and repair leaks, including illegal unmetered connections known as tubos ladrão, and water is being redistributed between reservoirs.
Emergency stabilisation works on land burned by July's wildfire should start in Tondela by the end of September, costing around €177,000 and running to June 2027. Based on an ICNF report, they target secondary watercourses, culverts under roads and forest tracks, and fuel management strips, to limit erosion and runoff after vegetation loss. The fire began on 2 July in Vouzela and burned 1,500 hectares in São João do Monte e Mosteirinho.
The environmental association Oikos sampled water on 16 June at 18 points across the Lis River Basin, testing biological and physico-chemical parameters. The results, released on Monday, range from acceptable to worrying. One clear pattern stands out: the stretch of the Lena running through Porto de Mós and Batalha proved less polluted than the stretch that passes through Leiria.
Spain's Ministry for Ecological Transition has extended the operating licence of the Almaraz nuclear plant's two reactors to June 2030, reversing an earlier plan to close them in 2027 and 2028. Owners Iberdrola, Endesa and Naturgy requested the extension in October 2025. The Iberian Anti-Nuclear Movement calls the decision illegal, citing a breach of a prior agreement with the state, and warns that contamination on the Tagus could reach Lisbon.
APREN, the Portuguese renewable energy association, has criticised a Tax Authority circular that now treats wind and solar farms, turbines and panels included, as single industrial properties liable to municipal property tax. Formalised on 27 July, the rule replaces criteria in place since 2021, following a Supreme Administrative Court ruling. APREN says the sector already carries heavy taxation, including a permanent contribution unique in Europe, and proposes revenue-sharing with municipalities instead.
The Alentejo 2030 programme has opened a call worth over €1.3 million from the European Regional Development Fund to upgrade shared facilities and public spaces in non-urban areas: €787,050 for refurbishing collective facilities and €547,259 for qualifying public spaces. It supports action plans under Non-Urban Cohesion Partnerships, improving environmental and landscape quality, accessibility, safety and climate resilience. Applications run in three phases, the first closing on 30 September.
Transportes Metropolitanos de Lisboa will invest €1.36 million over three years in 57 automated, access-controlled bicycle shelters at 51 interchanges across the metropolitan area, linking cycling to public transport. Lisbon takes the most units, 13, at hubs including Oriente, Sete Rios and Santa Apolónia. Most follow a compact modular design holding 12 bikes each, spread over 18 municipalities, with seven larger custom units and a refurbishment at Trafaria's river terminal.
The AlgaeTech project, led by Moldes RP with DEIFIL, IPLeiria and Aromáticas Vivas, is developing biodegradable plant pots from seaweed, mussel shells and other marine by-products, replacing single-use plastic. Researchers have characterised nine Portuguese seaweed species and extracted polymers such as alginates and carrageenans, now moving to prototype formulations. The pots aim to be biodegradable, water-retentive and even biocidal; DEIFIL will trial them on micropropagated olive and chestnut plants, with a life-cycle assessment running alongside.
The Polytechnic University of Viana do Castelo is the only Portuguese institution in MaCao, a new Erasmus+ project designing a joint master's degree in organic farming. The consortium gathers ten higher education institutions from nine countries in Europe and Latin America, coordinated by the Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena in Spain. Backed by Erasmus Mundus Design Measures funding, it aims to train professionals for climate, food security and sustainability challenges. Academic design ends early next year, then accreditation.
Coimbra City Council has had its Fundo Ambiental application approved for the rehabilitation of the Paul de Arzila Nature Reserve Interpretation Centre, securing €68,759.25 towards a planned €200,000 investment. The project sits within the reserve's co-management model with Condeixa-a-Nova, Montemor-o-Velho, ICNF, CCDR Centro and the Amigos do Paul de Arzila association, and covers building works and environmental education. Condeixa-a-Nova received the same amount to renew the centre's exhibition. Paul de Arzila is one of Portugal's most important wetlands.
MoLima, the movement for the defence of the River Lima, invites anyone to the Senhora das Areias picnic park in Viana do Castelo on 29 August to tackle pampas grass, an invasive species spreading through dunes, slopes and riverbanks. The morning begins at 9.30 with a session on identifying the plant and understanding its impact on native flora, followed by hands-on removal. No experience needed; supported by the council, within the LIFE COOP Cortaderia project.
Estações Efémeras returns to the Agroal river beach this Sunday, 16 August, from 5pm, after a two-week artistic residency. Organised by Leirena Teatro, it weaves local tradition, natural heritage and community participation together with performing arts professionals. Taking part are members of two Ourém institutions, CRIF and the Casa do Povo de Fátima amateur theatre group, alongside several named performers, under the artistic direction of Frédéric da Cruz Pires. A version was staged here in 2024. Free entry.
Santana council, in Madeira, has approved more than €32,000 in support spread across families, farmers and recreational associations. Four families receive €1,500 each under a pre-natal support scheme. Funding for farmers, tied to irrigation water and wheat growing, has nearly doubled from €6,000 to €10,500 between 2025 and 2026, which the mayor attributes to renewed interest in producing wheat for Santana's traditional bread. The Clube Recreativo Santanense and the municipal band, marking an anniversary, also benefit.
A short read every morning — what's happening across sustainable Portugal.
