Sustainable Living
Pulse

25 October 2026

Good morning. Today brings new trees for a burned mountain, fresh wind on Santa Maria, a lively debate about homes and water, and plenty of small, kind things to do this week.

Nature and the land

Ponte da Barca association seeks native trees to replant fire-ravaged Serra Amarela

A local association in Entre Ambos-os-Rios, Ponte da Barca, is asking for donations of native trees, plus volunteers and tools, to continue replanting the Serra Amarela after the July 2025 blaze that burned for 12 days. The fire hit 7,550 hectares, 5,786 of them in the Peneda-Gerês National Park. About a thousand trees planted last year were lost; 300 to 400 locally grown seedlings remain. The aim is a protective ring around the villages of Lourido and Froufe. On 8 November a project with Reflorestar Portugal is presented, and on 10 November a school tree nursery begins.

NorteEcosystems & BiodiversityMore on this story → View project: Reflorestar Portugal →

Heatwaves cut chestnut honey harvest by up to 90% in Montesinho

Chestnut honey output has dropped by between 80% and 90% this year, according to the president of the local beekeepers' association. Heatwaves are blamed for the collapse, which has hit most beekeeping operations in the Montesinho Natural Park.

NorteEcosystems & BiodiversityRead more at The Portugal News ↗

Mondego basin movement demands democratic, council-involved river management instead of state-agency control

The MUNDA movement, which defends the Mondego river basin, has called for the river to be managed democratically, with local authorities involved, rather than left solely under the control of a single state body. It criticises the current arrangement, in which the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) answers only to the government. The demand was made at a congress on the river, to which the movement says the agency had been invited in May.

CentroEcosystems & BiodiversityRead more at Notícias de Coimbra ↗

Dispute grows over proposed new dam at Fagilde, near Viseu

Plans for a new dam at Fagilde, in the Viseu area, have provoked controversy. Researchers argue that Girabolhos is the more sustainable and more economical option for the region's water needs, calling into question whether the Fagilde investment is justified.

CentroEnergy, Water & MobilityRead more at Agroportal ↗

Energy on the islands and beyond

Three new turbines at Santa Maria wind farm in final testing

EDA Renováveis, part of the Azores utility group EDA, has put three new ENERCON E44 turbines of 900 kW each into service at the Figueiral wind farm on Santa Maria. The wind farm is now feeding power into the grid under a testing and commissioning licence, while operational trials and final adjustments to the control and supervision systems continue before full operation. The investment was funded entirely from the company's own capital. EDA expects fuel savings of around 1.3 million litres of diesel a year by 2027, with wind supplying about 21% of the island's electricity. A lithium-battery fast-reserve system is planned later.

AzoresEnergy, Water & MobilityRead more at Açoriano Oriental ↗

Azores electricity output rises 3.6% as fossil fuels gain and renewables fall back

Electricity generation across the nine Azorean islands grew 3.6% between January and September 2026 compared with the same period last year, according to the utility EDA's production and consumption bulletin. Thermal plants supplied 69.2% of the total, up about 7%, almost all of it from fuel oil. Geothermal output fell 10% and wind dropped 17.6%, while hydro rose 3.3%. Consumption grew 3.7% to 637,595 MWh, led by commerce and services (43.9%) and households (39.6%). Total network losses stood at 8.2%.

AzoresEnergy, Water & MobilityRead more at Açoriano Oriental ↗

Rooftop solar tipped as the next stage of Portugal's renewable energy shift

Discussion of Portugal's renewable energy future tends to centre on large solar parks, wind farms and big-ticket investment. The text sets out to shift attention towards rooftop generation as the next stage of the transition, though only the opening lines are available.

Energy, Water & MobilityRead more at The Portugal News ↗

Portugal's renewables debate shifts from generating power to shaping the wider economy

For years the discussion about renewable energy in Portugal centred on whether the country could generate electricity from sun, wind and water. The aims were to cut reliance on foreign supply, widen the range of sources and use abundant natural resources. A significant share of that journey has now been completed. The argument made here is that the next phase, in which renewables become an economic matter, may matter even more for the Portuguese economy.

Energy, Water & MobilityRead more at The Portugal News ↗

Homes and the cost of living

Dozens of mostly young people rally in Braga over housing and living costs

Braga took part in a Europe-wide wave of protest over the cost of living and the right to housing. Several dozen people, most of them young, gathered beside the bandstand on Avenida Central and spent the afternoon and evening at a peaceful, cultural demonstration. They called for urgent measures to tackle the housing crisis and the growing gap between incomes and living costs in Portugal. The crowd included both local residents and immigrants, who joined in a shared appeal for urgent reforms.

NorteConstruction & HousingRead more at Diário do Minho ↗

Madeira's Left Bloc builds a five-euro golf course to protest public golf spending

The Left Bloc (BE) in Madeira criticised planned public investment in golf courses and argued the money should go to housing with affordable rents. To make the point, the party unveiled a symbolic golf course made from recycled materials, which its representative Diogo Teixeira said cost about five euros. He named golf projects in Porto Santo, Santana and Ponta do Pargo, called the millions earmarked for them "ridiculous" while families struggle with living costs, and said public money would end up delivering private profit. BE wants the funds used for housing in Funchal, elsewhere on Madeira and in Porto Santo, with rents matched to household incomes.

MadeiraConstruction & HousingRead more at JM Madeira ↗

Curbs on holiday lets bring only partial relief for long-term rentals in Portugal and Spain

Restricting short-term holiday lets can return homes to the long-term rental market, but the effect is neither automatic nor uniform. In Lisbon, roughly 8,300 registrations were removed after the pandemic, yet prices kept climbing. In Spain, about 62,000 tourist homes disappeared between August 2024 and May 2026, though many shifted to seasonal rentals rather than permanent ones. The European Commission wants curbs limited to areas with proven housing pressure, backed by three years of evidence and reviewed within five years. Brussels stresses that more construction, renovation and affordable public housing are also needed.

MadeiraConstruction & HousingRead more at Funchal Notícias ↗

Albufeira liberal says curbing holiday lets will not fix Algarve housing shortage

A local Iniciativa Liberal figure in Albufeira argues that restricting short-term holiday rentals (Alojamento Local) will not by itself ease the Algarve's housing crisis. She notes that Lisbon lost many registrations without the expected fall in rents, and calls the crisis chiefly one of supply: slow licensing, high costs and obstacles to refurbishment. She suggests asking whether flats are being used as offices or clinics, and wants Albufeira to audit its housing stock, find vacant buildings, offer incentives for long-term letting and enforce rules on inactive or non-compliant holiday lets.

AlgarveConstruction & HousingRead more at Jornal do Algarve ↗

Opinion: Porto risks wasting a tool for keeping middle-income families in the city centre

Porto's housing crisis is beyond dispute, and the city holds an instrument that could keep middle-income families living in its centre. The author argues that selling it at roughly one eighth of its price would waste it, treating a scarce public resource as a bargain-bin asset rather than a lasting answer to affordability.

NorteConstruction & HousingRead more at Público ↗

Portugal's housing debate turns to how the homes get built

Portugal has spent several years debating how to build more homes. Limited supply, climbing prices and the difficulty of buying or renting have moved to the centre of the country's economic and social discussion. The piece asks whether simply adding buildings is enough to create liveable cities.

Construction & HousingRead more at The Portugal News ↗

Food, farming and water policy

Azores feed island-specific priorities into national food security and nutrition strategy

The Azores regional government took part in the consultation on Portugal's national food security and nutrition strategy, known as ENSANP, through a talk and participatory workshops with institutions, farmers and other professionals. The region argues for stronger local production as the basis of food self-sufficiency and supply resilience on islands. Other priorities include healthier eating and food education, organic and certified products, cutting food waste, soil and water protection, and climate adaptation. Dairy, beef, fruit and vegetables and protected-origin foods were singled out. The regional agriculture department also highlighted its role in the national strategy against food waste and the EU-backed LIFE IP AGRILOOP project on circular economy.

AzoresFood & AgricultureMore on this story →

Irrigation federation lists 111 ready projects needing €1.1 billion

Portugal's national federation of irrigators, FENAREG, has identified 111 irrigation projects that could modernise infrastructure, cut water and energy losses and expand storage and distribution. Together they need about €1.1 billion, and some are ready for works to begin. The federation puts total collective irrigation needs at roughly €2 billion by 2030 and estimates that a decade's delay in farm investments tied to the national "Água que Une" strategy could cost the economy over €5.4 billion. It says the country stores only about 20% of annual inflows, leaving it exposed to drought. Priorities, funding and timing will be discussed at a meeting in Reguengos de Monsaraz on 18 and 19 November.

Energy, Water & MobilityMore on this story →

Beja MP opposes ban on live animal exports by sea

Parliament debated a bill from the JPP party that would have banned the export of live animals by sea to non-EU countries. Pedro do Carmo, a deputy elected for Beja, spoke against it, arguing the trade is important for selling Portuguese livestock production. He said stronger inspection and holding offenders to account is the better route than a ban, framing continued exports as support for livestock farmers, the competitiveness of Portuguese agriculture and the rural economy. The JPP initiative was rejected in the Assembleia da República.

Food & AgricultureRead more at Rádio Pax ↗

Alcobaça agricultural cooperative marks 20 years with a history-and-future session

The Cooperativa Agrícola de Alcobaça held a session on Saturday at its own premises, looking back over the past two decades under the title "História, Identidade e Futuro". The event recalled how farming associations first took root in the municipality and revisited the happiest and the most difficult chapters in the institution's life.

CentroFood & AgricultureRead more at Região de Leiria ↗

Close to home

Aveiro eco-farm runs acorn baking workshop to fund nature conservation

The Quinta Ecológica da Moita project is running a morning workshop, from 10.30am to 1pm, on cooking with acorns. Participants will bake gluten-free bread and small cakes made from acorn and then taste them. It is organised by the BioLiving Association and the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Aveiro, with PAITITI - Organic Food as partner, and aims to promote the forest's products and more natural, sustainable eating. Places are limited and cost eight euros for BioLiving members or Misericórdia brothers, and ten for everyone else. All proceeds go to nature conservation work at the farm. Registration closes on 11 November.

CentroFood & AgricultureRead more at Diário de Aveiro ↗

Beja council offers Sunday walk through Trigaches' marble and lime heritage

Beja's municipality has organised a nine-kilometre walk through the village of Trigaches this Sunday, open to people of all ages. The route follows the traces of the stone industry that shaped local life for centuries, from old marble quarries, whose stone reached Roman cities and still features in some of Beja's best-known landmarks, to the lime kilns that worked day and night. Walkers will explore the landscape and surviving industrial remains to understand how local resources supported generations of workers and shaped the community's memory.

AlentejoEducation & Eco-tourismRead more at Rádio Pax ↗

Figueira da Foz organises family treasure-hunt morning on animal welfare, dogs welcome

The municipality of Figueira da Foz is holding a family event called PeddyPet on 7 November, from 10:00 to 12:00 at Parque das Abadias Norte, opposite the ALDI. Families follow a route with four themed stations covering animal abandonment, health and basic care, responsible adoption and how animals behave, including when travelling. Dogs may take part if their wellbeing and ability to cope with the activities are respected. The morning ends with a group mission in which families make concrete pledges for animal welfare. Places must be booked by email to municipe@cm-figfoz.pt.

CentroEducation & Eco-tourismRead more at Notícias de Coimbra ↗

Monção offers free electric scooters to residents and visitors with limited mobility

Monção municipality has launched SEMIG, a free electric scooter service for people with temporary or permanent reduced mobility. It was unveiled on 24 October, the municipal day for equality, to promote autonomy and inclusion. The scooters are designed for daily use indoors and outdoors, helping people reach shops, services and heritage sites. Users request one and collect it from any of five points: the tourism shop, the Monção & Memórias museum, the business incubator, the municipal swimming pool and the Landre leisure area in Bela. The council says the aim is to remove mobility barriers.

NorteEnergy, Water & MobilityRead more at Alto Minho ↗

Beja launches women-focused book club, opening with Maria Teresa Horta

A new book club called "Sem Espartilhos" is starting in Beja, run by the Futurama project and led by Ana Serrano and Gabriela Pó. It will meet on the last Saturday of each month, with the aim of creating a space for sharing and reflection built around books by women authors. The first session takes place on Saturday 31 October at the Futurama space and focuses on the writer Maria Teresa Horta, with "Ema" and "Quotidiano Instável" suggested as reading. Taking part is free, but places must be booked by email.

AlentejoCommunity & Social InnovationRead more at Rádio Pax ↗

Coimbra police auction off more than 1,500 unclaimed lost items

Coimbra's PSP police sold more than 1,500 unclaimed lost-property items at an auction on 21 October, drawing over a hundred bidders. Umbrellas, clothing, rucksacks, electronics and gold pieces were on offer, with five umbrellas going for as little as two euros and a bag of jewellery and gold for 76. The items came from shopping centres in Coimbra and Figueira da Foz and from public transport firms. Police hold them for a year while trying to trace owners, and all proceeds go to the PSP's social services, which support its staff.

CentroProducts, Consumption & CircularRead more at Postal ↗
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