Good morning. Today brings migrating birds over the Algarve, seagrass and lynx, a long look at housing, and a few warm local stories to finish.
Each autumn, thousands of birds cross the Algarve on their way south to Africa. For many of them, the flight path runs straight through an area where wind turbines stand. The overlap between the migration corridor and the wind farm is what raises the question of how birds can be protected while renewable energy is generated in the region.
The brown seaweed Rugulopteryx okamurae, first found in the Azores in 2019 and since recorded in the Algarve, Alentejo and off Cascais, is displacing native communities. Researcher Ricardo Melo of the University of Lisbon says it regrows from small fragments and spreads on currents and boat traffic, so total eradication is unrealistic; removal methods can also harm habitats or seed new outbreaks. Portugal's 2026-2030 national programme therefore focuses on preventing arrivals, early detection and limiting damage where it is established. Melo warns that using the harvested biomass commercially must stay a secondary measure, not a control tool.
A bilingual exhibition on the white crowberry (Corema album), an Iberian endemic plant whose range is shrinking, is on at the Fortress of Sagres until 30 November. It presents the species and the coastal habitats where it grows, alongside the biodiversity of Sagres and Cape St Vincent. The show comes from a partnership between the educational project Emc2, linked to MARE–ARNET, and the fortress. Since 2016 Emc2 has worked along the mainland coast between Moledo and Ancão with schools, municipalities and researchers, and in 2026 it extended to Graciosa island in the Azores. The project is funded by the national science foundation, FCT.
Vila Nova de Gaia council has published a 160-page biodiversity guide for walkers on its section of the Portuguese Way of St James. It profiles 69 plants and animals, invasive ones among them, across more than 300 scientific illustrations, and adds route maps and notes on each species' role in ecosystems. Written by biologists Fernando Correia and Diana Santos, it is free at the Parque Biológico de Gaia and local tourist offices. Six interpretive panels along the route, covering habitats such as walls, meadows, ponds, woodland and gardens, plus invasive species, complement the guide under the STEPS for LIFE project.
The regional tourism, environment and culture department, working with the forests and nature conservation institute, the ARDITI research agency, the Oceano Azul Foundation, Lisbon's Oceanarium and National Geographic Pristine Seas, will hold a closing session for the Madeira Ocean 2026 expedition on 28 October at the Pestana Casino Park hotel in Funchal. The event marks the end of 28 days of scientific work on Madeira, the Desertas Islands and Porto Santo, studying and valuing the archipelago's marine natural heritage. Preliminary results will be presented, along with the next steps of the Madeira Ocean Programme, and the teams and partners involved will be recognised.
A public session at the Centro Sociocultural in Tui, Spain, presented the planned bid to have the River Minho recognised as a UNESCO Transboundary Biosphere Reserve shared by Portugal and Spain. The meeting, part of the ECOFRONT_MINHO project, brought together institutional representatives, partners and specialists to review the work done so far and discuss how to enhance the river as a territory of shared prestige. The initiative aims to protect biodiversity, ecosystems and heritage, while promoting the conservation of natural resources and sustainable management of an area linking communities on both banks.
A proposed methodology for restoring and conserving seagrass meadows in mainland Portugal is open to public consultation until 22 November 2026, via the Participa portal. It would extend the voluntary carbon market to marine ecosystems and open the door to private funding for their recovery. Airport operator ANA submitted it, supported by NBI, the University of Algarve's marine sciences centre and a Mediterranean research institute. It also provides for extra credits where projects show biodiversity gains. The market has just finished its first year, with two approved projects and 977 future credits issued.
The Portuguese Government has approved a new action plan for the Iberian lynx that sets aside €5 million for conservation work. The money will be spent over five years, from 2026 to 2030.
The European Court of Auditors has found that the EU is unlikely to protect 30% of its seas by 2030, despite ambitious pledges. Its audit of Irish, Danish and French waters found many sites lack proper conservation measures and climate plans, and only a small share ban fishing. The auditors point to the absence of common protection categories, scattered funding across national and EU budgets, and too little consultation with coastal communities. They urge closer cooperation between the Commission and member states. Separately, Portugal has opened consultation on the roughly 173,000 km² D. Carlos Marine Nature Reserve.
Portugal's delegation to the UN biodiversity conference in Yerevan, led by Environment Secretary of State João Manuel Esteves, will push for faster delivery of commitments already made rather than new targets. The talks review progress on the 23 goals agreed in Montreal in 2022. Lisbon wants stronger funding mechanisms, including nature credits to draw in private money for conservation and restoration, with verifiable results. It also backs swift implementation of the EU Nature Restoration Regulation and the goal of protecting 30% of land and sea by 2030. The EU puts the global yearly funding gap at 700 billion dollars. The conference ends on the 30th.
Frusoal, the Algarve citrus producers' organisation, has set up a research laboratory called InovCitrus, a €515,000 investment. Its first project is a three-year study, running from 2026 to 2028, of Scirtothrips aurantii, a South African insect classed as an EU quarantine pest and first found in Portugal in Tavira in December 2022. The thrips scar young shoots, leaves and fruit, which can make the produce unsellable. The team will track its populations in orange, mandarin, lemon and lime orchards, working with InnovPlantProtect and with regional support, to turn limited knowledge into concrete protective measures.
The Algarve has more than 42,000 hectares of stone pine forest, but many of the trees yield very few pine cones. As a result, the landowners who hold this woodland earn little financial return from it.
A review of 55 scientific publications on Portugal's montado and Spain's dehesa, published in Agroforestry Systems, maps four main research themes: cultural heritage and rural tourism, biodiversity conservation, public policy and resource management, and livestock and grazing. The work was led by a University of Évora doctoral student with researchers from Évora and Trás-os-Montes. It finds that studies mostly reflect the views of landowners, farmers and land managers, while consumers, rural workers, businesses and civil society are little studied. The authors call for more integrated, participatory management and policies better suited to these landscapes, and say the findings can guide future research.
The Fundação Mata do Bussaco has formalised a network of cooperation protocols with higher-education institutions in the Centro region: the University of Aveiro, the Polytechnic University of Coimbra (including its agrarian school and ISCAC business school) and the Instituto Superior Miguel Torga. The forest is to serve as a living laboratory where students, lecturers and researchers can pursue internships, dissertations and research projects. The partnerships span biology and agricultural sciences, management and economics, and social and health sciences, the last focused on wellbeing and contact with nature. The foundation's president says the aim is to apply world-class management practices in conservation and health tourism.
Porto's water utility, Águas e Energia do Porto, reported that unbilled water fell to 11.8% in 2025, from over 52% when the company was created in 2006. Over 20 years it says it has saved more than 255 billion litres. A digital system called InnoWave, combining artificial intelligence, geographic data and operational records, helps manage pressure, predict where pipes are likely to burst and prioritise replacements across 830 km of network serving over 170,000 customers. Field teams validate the models. The system has won three national awards, and the utility ranked first nationally for water supply service quality for the third year running.
Infraquinta, E.M., a local utility, has published its first Sustainability Report. It points to strong results, above all in environmental management. A key figure is non-revenue water, the share of treated water that never generates income, which stood at 2.7% in 2025. Infraquinta says it has had the lowest percentage of non-revenue water among local utility entities for the past ten years.
A breakdown cut water supply in the parish of Pico da Pedra, in Ribeira Grande, Azores. The council says the fault stopped water being pumped to one reservoir and disabled the alert system, so the second reservoir feeding the parish fell to minimum levels. An alternative pumping system is running, though restoring normal service will take time. Sediment seen in the water is blamed on the falling reservoir level and was expected to clear by the end of the day. The council has commissioned a specialist firm to test water quality as soon as possible. One resident says no guidance has been given on whether the water is safe to drink.
About 20 residents of Boiço, in the municipality of Tábua, say a compressor running day and night at the local water treatment plant has made their lives miserable for the past five months. Some cannot sleep without earplugs, and even then rest is difficult. The smell that used to affect the village has improved since the public company Aintar took over the plant's operation, but the noise is described as unbearable. Aintar's chief executive says efforts are under way to reduce the noise, although silencing it entirely is reported to be impossible.
Fernando Seabra Santos, a University of Coimbra professor and former rector, argues that a new Fagilde dam on the Dão may be avoidable. He suggests supplying Viseu and neighbouring municipalities from the planned Girabolhos dam on the Mondego, which he says could deliver water with almost no pumping and cover Viseu for decades, provided pipelines are built. He made the case at a Viseu conference, questioning the dam's estimated 30 million euro cost within a 60 million euro package announced in October that also includes a new wastewater plant. He also warned that public infrastructure is neglected in favour of new works.
Four mayors from the Alto Alentejo, including the head of the regional intermunicipal body CIMAA, testified on 26 October at the Castelo Branco administrative court. The hearing concerns lifting the ban on building the Pisão dam in Crato. They called the project urgent for the region's economy and water scarcity, noting that all 15 municipalities have backed it since 2018. Residents of Pisão village packed the courtroom in support. The session was the first held to correct formal errors identified by higher courts in cases brought by environmental groups against the environmental impact statement. The judge will now decide on its validity and whether work resumes.
The mayor of Sernancelhe, Carlos Santos, is urging residents to take part in the public consultation, open until 23 November, on a floating solar and wind hybrid project at the Vilar reservoir in the Távora valley. The revised plan has two islands of panels instead of four, but keeps 30,744 bifacial modules across 12 hectares of water. He says the cut changes nothing, citing risks to biodiversity, landscape, tourism and the aerial firefighting that uses the reservoir. Regional councils rejected the scheme in 2024, and three municipalities have since filed unfavourable opinions with the environment agency.
Portugal's environment agency has issued an unfavourable decision on a 21-hectare photovoltaic plant that EnergieKontor wanted to build beside its Penedo Ruivo wind farm, across Baião and Amarante. Only seven hectares would have held panels. The site lies entirely within the Alvão/Marão Special Conservation Area and touches a regional protected landscape. The agency concluded that the harm to environment, landscape and territory could not be sufficiently reduced, even by adjusting the layout or reusing existing grid infrastructure. The evaluation committee also advised against it. Of 666 public submissions, 661 came from citizens, and almost all opposed the plant.
Torres Novas council plans to put a proposal to its executive in early November to declare null an administrative act tied to a planned biomethane plant at Árgea. Mayor José Trincão Marques said the move goes ahead whatever position the Portuguese Environment Agency has taken, and ruled out tacit approval. The council objects to the site, which it considers unsuitable. The €18 million project, promoted by Gasdaterra, would process around 100,000 tonnes a year of organic waste and livestock effluent. Residents and environmental groups cite odours, heavy traffic and water risks.
The government has launched two auctions to allocate grid-connection capacity: 300 MVA for new power generation centres and 750 MVA for standalone storage systems. They are the first of their kind since 2021. The aim is to draw investment in renewables and batteries, which can store surplus electricity and release it at peak demand, easing prices and reducing reliance on gas-fired plants. Municipalities hosting projects will receive part of the auction revenue, plus annual compensation, and solar projects combined with farming are favoured. A separate order sets technical requirements for connecting storage, including frequency and voltage stabilisation.
Iberdrola has introduced the Plano Poupança Inteligente Negócios, a tariff for small and medium-sized businesses. It automatically identifies the eight hours of each day when a company uses the most electricity and charges a lower price for them, so firms do not have to change their opening hours or operations. The company says savings could reach up to 700 euros a year, based on ERSE simulator tariffs for a 6.9 kVA contract and 5,000 kWh of annual use. The plan extends a residential version that has already attracted more than 20,000 households. Iberdrola supplies over 13% of the electricity consumed in Portugal.
Caminha council has installed a new LED lighting system at Estádio Ilídio Couto in Lanhelas, at a cost of €33,430.17 including VAT. Twenty-four 600-watt projectors replace the old lamps on the existing masts. The council says the aim is better conditions for training and other sport, especially when natural light is poor, along with improved safety, lower energy use and less maintenance. The works covered wiring, aiming the projectors according to a lighting study, electrical protection checks and light-level measurements. Technical documents and a maintenance plan were also handed over.
Electric mobility is the most obvious option for new light vehicles in Portugal. Advanced liquid biofuels, however, stand out because they can be used in vehicles already on the road, which allows emissions to be reduced without waiting for the fleet to be replaced.
Portugal's energy services regulator, ERSE, hosted a meeting on 15 October to mark the start of the second phase of the Blue Decarbonisation Task Force, a UN Global Compact initiative to cut emissions in shipping and ports. The first phase set priorities and drew up recommendations; the new one aims to turn them into concrete measures through cooperation between companies and public bodies, and to remove obstacles to investment. Work is split across four areas: port and maritime digitalisation, infrastructure and energy, fisheries and coastal activities, and financing and transition plans. About 40 people attended in person and 12 online.
Cimpor has launched Havelar by Cimpor, an international brand for 3D-printed construction, following a strategic investment in Havelar. It aims to make the technology affordable, scalable and less carbon-intensive by joining low-carbon cement and concrete expertise with digital construction. In Portugal, the Mariadeira development in Póvoa de Varzim, with 16 residential blocks and 32 homes, is the showcase; it was the first Portuguese residential project printed with concrete supplied solely by mixer trucks. Priorities include ultra-low-carbon printable concrete and reusing construction and demolition waste. The company plans to expand into social housing and infrastructure, with a project already under way in Turkey.
Portugal built about 26,000 homes in 2025, its best year since 2011, against more than 100,000 a year early this century, while over a million new residents have arrived. Rents are rising around 10% a year and house prices 17%, against 5% for wages. The state owns 2% of the housing stock, versus an EU average of 8%, yet over 700,000 homes stand empty. The argument is that successive governments tinkered with demand and rights rather than supply. It calls for faster licensing, public land for building, a rapid-eviction system for bad-faith default, large-scale public housing and a cross-party agreement lasting beyond any government.
The Portuguese Sociological Association says the housing crisis is here to stay and was not inevitable, arguing it follows from political decisions. It cites OECD data showing house prices outpacing incomes in most member countries between 2015 and 2023, with Portugal among the worst affected, and Eurostat figures showing a 180% price rise in a decade. The association argues shortage alone does not explain it: only 69% of homes are permanent residences, about half in the Algarve, while holiday lets and investment use squeeze supply. It calls for building, regulating existing homes, curbing speculation and expanding public housing, and defends the right to protest.
The draft 2027 State Budget allots €1.061 billion to the 'Construir Portugal' housing programme, against €2.905 billion this year, a fall of 63.5% as recovery-plan money runs out. Support for access to housing drops by 80.9%, and the emergency and temporary accommodation fund gets nothing. Affordable public housing is the one line to grow, by €149 million. The government says Portugal 2030 funds, national money and private capital will sustain investment, and the finance minister still targets 59,000 social homes by 2030. Municipal investment overall is also projected to fall by 29.4%.
Former Bank of Portugal governor Mário Centeno has proposed that all property developers be obliged to earmark 20% to 25% of the homes they build as affordable housing, written into subdivision and licensing rules. The homes need not stand on the same site. He also wants a fast-track for licences and tougher action against firms that hold building rights without building. He traces the shortfall to the sector's collapse after 2008, when completed homes fell from 65,000 to 11,000 a year by 2014. He thinks Alcochete is the wrong site for the new airport and says the government's income tax cuts are smaller than advertised.
Coimbra's mayor, Ana Abrunhosa, has said the council wants to take over the former Lancers Squadron site between Rua de Aveiro and Rua de Sofia, behind the Colégio da Graça, and use it for affordable housing. She says the rectangular building there is suitable for that purpose. Talks with Estamo, the state property company that holds the site, began some time ago. The Judicial Police once commissioned a feasibility study for its new regional headquarters on the land but dropped the idea over access problems. The council is helping the force look for alternatives, including the former regional health administration building.
Fifteen families moving into the Cedros IV complex in Santo António, Funchal, are handed their keys on Tuesday at 4pm by the president of Madeira's regional government. The development has 15 two-bedroom flats, each with a private parking space, plus a residents' meeting room, built on a plot of about 940 square metres at a cost of roughly €3.65 million. Under the recovery plan (PRR) programme, 153 homes have now been delivered in Funchal. Across the region, 685 of the 808 planned homes are handed over, or 85%. Still to come are 30 in Ponta do Sol (Canhas) and 93 in São Gonçalo and Levada do Cavalo.
The Fundação ADFP has formalised the contracts to build three new buildings in the Bairro da Associação, on the former Quinta da Ponte site in Miranda do Corvo. The project is part of a wider push to expand social housing in the municipality, where several schemes are under way to increase the number of homes available.
Municipalities across Portugal are widening the affordable housing on offer to university students. Options range from subsidised residences to arrangements in which young people live in the same home as older residents. The home-sharing model is also presented as a way to ease loneliness among older people.
A housing rights demonstration called "Casas para Viver" takes place in Faro on Tuesday 27 October at 19:00, outside the Algarve regional development commission (CCDR). Beforehand, at 17:30, researcher Simone Tulumello of the University of Lisbon's Institute of Social Sciences discusses his 2024 book on housing policy at the SRAF artists' space. Both events were announced by the Plataforma Algarve em Resistência, a collective that has helped organise several housing protests in the region in recent weeks. It links the Faro action to similar protests and camp-outs in Porto, Lisbon and Madrid, and argues that popular pressure has historically driven housing gains since 1974.
The energy agency ADENE launched the Climate Passport for Cities on 26 October, and more than 80 municipalities, home to over half of Portugal's population, joined on day one. The free, voluntary scheme tracks how councils carry out their municipal climate action plans under the Climate Framework Law. It has three levels: planning, action (at least half of measures under way) and leadership (75%, with public reporting of results). Each level lasts three years, renewed by a simplified annual report. At the launch, the environment minister also announced a Local Climate Action Prize for municipalities that deliver results on the ground. Membership remains open.
The European City Facility has opened its eighth call, offering €60,000 grants to as many as 62 beneficiaries, a total of €3.72 million drawn from the EU's LIFE Programme. Municipalities, local authorities and public bodies that group councils together can apply until 21 December. The money pays for investment concepts in energy efficiency, heating and cooling or clean energy, the first step towards a full business and financial plan. Local heating and cooling plans now count as proof of strategic commitment, alongside existing climate action plans. Portugal has had 32 beneficiaries since the first call.
Applications are open until 10 December 2026 for €500,000 in support to run medium-length specialisation courses in 2027 for people who manage Portugal 2030 funds. The money comes from the European Regional Development Fund, with co-financing of up to 75%. Courses must last 30 to 60 hours and cover eight priority areas, including public policy evaluation, public procurement, risk and compliance, environmental and ESG requirements, and artificial intelligence in fund monitoring. Higher education institutions, the national public administration institute and the local authorities' training foundation may each submit up to three bids, capped at €75,000 per course.
Olivum, the association of Portuguese olive growers and mills, has signed an agreement handing day-to-day management of the Olive Oil Sustainability Programme (PSA) to the consultancy Concerta. Concerta will handle operations, administration, finance and communication, including applications, support for businesses and liaison with certification bodies. Olivum keeps ownership of the programme and its standard, and sets its strategic direction. Developed with the University of Évora, the PSA is billed as the world's first sustainability certification for olive oil, with 108 criteria. Six certifiers are approved and three entities already hold certified product. The aim is to widen uptake among growers, mills and packers.
The Sustainable StonebyPortugal Mobilising Agenda, a programme for Portugal's natural stone sector, has ended after five years of work. It produced 29 technological solutions, 11 products, processes and services, and four industrial patents. Total investment came to 68.9 million euros, of which 39.7 million was financed through Portugal's Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR).
Portugal has drawn 186 foreign direct investment projects in 2025. That figure is 5% lower than in the previous year.
FERA, the national federation of native livestock breed associations, has lodged a formal objection to the 2026 school menu guidelines issued by EduQa. The rules cap red meat at four meals a month, which FERA says is stricter than the Directorate-General of Health's own Mediterranean diet advice of one or two portions a week. It argues that vulnerable children rely on the canteen for their only hot meal, and that municipal schemes buying local native-breed meat would be undermined. FERA asks for an exemption for certified PDO/PGI extensive-system meat and for procurement criteria favouring these producers.
The long-distance coach operator FlixBus has added Loulé and Castro Verde to its Portuguese network. Since 1 October, a new route offers four daily departures linking Loulé to Lisbon, Setúbal, Beja, Albufeira and Faro, including the airport. Fares start at 4.49 euros from Loulé to Lisbon and 6.99 euros from Castro Verde. The two towns bring the company's new domestic destinations to 13 since the start of 2026. Separately, it launched daytime services from Évora to Santarém, Coimbra, Porto and Ovar, and now lets travellers search its routes through ChatGPT.
FlixBus has widened its transport network in Portugal, adding further destinations in the Algarve and Alentejo regions.
Bolt, which operates shared e-scooters in Lisbon, has called for further talks with the city after Lisbon City Hall approved suspending shared e-scooters by the end of 2026. The company says it wants to find a different model for the service rather than see it stop altogether.
Infraestruturas de Portugal, the state company that manages the national rail network, is preparing a programme of commemorative events to mark 170 years since railways arrived in Portugal.
A new bridge over the Ribeira do Alcôrrego, on Municipal Road 508, opens to vehicles on Tuesday 27 October, replacing the old crossing between the municipalities of Sousel and Avis. The contract, signed in July 2025 with Construções Pragosa for just over 1.27 million euros, allowed 300 days for the works. The two councils split the bridge cost equally, and each paid in full for the road approaches in its own territory. Traffic on the road now uses the new structure, and the old crossing is no longer in service.
The Alqueva Sustentável project is holding an open day at the Casa Agrícola Tavares de Almeida, a farm in Serpa, in the Beja district. The event was announced by EDIA, the company that manages the Alqueva irrigation scheme. Its theme is agricultural diversity and how varying production systems can make farms more sustainable and resilient. EDIA says that growing several crops and running different activities spreads risk, lowering dependence on a single crop and exposure to price swings, climate change, pests and disease. Farmers can see the strategy at work on the ground.
EDIA, the company running the Alqueva multipurpose scheme, has published a new set of orthophoto maps built from aerial photographs taken between 26 July and 2 August 2025. They cover about 1.425 million hectares at 25 centimetres per pixel, compiled from more than 4,700 digital images shot from around 4,000 metres. There are two versions: true colour, and false colour using the infrared band to highlight vegetation. EDIA says the maps can help track farming activity, land use and irrigation perimeters, and support farmers, designers, investors, planning and property valuations. They are free to download as JPG files and may be reused for any purpose with credit.
A workshop on artificial intelligence and virtual reality in agriculture took place on 23 October at the Elvas School of Biosciences, part of the Polytechnic University of Portalegre. It marked six years of InovTechAgro, the national competence centre for technological innovation in agroforestry, and National AKIS Day. Technicians, farming professionals and vocational, degree and master's students attended, trying out immersive virtual reality tools for training and modernisation. The National CAP Network's coordinator presented AKIS Portugal, the agricultural knowledge and innovation system, stressing networking among farmers, researchers, schools and sector organisations to strengthen knowledge transfer.
Two researchers, Graça Pacheco de Carvalho and Isabel Duarte, will present "Ciência da Sopa" on 26 October at 18:00 at the Elvas School of Biosciences, part of the Polytechnic University of Portalegre. Chef Francisca Dias, the national "Chef of the Year" winner, will introduce it. The book grew out of the DM4You project, which tested soup's effect on health in two age groups, using blood tests on volunteers from Elvas who followed a diet including specific soups made by an Alentejo firm. It covers soup's history, technology and sensory evaluation, and promotes regional plant-based produce.
Tratolixo, the intermunicipal company that handles urban waste for Cascais, Mafra, Oeiras and Sintra, collected 1.13% more waste overall in the first six months of the year, about 2,846 tonnes extra. Separately collected biowaste reached 42,782 tonnes, up 6.5% on the first half of 2025, helped by an 11.66% rise in green waste and 45% more material through the free green bag for food scraps. Multimaterial recycling collection, covering plastic, metal, cartons, glass and paper, grew 3.14% to over 23,400 tonnes. The green bag now reaches more than 55% of residents.
The second Porto Urban Greening Biennal takes place at the Serralves Foundation from 29 to 31 October 2026 under the theme "Cultivar Comunidades". It brings together landscape architects, researchers, policymakers and urban practitioners to discuss greening concrete-dominated cities, restoring urban soils and involving residents in reshaping their neighbourhoods. Speakers include a former Paris deputy mayor, representatives of projects in Malmö, Sheffield and Seville, and landscape architect Aniket Bhagwat. Talks on 29 and 30 October cover citizen initiatives, unsealing paved ground and upgrading run-down housing areas. A tribute to planting designer Nigel Dunnett is planned, and 31 October offers workshops for professionals and families, by registration with limited places.
The eighth Green Savers Conference, themed "Leading the Sustainable Transition", runs on Tuesday 27 October from 9am to 1pm at the Orlando Ribeiro Library auditorium in Telheiras, Lisbon. Climate scientist Filipe Duarte Santos, head of the national environment and sustainable development council, gives the keynote. Three panels follow, covering sustainability in company management, cooperation along the packaging chain from producers to recyclers, and local-level action in neighbourhoods. Maria Albertina Rodrigues of the Portuguese business ethics association closes the morning. Attendance is free but requires prior registration, and places are limited.
The Alto Minho Local Health Unit (ULSAM) will publish the results of radon monitoring carried out in its buildings at a technical session on 28 October at the Polytechnic University of Viana do Castelo. Specialists from the university, the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) and ULSAM will discuss exposure risks, monitoring procedures and mitigation options, including the health risks to staff working in the affected buildings. From 17:00, APA will give residents free passive radon detectors so they can check levels in their own homes. Radon is a natural radioactive gas that cannot be seen or smelled and can build up in enclosed spaces.
The third Alentejo Walking Festival runs from 29 October to 1 November, with 50 guided walking routes spread across municipalities in the region. The main weekend programme, "Todo o Alentejo a Caminhar", offers free walks, though registration was required and closed on 28 October. Many routes combine interpretation of the landscape with cultural activities. Industry events run alongside: a conference on route management in Gavião, a business meeting for tour operators in Nisa, and an international press programme from 5 to 8 November. The regional tourism body says growing municipal participation shows the weight of walking tourism.
Alvito's Feira dos Santos e Frutos Secos returns from Friday 30 October to Sunday 1 November, with around sixty exhibitors selling traditional products, regional specialities, crafts and food. Concerts are also planned, including Miguel Gameiro and Polo Norte on Friday and Os Quatro e Meia on Saturday. The fair traces its roots to the Feira Franca of 1295, which originally took place in December before being moved forward to 1 November so producers could show better-quality goods. Mayor José Efigénio calls it the municipality's biggest event today and says it once served as the area's shopping centre. The council wants it to keep promoting local producers and businesses.
A delegation from Oman's Ministry of Heritage and Tourism made a working visit on 21 October to Portugal's Mountain Villages network, as part of an international training and exchange programme coordinated by the consultancy Horwath HTL. The route began in Manteigas at the Burel Factory, a wool-based industrial regeneration project, then moved on to Cortes do Meio in Covilhã, known for its natural pools, and Alcongosta in Fundão, where the group saw a cherry showcase and an artisan chocolate maker. The network's governance model was presented as good international practice in networked tourism rooted in local identity, landscape and community involvement.
Pupils from the Jardim da Serra primary and pre-school are visiting the University of Madeira to hand over seeds of regional crop varieties to the ISOPlexis Germobank. The seeds are wheat, barley, rye, maize and peas, all grown on Quinta Leonor under biological production methods. The pupils took part in the sowing themselves, and the Madeira Zootechnical Station helped with the maize. Depositing the varieties is meant to safeguard them for continued study and to conserve the region's agricultural biodiversity and genetic heritage. Quinta Leonor is run by CDISA and backed by the regional government and Câmara de Lobos council.
The municipality of Castanheira de Pera, working with the local CLDS social development programme, has launched "Laços que Ficam" to tackle loneliness among older people. Residents of the municipality aged 15 to 40 can sign up to build a relationship of friendship and trust with an elderly person through conversation, games, reading and sharing memories. Volunteers receive training and support from a technical team, and may be given a participation certificate. The role excludes financial help, health or hygiene care, handling of belongings or documents, and acting as a carer or legal representative. Registration is through an online form.
Fourteen people in Arganil have learned traditional weaving, made pieces from recycled yarn and built new skills in a project meant to show culture can serve as a tool for inclusion. The initiative is now ending, though the work is due to continue. Arganil municipality is holding a closing event on 5 November at 2pm at the Cerâmica Arganilense.
The National Association of Social Gerontology (ANGES) has set up a Portuguese Parliament on Ageing, a civic initiative that drew more than a thousand applications. Sixty participants aged 21 to 77, from about 40 localities, were selected and split into six committees. They will be chaired by José Manuel Álvares da Costa e Oliveira, 77, a former government official and MP. The committees will debate and draft recommendations towards a National Agenda for Ageing. The body has no legislative powers and does not replace the organs of state; it aims to bring scientific knowledge closer to citizens' lived experience.
Crédito Agrícola has named the ten winners of the sixth Dia CA Mais Sustentável contest, which backs social economy organisations working on environmental sustainability, social inclusion and community development. Five projects were chosen in each of the Environmental and Social categories. Environmental winners cover land regeneration against desertification, protective hedgerows on farms, solar panels and an electric vehicle to distribute surplus food. Social winners include an inclusive workshop for people with disabilities, employability and digital skills programmes, intergenerational learning, free outings for older people and home-monitoring technology for isolated seniors. The bank links the initiative to its 115th anniversary.
A senior executive at BNP Paribas Personal Finance's Cetelem unit argues that corporate volunteering gives the social pillar of ESG practical substance. Since 2025, over 500 staff have taken part in volunteering, giving almost 3,900 hours through more than 20 solidarity team-building events and financial literacy sessions that reached over 1,800 young people. She says rising living costs and weaker social cohesion make such work pertinent for financial institutions, whose staff can explain everyday money concepts in schools and community groups. Companies, she adds, must recognise and facilitate volunteering so more employees can join.
Casa de Repouso Senhora da Penha, a private care home that has looked after older people in Portalegre for 25 years, intends to invest in energy and new equipment. The business association NERPOR is helping it look for suitable funding calls, and the company has also signed up for a training-action application. The home offers accommodation, meals, nursing, physiotherapy and social activities, and works with local cultural and volunteering initiatives. NERPOR says it will analyse support options against the home's real priorities and costs, rather than steer it towards whatever grant happens to be available.
