Pulse

8 November 2026

Good morning. Today brings walnut shells in greenhouses, wolves and wardens, new ways to travel and a quiet sanctuary near Loulé.

Nature and biodiversity

Shepherd paid €1,840 for 46 sheep killed by wolves, a fifth of their market value

A shepherd in Duas Igrejas, in the municipality of Miranda do Douro, lost 46 sheep in a single wolf attack and put his loss at €15,000. The ICNF, the nature conservation agency, confirmed wolves were responsible and that he met the legal requirements, but compensated him just €1,840, about €40 per animal against a market price above €200. The author argues that low payouts fuel illegal killing of wolves, whose national population has stayed near 300 for 25 years. He notes the Government has recently changed the compensation rules and points to Scandinavian payments for presence and Spain's regulated hunting as models.

Norte Ecosystems & Biodiversity More on this story → View project: ICNF - Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas →

Mealhada starts removing invasive pampas grass with trained staff and student volunteers

Mealhada municipality has begun its first control work against pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana), with interventions in Luso and Mealhada town. Environmental and forestry technicians, forest sappers and other council staff took part, helped by young volunteers from the Vasconcellos Lebre vocational school. Ahead of the fieldwork, municipal teams received training from an invasive-plants specialist at the Coimbra agricultural college on identifying the species and controlling it. The plant threatens biodiversity and its pollen can cause allergies. The effort sits within the transnational LIFE COOP Cortaderia project, and the specialist stressed that acting early matters because spread makes control harder and costlier.

Centro Ecosystems & Biodiversity Read more at Diário de Aveiro ↗

Ansião opens €1 million design contest to rebuild storm-damaged municipal woodland

Ansião council has unanimously approved a public design competition to restore and upgrade its municipal woodland, damaged by Storm Kristin. Entries are open until 4 January 2027, and the works are budgeted at €1 million. The best entry wins €25,000. Proposals must favour climate-resilient solutions, plant regeneration and biodiversity, while also providing for leisure, exercise, culture and environmental education. The roughly 14,800 square metre site sits beside the school, sports hall, pool and cultural centre, and designs must respect the municipal master plan and national ecological reserve and watercourse rules.

Centro Ecosystems & Biodiversity Read more at Jornal de Leiria ↗

Madeira conservation body says Desertas wardens are safe after heavy-rain video

Madeira's forestry and nature conservation institute (IFCN) says the team of nature wardens stationed on the Desertas Islands is safe, in constant contact with its services and equipped with a backup communications system. It was responding to a video of heavy rainfall on the islands that circulated after being shared by a deputy. The IFCN says the wooden warden house was built raised above the ground to cope with such downpours, which are routine in winter. Its president, Manuel Filipe, rejects any suggestion of lives at risk and criticises the spread of footage without context, saying it caused needless alarm among the wardens' families.

Madeira Ecosystems & Biodiversity More on this story → View project: IFCN – Instituto das Florestas e Conservação da Natureza, IP-RAM →

Ideas from the field

Évora researchers swap part of coconut fibre for walnut shells in lettuce growing

Researchers at the University of Évora found that a blend of crushed walnut shells and biochar can replace 20% of the coconut fibre in a greenhouse growing substrate without hurting lettuce yields. The trial, run at the Mitra experimental estate, used 80% coconut fibre, 12% walnut shells and 8% biochar and produced 7.1 kg of lettuce per square metre, matching the coconut-fibre-only reference. Nitrate in the leaves fell by about 61%, from roughly 4,130 to 1,600 mg/kg, while anthocyanin content rose. The team sees a use for an agri-food by-product that could reduce reliance on imported materials, and says further work is needed to refine the formulations and irrigation.

Alentejo Food & Agriculture More on this story →

Maia water utility sends residents a redesigned bill showing sustainability indicators

The municipal water and sanitation services of Maia have introduced a redesigned bill, the Fatura Consciente da Água, meant to encourage sustainable water use. It was developed with residents through participatory workshops held in all 10 parishes of the municipality in 2025. The bill carries environmental performance indicators and comparative consumption data, for instance showing how many people the water on the bill would serve under more sustainable usage patterns. It has already reached every customer in the municipality. The utility also launched other citizen-led projects, including Picheleiro do Vizinho, an app for finding nearby professionals for urgent jobs such as leaks in household pipes.

Norte Energy, Water & Mobility More on this story →

Azores parliament launches website tracking its own carbon emissions

The Azores regional parliament has launched a sustainability website showing its environmental indicators and the steps it is taking to cut its carbon footprint. Parliament's president, Luís Garcia, presented it as a move towards greater transparency and accountability to citizens. Between January and September the institution emitted 210.11 tonnes of CO2, 10.3% more than a year earlier. Air and sea travel accounted for 53.6%, electricity for 45.7% and water for 0.7%. Emissions from staff using their own vehicles on parliamentary business are not yet counted. Offsetting relies on tree planting, and the parliament's buildings now have 214 trees. Visitors can also calculate their own footprint and find tips to reduce it.

Azores Products, Consumption & Circular Read more at Açoriano Oriental ↗

Central Portugal cheese programme wins honourable mention at EU Funds Awards

InovCluster, the agro-industrial cluster association for Portugal's Centre region, received an honourable mention at the European Funds Awards in the "Portugal + Closer to Citizens" category, presented in Lisbon on 5 November. The awards drew 154 entries, 30 of them finalists. The recognised programme ran from 2019 to 2022 with Centro 2020 and ERDF backing, bringing together 15 partners across the Serra da Estrela, Beira Baixa and Rabaçal protected-origin cheese areas. It funded training schools for shepherds and cheesemakers and created the "Queijos Centro de Portugal" brand. The work continues under the PROVERE strategy, backed by Centro 2030, which targets consumer outreach, tourism links and new producers.

Centro Food & Agriculture More on this story →

Getting around

Nazaré to give residents free cable transport from January 2027

Nazaré's council has unanimously approved free use of the municipality's cable transport for residents from 1 January 2027. It covers the lift between Praia and Sítio and will extend to the planned funicular linking Praia and Pederneira. Residents will need a free annual pass, issued on proof of fiscal residence. The council presents the move as part of its sustainable mobility strategy, aiming to take cars off internal journeys. The estimated €52,317 loss in revenue will be absorbed by the municipal services in year one and offset by a tariff review for other users, mainly tourists. An evaluation report will follow after the first year.

Centro Energy, Water & Mobility Read more at Região de Leiria ↗

FlixBus adds direct services to six Portuguese destinations

FlixBus is expanding its network in Portugal with direct connections to six destinations, among them Aveiro, Santarém and Peniche. The expansion brings 64 additional weekly services across two municipalities.

Energy, Water & Mobility Read more at The Portugal News ↗

Buses replace Douro Line trains between Marco de Canaveses and Régua until March

Train services on part of the Douro Line, between Marco de Canaveses and Régua, are suspended while modernisation works take place. CP, the national rail operator, will run replacement buses along the affected stretch instead. The suspension is due to last until 24 March.

Norte Energy, Water & Mobility Read more at The Portugal News ↗

Energy, policy and rules

Oil still supplies over 92% of Portugal's transport energy as electrification stalls

New Ember data show oil accounted for 92.31% of energy used in Portugal's transport sector in 2025, while electricity supplied just 1.46%, up slightly from 1.28% a year earlier. Oil's share has fallen from 99.46% in 2000, but progress is slow. Across the whole economy, electricity made up 27.09% of final energy consumption, above the EU-27 average of 23.58%. Portugal also leads the EU in buildings, at 49.55% against 35.17%, but trails it in transport, where the EU figure is 2.52%.

Energy, Water & Mobility Read more at Jornal PT Green ↗

Portugal's energy system has transformed over two decades, prompting calls for industrial benefit

Portugal's energy system has changed substantially over the past twenty years. The piece frames that shift as a starting point for a wider argument, namely that the energy sector should also generate industry, not only power.

Energy, Water & Mobility Read more at The Portugal News ↗

Energy agency and gender equality commission examine women's exposure to energy poverty

ADENE, Portugal's energy agency, and the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality (CIG) held a joint meeting on 5 November on energy and gender equality, with public bodies, companies, academics and civil society. Figures presented showed 45% of women over 65 at risk of energy poverty, rising to 51% among lone mothers with children. Women make up 23% of energy-sector professionals, and only 2 to 11 euros of every 100 in energy development aid go to projects aimed at gender equality. Participants called for gender to be built into every stage of policymaking, better data, and stable political commitment with clear targets and accountability.

Energy, Water & Mobility More on this story → View project: ADENE – Agência para a Energia →

Commission drops EU green claims proof rules but keeps the ban on vague labels

The European Commission has listed the Green Claims directive among pending proposals to withdraw in its 2027 work programme, with formalisation expected within six months, citing three years of stalemate and no Council backing. The directive would have set how environmental claims are substantiated and verified. Separate rules in force since 27 September 2026 still ban generic terms like "eco-friendly" and carbon-offset-based neutrality claims. Without a shared method, proof falls to national authorities and courts, risking fragmented standards. Portugal has not yet transposed Directive 2024/825, and the author urges consumer authorities to issue guidance and companies to document every claim.

Products, Consumption & Circular Read more at Observador ↗

Madeira Socialists call for regional food strategy as over 60% of residents are overweight

Socialist assembly member Sílvia Sousa Silva has called for a regional food strategy covering everything from production to consumption, citing figures showing over 60% of Madeira's population is overweight or obese. She wants agriculture, education, social services, councils and health to work together on prevention. The party proposes that school and public canteen contracts include health and environmental criteria, favouring fresh, seasonal, local produce rather than the lowest price. The regional nutritionists' association says Madeira has one nutritionist per 12,000 people and went almost ten years without hiring any for the health service.

Madeira Food & Agriculture More on this story →

Needs attention

Housing protest camps open in Faro and Portimão over Algarve rents

Housing activists are setting up protest camps in Faro and Portimão on Saturday 7 November. In Faro, a march leaves Liceu João de Deus at 5pm for Jardim Manuel Bivar, where an overnight camp begins at 6pm with a people's assembly, a community kitchen and live music. A second camp opens outside Portimão Town Hall at the same hour. Organisers point to high prices, insecure tenancies and a lack of affordable year-round homes, and say many Algarve properties are let only from September to May before reverting to tourists. They follow the larger protests in Lisbon and Porto.

Algarve Construction & Housing Read more at Portugal Resident ↗

Water supply to be cut in six municipalities on 9 and 10 November

Residents of Lagos, Portimão, Alcochete, Setúbal, Barreiro and Castelo Branco face planned water interruptions on Monday 9 and Tuesday 10 November. Local authorities cite maintenance, replacement of equipment and connection of new pipes and branches. Lagos is hit on both days, with cuts of up to eight hours on several streets. In Barreiro the supply will be off overnight, from 21h00 on the 10th until 06h00 on the 11th, around the Lavradio church and Quinta dos Morgados. Nearby streets may see pressure problems. Households are advised to store only the water they need and check municipal channels for changes.

Energy, Water & Mobility Read more at Postal ↗

Sewer works close a lane in Braga's Ferreiros until January 2027

From Monday 9 November, traffic on Rua Cidade do Porto in Ferreiros, Braga, will be restricted by construction of the outfall sewer for the new Este wastewater treatment plant. The right-hand lane will be closed between the Aptiv site and the Ponte Pedrinha roundabout, with works due to run until 9 January 2027. Braga-to-Porto traffic will be diverted along Quinta de Santa Maria, Padre Cruz and Frei José Vilaça streets. Fourteen TUB bus lines will change route, three stops will be deactivated and two temporary alternatives set up along the detour. The council's mayor says the disruption is temporary and the infrastructure crucial for future generations.

Norte Energy, Water & Mobility Read more at Diário do Minho ↗

Small wonders

Mother creates animal sanctuary near Loulé in memory of her late daughter

A small animal sanctuary called Quinta Raquel sits just five minutes from Loulé in the Algarve. It was founded by a mother who, after losing her daughter, set out to build something lasting and beautiful in her memory. The place is described as peaceful, and its story is one of love, loss and determination.

Algarve Ecosystems & Biodiversity Read more at The Portugal News ↗

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