Sustainable Living
The week in the Pulse · 17 – 23 August 2026

Wildfire losses fall, but Portugal cannot relax yet

Portugal's wildfire losses are sharply lower than last year's, although favourable weather deserves much of the credit and risk remains high into September. Targeted grazing offers one practical response. Elsewhere, disputes over groundwater and coastal erosion raised questions about what public decisions overlook, while new schemes found further use for old tyres, rejected cherries and household goods.

7 daily editions · 138 stories · 7 regions

What shaped the week

Mainland Portugal has recorded a smaller burnt area this year, but the figures resist a victory story. From 1 January to 15 August, fires burned 56,586 hectares, 74.7% less than in the same period of 2025, even as the number of fires rose by 14%. Experts mainly credit a wet, prolonged winter. With dry vegetation, recent major fires and high risk expected through September, prevention remains urgent. In Serra da Estrela, virtual fencing is guiding cattle to graze fire-prone scrub. A €2.6 million fund will also support converting eligible scrubland into managed pasture. Elsewhere, arguments centre on whether public investment tackles underlying pressures. ZERO says the €1.422 billion coastal resilience plan favours artificial beach nourishment while giving too little attention to river sediment, over 80% of which is now retained by dams. Northern Portugal, meanwhile, has opened a €10 million call to restore rivers and streams in poor or mediocre ecological condition. In Alcácer do Sal, Quercus plans an EU complaint over an approved 295-hectare citrus project within Natura 2000, citing groundwater and habitat risks. Circular projects made the week's most practical case for treating waste as material. A new Ourém plant is due to process 120,000 end-of-life tyres a year into secondary raw materials for tyre manufacturing. Moreno is turning Fundão cherries rejected by retailers into a vinegar-style product. LIPOR's Banco de Bens takes a different route, keeping usable furniture, appliances and equipment in circulation through internal reuse or free donation to social organisations.

Stories behind the week

Fire risk beyond figures

A fourfold fall in burnt area offers relief, but favourable weather explains much of it and the season continues. Targeted grazing in Serra da Estrela and a €2.6 million pasture fund show how land management can reduce combustible scrub.

Portugal's burnt area down fourfold so far in 2026

Between 1 January and 15 August 2026, wildfires burned 56,586 hectares in mainland Portugal, 74.7% less than the 223,189 hectares recorded over the same period in 2025, despite a 14% rise in the number of fires. Experts attribute the improvement mainly to favourable weather, including a wet, prolonged winter, rather than to prevention or firefighting policy alone. They warn the fire season is not over, citing recent major fires in Vouzela, Valpaços, Guarda, Arouca and Moncorvo, dry vegetation, and the risk posed by fuel accumulation from rural abandonment. The prime minister has acknowledged continuing high fire risk through September.

Ecosystems & BiodiversityRead the full story →

Virtual fencing lets cattle herd graze to cut wildfire risk in Serra da Estrela

A herd of cows is being used in the Serra da Estrela to help prevent wildfires by grazing down vegetation that fuels fires, guided by a virtual shepherd system rather than traditional fencing or herders. The technology directs the animals' movement across the terrain, allowing targeted grazing of scrubland in areas at high fire risk. The initiative reflects a wider trend of using livestock grazing as a land-management tool to reduce combustible biomass in fire-prone mountain regions of Portugal.

CentroFood & AgricultureRead the full story →

Portugal opens €2.6m fund to convert scrubland into pasture

The Institute for Agriculture and Fisheries Financing (IFAP) has opened a call for applications, funded by the Fundo Ambiental, offering over €2.6 million to support converting scrubland into managed pasture. The scheme targets plots registered as shrub-covered land exceeding 50cm in height that cannot currently be used for farming or grazing, aiming to reduce fuel loads and wildfire risk by encouraging traditional extensive grazing. Costs are paid per hectare and cannot combine with other public funding. Applications opened on Wednesday via IFAP's portal, with successful applicants given 18 months to complete the conversion; the call closes once the budget is exhausted.

Food & AgricultureRead the full story →

Water plans under scrutiny

From a contested citrus project in Alcácer do Sal to criticism of coastal spending, water decisions face scrutiny over aquifers, habitats and missing sediment. A €10 million northern river restoration call shows where public funding is also moving towards ecological repair.

Quercus to file EU complaint over Alcácer do Sal citrus project

Environmental group Quercus will file a formal complaint with the European Commission against the approval of an intensive citrus farming project in Alcácer do Sal, covering 295 hectares within the Natura 2000 network. The environmental impact statement, issued on 3 August, was granted despite 99.2% of public consultation participants opposing it. Quercus warns the project, which involves 12 deep boreholes extracting 1.74 hm3 of groundwater yearly, threatens an already stressed aquifer and endangers protected habitats and rare species near the Sado estuary. The group is also considering seeking a court injunction to suspend the decision.

AlentejoEcosystems & BiodiversityRead the full story →

ZERO says Portugal's coastal plan ignores river sediment loss

Environmental association ZERO has criticised the Programme of Action for Coastal Resilience 2040 (PARL 2040), a €1.422 billion investment plan, for failing to address one of the root causes of coastal erosion: the reduction of sediment carried by rivers to the sea. ZERO's analysis of the plan's 1,063 measures found only six river-basin studies, worth 0.16% of funding, versus roughly €346 million for artificial beach nourishment. Dams already retain over 80% of sediment rivers once carried to the coast. ZERO also flags the lack of cross-border coordination with Spain and calls for dedicated sediment plans and river-continuity measures.

Ecosystems & BiodiversityRead the full story →

Northern Portugal gets €10m for river restoration projects

The NORTE 2030 regional programme has opened a call worth €10 million, funded by the European Regional Development Fund, to support ecological restoration of rivers and streams across northern Portugal. The funding targets water bodies classified as having poor or mediocre ecological status, identified with the Portuguese Environment Agency in line with regional water management plans. Planned works span numerous municipalities, including riverbank renaturalisation and rehabilitation along the Ave, Vizela, Selho, Leça and Lamas rivers, plus uncovering a buried watercourse in Porto's Pinheiro Torres neighbourhood. Applications can be submitted via the Balcão dos Fundos until 30 December 2026.

NorteEcosystems & BiodiversityRead the full story →

Waste finds another use

Tyres in Ourém, rejected Fundão cherries and usable household goods are being kept in circulation through three distinct schemes. Together, they make resource use concrete: recover industrial material, repurpose food and donate equipment before it becomes waste.

New plant in Ourém to recycle 120,000 tyres a year

BB&G has installed a tyre-recycling plant in Vilar dos Prazeres, Ourém, following an investment of around one million euros over the past year. Starting operations this month, the facility will process 1,500 tonnes of rubber granulate annually, equivalent to 120,000 end-of-life tyres, converting it into secondary raw materials that can be reused in new tyre manufacturing. The company describes it as Portugal's first circular economy project in the tyre sector, based on proprietary technology. BB&G is backed by technology partner BDI-BioEnergy International and has a collaboration agreement with Bridgestone EMEA and Versalis (ENI) to validate the material's quality.

CentroProducts, Consumption & CircularRead the full story →

Moreno turns rejected Fundão cherries into balsamic vinegar

Moreno, a brand of Casa Mendes Gonçalves, has created a new balsamic product using cherries from Fundão that fail to meet commercial standards and would otherwise not reach supermarket shelves. Instead of being discarded, the fruit is repurposed into a vinegar-style product, giving it a second use and reducing food waste. The initiative reflects a broader push in the food industry to find value in produce that does not meet cosmetic or size criteria for retail sale.

CentroFood & AgricultureRead the full story →

LIPOR launches Banco de Bens to reuse and donate items

LIPOR has created the Banco de Bens, a scheme to extend the life of used furniture, appliances and other equipment that remain in good condition rather than being discarded. The initiative allows internal reuse within LIPOR and free donation to charities, NGOs and other social organisations with identified needs. It forms part of LIPOR's circular waste management model, aiming to reduce resource waste and support a lower-carbon economy. To promote the scheme, LIPOR has launched the campaign "Ainda tenho muito para dar", giving voice to the objects themselves to highlight their continued usefulness.

NorteProducts, Consumption & CircularRead the full story →

The map keeps filling in. This week we added 17 projects and 36 events. Sustainable Living now connects 358 projects, 195 upcoming events and 742 people across Portugal.

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