Researchers from FCT NOVA identify 73 actions for biodiversity protection

25-05-2023

Lia Vasconcelos and José Carlos Ferreira, professors at the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering of FCT NOVA and researchers at MARE/ARNET, led the program Mission Nature 22 that resulted in a strategic plan for the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF) for the protection of biodiversity.

The programme was a Collaborative Governance process to improve the conservation status of natural values and promote a more empowered community, which resulted in seven collaborative sessions that took place throughout 2022 in distinct parts of the country. The sessions, which were streamlined and organized by FCT NOVA, debated the seven thematic objectives of the program: Increase Public Ownership of the Natural Heritage, Improve the State of Conservation of the Heritage, Monitor and Control Invasive Alien Species, Make the Economy and Biodiversity Compatible, Strengthen Green Infrastructure and Ecological Connectivity, Stimulate International Cooperation and Innovate in Investment in Biodiversity.

The results of the sessions, presented at the closing ceremony, identified 73 actions aimed at accelerating the achievement of biodiversity targets for 2030, improving the state of conservation of natural values and guiding investment.

The programme, launched by ICNF in the Year of Portuguese Natural Heritage, ended on 22 May, Biodiversity Day, at Queluz Palace.