When the country faces the increasingly serious consequences of the climate crisis and the loss of biodiversity, moving forward with the extinction of the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF) would be not only a mistake, but a historic error.
Fortunately, this appears to have been the framework, hopefully definitive and not provisional, adopted by the Minister of Environment and Energy, to halt the extinction of the ICNF. Nature conservation is one of the pillars of environmental sustainability and a constitutional imperative that reflects the ethical responsibility to protect life in all its forms. To weaken the institution that ensures this mission would be to set Portuguese environmental policy back decades.
But if the answer was not to extinguish it, it is urgent to prioritize political intervention in nature conservation and the restoration of the institution that supports it.
If we take protected areas as an example, we realize the state of abandonment to which many were voted and the enormous delays in planning and action, particularly in the face of numerous tourist pressures in coastal areas. From north to south, examples of degradation accumulate: The Castro Marim Natural Reserve was invaded by intensive avocado plantations; Paúl do Boquilobo continues to be exposed to the proliferation of invasive exotic species; the Serra da Estrela Natural Park lost more than a quarter of its area in recent fires; Paúl de Arzila has a visitor center in ruins; in Douro Internacional, fire destroyed habitats of threatened species such as the black vulture.
These examples reveal a pattern: the structural fragility of the management of protected areas and the absence of a consistent conservation strategy.
The co-management model proved to be uneven, dependent on temporary financing and without territorial coherence. In some regions, the CCDR received competencies, but lost the qualified human resources of the ICNF. In some cases, the co-manager figure disappeared with the end of the funds. The result is a network of protected areas with no clear direction and no ability to respond to growing pressures on ecosystems.
These scenarios justify the need to reinforce the conditions that justify the existence of an institution with technical and scientific competence and the capacity for direct intervention in the territory. The ICNF, upon assuming itself as the National Authority for Nature Conservation and Biodiversity and National Forestry Authority, has not lost its reason for being. What failed was the lack of political priority and continued investment.
In addition to the legal conditions for the extinction of the ICNF not being met, the hypothesis of transferring functions to the APA or the CCDR does not align with the nature of these entities. The APA focuses on environmental aspects associated with human activity, while the CCDR accumulate administrative and regional planning functions. These structures do not have the specialized knowledge or vocation to manage threatened ecosystems and species. The dispersion of skills does not generate efficiency, only confusion and loss of focus.
Several environmental NGOs have been clear: the country needs to strengthen the ICNF, not dissolve it. It lacks autonomy, stability, qualified human resources and the ability to act on the ground. This is what must be reformed. Nature conservation cannot continue to depend on exhausted teams, precarious contracts and residual budgets. A true reform must guarantee decentralized and close management, with an integrated territorial vision: a protected area, a manager with authority and means.
At a time when the National Conservation and Biodiversity Strategy and the Nature Restoration Law are being implemented, and challenges such as post-fire rehabilitation or the recovery of the Iberian lynx are being faced, Portugal cannot show any signs of backsliding.
The destruction of ecosystems is also the destruction of our own future. Forests, wetlands, dunes and rivers provide vital ecological services. Nature conservation is a policy of national security and intergenerational justice.
Portugal needs strong institutions, with technical capacity and independence from political fluctuations. Strengthening the ICNF means strengthening environmental democracy, public responsibility and the connection between communities and their natural heritage. Protecting Portugal’s natural heritage also means investing in the quality of life of future generations.