The management of natural heritage and the animal and plant fauna that comprise it is an essential component of any self-respecting sustainable strategy. Without forgetting that preservation efforts must always deal with the management of infrastructure present throughout the territory and which are fundamental for economic and social development.
This is the case of electrical networks, omnipresent in the landscape and which cohabit with countless living species. If they can often be harmful, and without the necessary planning, more than ever it is possible to see them in a context of contribution to preservation. Between challenges and opportunities, innovative solutions are required that align efforts between companies, public entities and civil society in promoting natural capital.
Matters that were discussed at the “Sustainability Conference: Networks and the promotion of Natural Capital” – organized by E-Redes and which Expresso joined as a media partner – which brought together several personalities at the Vandelli Botanical Garden, in Lisbon. Moderated by Liliana Carvalho, the conference was attended by José Ferrari Careto, president of the Board of Directors of E-Redes; Rui Ladeira, Secretary of State for Forests; Lucía Santalla, from EDP Redes España; Carlos Marinho, operational coordinator at ANTARR; Nuno Oliveira, CEO of NBI; Carla Cruz, from the University of Évora; Sandra Sarmento, regional director of ICNF Norte; José Gaspar, from ForestWise; Inês Cândido da Silva, responsible for the sustainability management area at E-Redes; Ingrid Marchand, from LPO France; Pedro Bingre do Amaral, president of LPN; Miguel Henriques, director of the Department of Nature Conservation and Biodiversity at ICNF; Luís Pires, Deputy Director in the technology and standardization area at E-Redes; and João Martins de Carvalho, member of the Board of Directors of E-Redes.
Discover the main conclusions.
Goals
- “If the network has the issue of vegetation well managed, it becomes more resilient”, summarizes José Ferrari Careto, for whom the “theme of sustainability is a huge opportunity”.
- It is important to guarantee “the Portuguese and our infrastructures more security”, points out Rui Ladeira, who highlighted the Intervention Plan for the Forest 2025-2050 approved this year.
- The big challenge is to reconcile environmental preservation with structural investments that last over time. But “it is This meeting point is sometimes difficult”, maintains Carla Cruz.
Capital natural
- “Portugal has great natural capital potential”, believes Sandra Sarmento.
- According to José Gaspar, “biological assets are valued very differently than they were a few years ago”.
- In other words, shoot, we are faced with the hypothesis of, with natural capital, “creating economic value” in the territory at the same time that nature is valued.
Avifauna
- Work on the networks “can encourage the maintenance of certain species of birds”, argues Pedro Bingre do Amaral.
- “We have been working on the different protection devices”, warns Luís Pires, such as “the layout of the lines”, to protect the birdlife.
- The experience with ecological corridors and synergies between public and private entities in France for the protection of birds was explained by Ingrid Marchand.
- Monitoring the natural values of networks “is an extraordinary leap” that must be “enhanced”, elaborates Miguel Henriques.
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