The Minister of Internal Administration, Maria Lúcia Amaral, announced that following the recent rural fires predominantly affecting the country’s northern region, the government will resume the implementation of the Forest Intervention Plan 2025-2050. This plan was presented in March by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro and aims to prevent fires and “enhance the forest economy.”
The plan, developed through about fifty meetings with experts and public and private sector representatives, outlines 61 short-term actions for 2025 and 88 medium-term initiatives between 2028 and 2050.
In a briefing after the meeting in Lisbon, the Minister of Internal Administration disclosed that among various decisions related to aiding populations impacted by the fires, the government is “already on the ground.” This includes efforts by the Ministers of Economy and Territorial Cohesion, Manuel Castro Almeida, and Agriculture and Sea, José Manuel Fernandes, in collaboration with local authorities to assess “the existing damages.”
Furthermore, the Council of Ministers decided that instead of “ad-hoc measures and support depending on individual fires, a new structural and permanent regime should be prepared to support the losses caused by major fires,” emphasized Maria Lúcia Amaral.
The minister expressed her wish for the new regime to “come into effect this summer” and provide “effective support to primary residences, businesses, and farmers affected by major fires.”
