In the aftermath of the rural and forest fires in September 2024, the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities (ANMP) proposed a series of measures to the government the following month. The aim was to “promptly promote and adopt structural changes and preventive measures that the situation demands to minimize the occurrence” of fires.
The goal also included promoting “citizen safety and restoring confidence in institutions.”
Among the measures requiring “special attention,” the association, led by Luísa Salgueiro (PS), proposed granting municipal councils legal and administrative tools to take possession of privately owned lands with poorly structured vegetation or forests at risk of fire.
The document, accessed by Lusa, stated this action is intended to enable “operational measures and risk reduction in cases of non-compliance by private owners.”
When asked about the response the ANMP received to this proposal, an official source stated that “there has been no development on this matter, and therefore,” they cannot “comment at this time.”
In the Forest Intervention Plan 2025-2050, presented by the government on March 21, under the chapter of “increasing resilience to fires,” goals and performance indicators include “modifying/reviewing legislation to allow the state quicker intervention in conducting fuel management actions on private property,” with the Ministry of Justice identified as the responsible entity.
In response to Lusa, the office of the Minister of Justice, Rita Júdice, explained that the forest plan “was approved in the last days before the government’s fall,” and regarding the ministry’s intervention, “with its powers limited,” it will be up to the next administration to implement “the approved measures.”
The Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF) has been tasked with “implementing a program to build 42,000 hectares of primary fuel management strips between 2025 and 2026,” 66,000 hectares between 2027 and 2032, and promoting the “management and maintenance of 322,000 hectares” between 2027 and 2050. Additionally, it will manage and maintain 55,556 hectares of fuel management strips per year, as defined within the Rural Fires Integrated Management System (SGIFR).
The document also foresees “enhancing the intervention capacity of municipalities,” intermunicipal communities, and forest producer organizations “in fuel management and improvement and maintenance of the forest road network.”
The ANMP’s proposals to the government also called for “increasing the ICNF’s inspection capacity at the forest level, particularly to address unlicensed actions and uses” and clarifying the responsibilities of the GNR/Nature and Environment Protection Service (Sepna) “in relation to rural and forest areas,” to “act in close coordination with the ICNF and municipal councils.”
Municipalities also want legislation to require property owners to provide a deposit/guarantee to municipal councils in the preliminary phase of woodcutting and transportation operations, aiming to ensure the “removal of leftover products (highly flammable)” immediately after cutting, “to a location away from forest plantations and buildings,” and “the good condition of municipal, forest, and rural roads and pathways.”
The ANMP advocated for “drafting a new hazard map that takes into account the territory’s reality,” involving municipalities in the process, defining a “financial support mechanism” for “investments anticipated in municipal execution programs,” and providing municipalities with sufficient financial resources to fulfill their responsibilities, particularly in preventive forestry (secondary network).
The two dozen proposals also include reinforcing the “surveillance and deterrence capacity through the presence of authority in the forest,” including the Armed Forces, notably the Army and Air Force, for reconnaissance actions in periods of risk and wildfire combat,” with activation mechanisms allowing rapid response to ignitions.
Additional measures include expanding the structural firebreak network (primary network) and universalizing the “video surveillance of rural fire risk areas,” enhancing human and technical resources for property registration processes, and resizing rural property, creating incentives for land consolidation.
