The office of Lisbon’s City Hall President, Carlos Moedas (PSD), announced today that jacaranda trees are being planted on Avenida 5 de Outubro. This follows the initiation of “preparatory work” for transplanting these trees.
Prior to the city hall’s confirmation, Daniel Gonçalves (PSD), president of the Avenidas Novas Parish Council, expressed surprise over the planting of jacarandas on Avenida 5 de Outubro starting at 10:00 a.m., citing a lack of prior notice from the municipal executive.
The Avenidas Novas Parish Council refrained from making public comments about the removal of 47 trees on Avenida 5 de Outubro, which includes the felling of 25 jacarandas.
This morning, the Movement for the Union in Defense of Trees (MUDA) protested on Avenida 5 de Outubro, displaying banners opposing the felling of jacarandas, bearing slogans like “the CML must stop killing trees”.
Rui Mourão, spokesman for MUDA, articulated the group’s appeal to the CML, highlighting various instances of tree neglect across Lisbon, emphasizing that the problem extends beyond the current jacaranda situation.
“Throughout the city, there are empty tree wells, trees being cut down without presentation of phytosanitary reports. This situation is not isolated to this avenue; it exists citywide, with an ongoing massacre of trees,” stated Rui Mourão.
In comments to news agency Lusa, the MUDA spokesman noted that the issue “is not only” with the current executive led by Carlos Moedas (PSD) but also occurred during the previous tenure under Fernando Medina (PS). He emphasized the insufficient care for trees in the city, which results in them being easily felled.
He criticized the notion of “false compensation,” replacing large trees with younger ones that do not serve the same ecological functions, such as carbon capture and oxygen production. Mourão also condemned the transplantation of jacarandas during the bird nesting season, which disrupts avian life and reproduction.
MUDA contends that beyond environmental, climate, and biocultural issues, “serious procedural irregularities” occurred, particularly related to Lisbon’s urban tree management laws (law 59/2021), municipal tree management regulations, and the best practices guide from the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF), along with the CML’s official authorization for felling and transplanting jacarandas.
MUDA plans to attend the public information sessions organized by the city hall, scheduled for today at 6:30 p.m. and Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., at Lisbon’s Urban Information Center, but finds it “very serious” that these sessions are held after tree removal has begun on Avenida 5 de Outubro.
On this avenue in central Lisbon, according to city hall information, there are 75 jacarandas, out of which 30 will remain, 20 will be transplanted (along with two plane trees), and the remaining 25 will be felled. Concurrently, 39 jacarandas will be replanted, alongside 49 other trees.
This project involves constructing an underground parking lot as part of the urban operation in Entrecampos, on the former Feira Popular grounds.
Opposition is mounting, with the petition “No to the Felling of Jacarandas on Av. 5 de Outubro,” initiated on Friday, March 21—Tree Day—garnering over 51,500 signatures as of today.
On Thursday, after a meeting with the city hall and the Entrecampos urban project promoter, a group of petitioners against the felling of jacarandas reported “no willingness” to alter the proposed plans.
In response, the Liberal Initiative (IL) on Lisbon’s Municipal Assembly has requested an “urgent hearing” with the city hall in the 4th Permanent Commission—Environment and Green Structure, to “fully clarify the controversy” surrounding the jacaranda tree removal on Avenida 5 de Outubro. This hearing request is pending approval by the commission itself.
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