The decree, published in the Diário da República and signed by the Ministers of Territorial Cohesion, Manuel Castro Almeida, of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, and of Agriculture and Fisheries, José Manuel Fernandes, establishes a management plan that will be in effect for 10 years.
The management plan for the Site of Community Importance (ZEC) Peneda/Gerês identifies the types of natural and semi-natural habitats, along with significant species of wild flora and fauna in the ZEC Peneda/Gerês, and implements complementary conservation measures and actions.
The ZEC Peneda/Gerês is situated in the municipalities of Montalegre in the district of Vila Real, Terras de Bouro, Vila Verde, Amares, and Vieira do Minho in the district of Braga, and Arcos de Valdevez, Ponte da Barca, and Melgaço in the district of Viana do Castelo.
The implementation of the management plan will be monitored throughout its duration, under the guidance of the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF).
“Monitoring is coordinated by the ICNF with the participation of relevant authorities, central and local administrations, entities representing economic and social sectors, civil society, and property owners, relevant to the objectives of the plan,” the decree notes.
The decree specifies an interim evaluation at the fifth year of the plan’s duration, which will include an assessment of the implementation status of measures, a balance of completed, ongoing, and not yet initiated actions.
“At the end of its duration, the effectiveness of the management plan should be assessed through a cross-analysis between the level of execution of conservation measures and the evolution of the condition of target values. This evaluation relates the final results of the implementation of measures (through performance indicators) and the fulfillment of conservation objectives (through outcome indicators),” the decree states.
On May 7, a decree-law was already published that concluded the designation process of the ZEC Peneda/Gerês and established a legal framework for protection and conservation.
This decree aims to create a legal framework for “special protection” focused on “maintaining or restoring the favorable conservation status of natural or semi-natural habitats and the populations of wild species with significant presence in this area, including the good ecological condition of the biotopes used by these species.”
The management plan indicates that this ZEC, covering 89,574 hectares, “corresponds to an extensive territorial area, encompassing a series of granite massifs and reliefs that profoundly mark the northwest peninsular landscape, where altitudes above 1300 meters are frequent.”
“In the ZEC Peneda/Gerês, there is a significant presence of 21 types of ‘habitat’ and 27 species of flora and fauna. The ZEC is particularly important for the conservation of 16 types of ‘habitat’, eight flora species, and 14 fauna species, values that are conservation priorities and require more urgent management measures,” adds the document.
The document prohibits “the establishment of new mining operations and expansion of existing ones by increasing the licensed area, as well as the prospecting and exploration of geological resources.”
Moreover, construction on rustic land within the ZEC is prohibited, except for “infrastructures and equipment supporting nature conservation, visitation, tourism, and agricultural or forestry activities” or “public collective use equipment and territorial infrastructures,” among others.
