A The Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), as stated on its official page, acts as the National Waste Authority, ensuring the planning and management aimed at preventing or reducing production, harmfulness, and possible adverse impacts of waste.
The Government’s program does not specify how this opening will be executed.
In the area of waste management, the Government plans to implement the TERRA Action Plan – Efficient Transformation of Waste into Environmental Resources, which was presented last March. This includes the urgent expansion of existing landfills, enhancing the capacity for organic waste recovery in urban areas, and expanding selective collection in municipalities.
In environmental management, the executive aims to enhance the career of nature wardens, reinforce their numbers, deploy multidisciplinary teams for managing protected areas, and devise a strategy for reducing light pollution.
Other governmental objectives include strengthening the resources allocated to the Inspectorate-General of Agriculture, Sea, Environment, and Spatial Planning (IGAMAOT) to improve operational capacity and establishing mechanisms to prevent soil contamination and facilitate remediation processes.
Another measure outlined in the program is to increase investment in monitoring the ecological status of groundwater and surface water bodies. This will be achieved through investment in an automated monitoring network, “ensuring real-time data and its public and easily accessible dissemination for more effective response.”
The Government’s program was submitted today to the Assembly of the Republic by the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Carlos Abreu Amorim. The program stems from the May 18 legislative elections won by the AD (PSD/CDS) coalition.
Approved in the Council of Ministers last Thursday, the government program will be debated in the Assembly of the Republic on Tuesday and Wednesday.
