The National Council for the Environment and Sustainable Development (CNADS) today warned of weaknesses in the plan to restore nature, such as the lack of clear priorities, and makes recommendations to the Government.
According to a statement issued today, CNADS’ opinion on the draft National Plan for Nature Restoration (PNRN), which is open to public consultation until Wednesday, was approved unanimously.
In addition to the absence of “clearly defined” territorial priorities, CNADS considers that the document contains “insufficient financial quantification of the measures,” and that it fails to identify the entities responsible for implementing the plan, also noting “limitations in monitoring and evaluating the results.”
In the document, CNDS highlights that Portugal benefits, for the first time, from a national instrument dedicated to the restoration of ecosystems and notes that the PNRN is “a strategic opportunity to promote biodiversity recovery” and to increase the territory’s resilience to climate change, but says that the plan needs greater operationalization to ensure compliance with legally binding European targets.
Among the various recommendations, CNADS proposes creating a portfolio of priority measures up to 2030, identifying areas of intervention, costs, responsible parties, and an execution timetable, and suggests developing a “passport per measure,” which would allow transparent tracking of the objectives, funding, responsibilities and results of each intervention.
It also proposes the creation of what it calls “a multiannual financial architecture dedicated to nature restoration, including a specific fund to finance interventions, monitoring and maintenance.”
The establishment of a “National Mission of Science and Monitoring for Restoration,” to strengthen knowledge production, data systems, and the ongoing evaluation of results achieved, is also proposed in the document.
CNADS also calls for strengthening contracting mechanisms and payment for ecosystem services to private landowners, common lands and local communities, “ensuring the buy-in of territorial actors in restoration measures”.
It also asks the Government to consider deepening dialogue between biodiversity conservation and economic sectors, including agriculture, forestry and fisheries, promoting solutions compatible with ecological and economic sustainability.
The PNRN must be sent by Portugal to Brussels in September next.
