The Environmental Fund will strengthen, this year, the support for cleaning up forested land, for the purchase of bottled gas by vulnerable consumers, and for water efficiency projects, while expanding the number of municipalities covered by financing for the restoration and valorization of green spaces, announced the Office of the Minister of the Environment and Energy in a press release.
The change results from a new decree that reprograms the use of the Environmental Fund’s funds in 2026, taking into account new needs identified in the first months of the year and the evolution of priorities in the areas of environmental protection, territorial resilience, nature conservation, biodiversity and sustainable water management.
“Reprogramming the Environmental Fund has allowed aligning the financing with several urgent needs and new objectives,” said the Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho.
One of the reinforced measures is the second phase of the Active Forest Programme, which provides four million euros to assist forest producers in cleaning up combustible material from their lands. Applications will be submitted to the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF) and the measure aims to contribute to reducing the vulnerability of territories to rural wildfires.
This support joins the 41 million euros made available in May for cleanup works under the new Integrated Landscape Management Operations (OIGP 2.0), in municipalities affected by winter storms.
The support for the purchase of bottled gas by domestic consumers benefiting from the electricity social tariff has also been reinforced. The available funds rise to 3.7 million euros, 2.9 million more than previously, with the aim of following the evolution of demand and ensuring continuity of support.
In the area of nature conservation and biodiversity, the Environmental Fund also increases the number of municipalities covered by funding for the restoration and valorization of urban ecosystems. To the municipalities of Beja, Évora, São João da Madeira, Leiria and Vila Real join Guimarães and Celorico da Beira, bringing total investment to eight million euros.
The new decree also provides 250 thousand euros for the infrastructure and improvement of the Ponte de Juncais riverside beach, in Fornos de Algodres, and 300 thousand euros for interventions in the hydrographic network of the municipality of Ponte da Barca.
In the Serra do Açor, the Mata da Margaraça, a protected landscape affected by the 2025 fires, will receive 500 thousand euros for habitat restoration and enhancement of visitation.
More investment in water management
Water sustainable management is another area benefiting from the reprogramming of the Environmental Fund, with strengthened support for investments aimed at water-use efficiency in low-supply public water networks, smart water management, and increasing the resilience of territories.
Among the funded projects is a one-million-euro support to APAL-SIM – Public Water at Altitude, Intermunicipal Water and Sanitation Services of Celorico da Beira, Guarda, Manteigas and Sabugal.
Investments by the Algarve municipalities and municipal companies, as well as Águas do Algarve, will total 3.7 million euros. A further one million euros is also planned for the third storage cell of Lagoa das Contendas, on São Miguel Island, in the Azores.
In the municipality of Cuba, 100 thousand euros will be allocated to the remodeling of the Vila Ruiva and Albergaria dos Fusos Wastewater Treatment Plants.
The Environmental Fund will also provide 700 thousand euros to support Reception Hubs and Wildlife Recovery Centers, through Non-Governmental Organizations, and 1.5 million euros for the third phase of the LIFE project Guarantee Fund.
The Network of Women Guardians of Nature will have access to 60 thousand euros for Sustainable Development initiatives in the Rural World.
And the agricultural and forestry sectors will benefit from 4.5 million euros for projects that contribute to carbon sequestration and emission reductions, reinforcing their role in mitigating climate change.
