Climate change in the medium to long term inevitably implies changes in the territory and in the life of the population.

From the mountains to the coast, the municipality encompasses a great diversity of habitats, rich in fauna and flora, geological and archaeological heritage, among other resources, with a strong representation of sites of high biodiversity interest: Protected Areas (which cover 4.99% of the municipality’s surface area and include the Rocha da Pena Local Protected Landscape and the Fonte Benémola Local Protected Landscape) and Natura 2000 sites (which cover around 54% of the municipality’s territory and include the Barrocal, Caldeirão, Guadiana, Ria Formosa/Castro-Marim, Ribeira de Quarteira and Ria Formosa Natural Park Special Protection Area).

In order to protecting and enhancing the natural systems and safeguarding their biodiversity, in June 2021 the municipality approved the intention to create the Foz do Almargem and Trafal Local Nature Reserve, an area of around 135 ha covering these wetlands located in the civil parish of Quarteira, on the south-eastern edge of the coastal strip. In fact, the wetlands inherent to the mouths of Ribeiras do Almargem and Carcavai, are biodiversity hotspots: they include

nine natural and semi-natural habitats from the Natura 2000 Network (two of which are Priority Habitats for Conservation), at least 236 species of flora and 312 species of fauna. This area plays an important role in the conservation and preservation of birdlife, with 139 species recorded (27 of which are threatened), and insects, with 135 species observed. It is also worth highlighting the variety of ecosystem services that this area provides: supply (e.g. food); regulation (e.g. climate regulation, air and water purification); support (e.g. soil formation and habitats) and cultural (e.g. aesthetic and spiritual values, leisure and recreation). The classification of this new protected area (of local scope) aims to grant it a legal protection status that is appropriate for maintaining the biodiversity, ecosystem services and geological heritage that exist there, as well as the landscape, cultural and social values, while preventing the densification of buildings and regulating human pressure.

A geopark is a place of identity, inspiration, transformation and belonging that invites you to visit, settle and invest consciously and in harmony with the environmental and cultural values of the territories.

The Algarvensis Geopark, an aspiring UNESCO World Geopark, is a territorial area with well-defined boundaries that covers a total of 1,381 km², about a third of the Algarve’s territory, and is home to a geological heritage that predates the appearance of the dinosaurs and is so unique and relevant that it can tell several chapters of the history of planet Earth. With a geological heritage of great national and international importance, it combines a geoconservation strategy and a set of education, climate action and environmental awareness policies with the promotion of sustainable socio-economic development based on geotourism activities, involving local communities and contributing to the enhancement and promotion of local products.

The application for UNESCO World Geopark came about as a result of the important palaeontological heritage that has been revealed in recent years in the formation of the Silves sandstone, beginning with the discovery of Metoposaurus algarvensis (227 million years old), a unique species of giant salamander that is over 2 metres long (and which gives the geopark its name), and which has so far only been described in this region of the world.

Learn more about the project Geopark here and watch the video abou the Algarvensis Geopark here.

The Sustainability Agenda - Forest, Biodiversity and Rural Development of the Municipality of Loulé 2020-2025 is part of the Municipal Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change (EMAAC), the Municipal Climate Action Plan (PMAC) and the Loulé Municipal Forest Fire Defence Plan (PMDFCI), and also contributes to the objectives of the aspiring Geopark Algarvensis (UNESCO World Geoparks network), a joint project between the municipalities of Loulé, Silves and Albufeira.

With a view to taking a fresh look at the multiple-use Mediterranean forest and the traditional dryland orchard, agrarian systems that are being degraded and devalued, with the abandonment of vast areas of the barrocal and the hills, but also with a view to understanding the potential of the municipality’s natural capital, progress has been made in assessing, mapping and valuing ecosystem services. The municipality is therefore currently equipped with a map of habitats and RELAPE-RELTE (Rare, Endemic, Localised, Threatened or Endangered) species of fauna and flora with the potential to occur in the territory, and for each land use a qualitative assessment of the potential to provide supply, regulation and cultural ecosystem services was carried out.

Defining a wide-ranging strategy for the interior involves carrying out structuring projects that provide a time frame, mobilising the territory’s players for new models of intervention, enhancing the action of “caretakers of the territory”, activating programmes for the genetic preservation and improvement of plants of Mediterranean species, promoting the generation of innovation for new businesses based on the circular bio-economy.

The aim of this project is to renaturalise and add value to the watercourses and their surrounding areas in environmental and landscape terms. In this context, the municipality of Loulé, in partnership with the Portuguese Environment Agency - ARH Algarve, developed the ‘Study of Priority Interventions to Minimise Flooding in the Carcavai and Vale Tisnado Streams’ and the ‘Study for the Protection, Renaturalisation and Enhancement of Water Lines - Carcavai Stream and Cadoiço Stream’, the latter aimed, not only at the correct hydraulic functioning of the water lines in normal and extreme rainfall situations, but also at protecting and promoting biodiversity, promoting water quality, and enhancing the landscape for sustainable use by the population, namely in the form of the creation of a Green Corridor.

Funded through an application to Notice 13/REACT-EU/2021 of the COMPETE 2020 Programme, the project “Combating Desertification - Ameixial” consisted of reforesting an area of 147 ha in the civil parish of Ameixial, with the aim of promoting reforestation as a priority measure in the fight against desertification and increasing the territory’s resilience. The result of a partnership between the municipality of Loulé and the Serra do Caldeirão Forest Producers’ Association, and with the involvement of local landowners, the project made it possible to restore and requalify agroforestry systems of strawberry trees, cork oaks and holm oaks, which are native and slowgrowing species, and to enhance the mixed dryland orchard, which is characteristic of the region. After clearing the land of undergrowth, the intervention included the planting of more than 18,000 trees (cork oaks, holm oaks and strawberry trees) and the re-afforestation of the land with mixed dryland orchards (carob and fig trees), native species that are resilient and tolerant of xeric environments (dry and with little humidity). The project made it possible to increase local tree density by around 80 per cent. In addition, 6 kilometres of road network were improved.

Developed under an application to Notice 11/REACT-EU/2021 of the Compete 2020 Programme, the project “Adaptation to Urban Heat Island Effects - Loulé Municipal Stadium” consisted of carrying out a series of interventions in one of the main municipal sports facilities, the Loulé Municipal Stadium, with the aim of promoting the space’s adaptation to urban heat island effects. To this end, 197 trees and shrubs were planted to increase the microclimatic, visual and acoustic comfort of the spaces involved. Native species and/or those adapted to the local soil and climate conditions were favoured, namely carob, olive and almond trees, among others. The intervention also included the upgrading and installation of automatic irrigation systems, limited to the minimum area required, and the implementation of rainwater reuse solutions and the use of another water sources instead of the public supply network. This project has made it possible to increase the green area and shading index in one of the main municipal sports facilities, which will make it possible to reduce the urban heat island effect and inherently mitigate the effects of climate change, as well as more efficient and sustainable water management.

In response to the Legal Regime for the Management of Urban Trees (Law no. 59/2021 of 18 August), the municipality of Loulé is developing the Municipal Inventory of Urban Trees, a project that aims to identify, inventory and georeference the tree species found in urban areas. As part of this, the Municipal Inventory of Urban Trees visualiser was also developed, an online tool for free visualisation, under an open data regime, with constantly updated information on trees, soon to be available on the Municipality of Loulé website.

With the aim of identifying and quantifying the environmental benefits provided by urban trees in the city of Loulé, the study “Ecosystem Services Provided by Urban Trees in the City of Loulé” is underway. This academic research aims to estimate (in unit quantity and monetary values) the various ecosystem services provided by street trees in the city of Loulé, namely: annual sequestration and total carbon storage, oxygen production, pollutant removal, avoided run-off and savings on electricity bills due to reduced cooling needs, among others. The final results of the study will be released to the public in due course.