National Nature Conservation Day

National Nature Conservation Day is celebrated on 28 July. Its guidelines are set out in the National Strategy for Nature Conservation and Biodiversity 2030 (ENCNB 2030, Council of Ministers Resolution No. 55/2018), the main instrument of national environmental policy on this issue. ENCNB 2030 is aligned with international commitments and the need to protect Portugal's natural heritage.

There are many challenges facing nature conservation in our country, including the degradation and fragmentation of ecosystems, the loss of biodiversity, water resource management, soil conservation and the need for sustainable agricultural practices. Added to these issues are the challenges posed by climate change and the pressure of tourism, especially in protected areas.

At the Centre for Agro-Environmental and Biological Research and Technology (CITAB), several researchers, laboratories and projects are attempting to contribute to this strategy. Noteworthy are the socio-ecological approaches for low-density territories of the Laboratory of Applied Ecology and Territorial Sustainability (LEAST), and the partnerships and services provided with various public and private entities by the Laboratory of River and Terrestrial Ecology (LEFT). Also noteworthy are the FAGESOS, REFLORESTA, LivingSoiLL, AGROSERV projects, among others, for their alignment, through different approaches and objectives, with ENCNB 2030.

My humble contribution to ENCNB 2030, in addition to participating in the technical and scientific review of ecological monitoring reports associated with the assessment of the possible impacts of renewable energy infrastructure on birdlife (LEFT/Portuguese Environment Agency), has focused, in collaboration with many colleagues from CITAB and other institutions, on researching species conservation strategies. I would highlight, due to their relevance to my research, the work on fauna threatened by habitat change, on plants and ecosystems affected by changes in climate patterns, as well as those focusing on reconciling biodiversity conservation with the production of goods and services. Much of the work combines data collected in ecosystems (in loco) with dynamic ecological and spatiodynamic modelling tools (in silico).