So far, two workshops have been held, organized by UTAD – University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro with the support of Quercus. Following these, several public and private local entities in the areas of forest management, administration, tourism, NGOs, among others, proceeded to the evaluation and selection of the most appropriate Blue and Green Infrastructures (BGIN) to solve the priority environmental problems identified in the first workshop, taking into account population dynamics and land use in the territory.
In this Case Study, issues related to the quantity and quality of water and the occurrence of recurrent forest fires represent a priority for the stakeholders. The region was plagued by the floods of last December and recurrent fires, which in the last ten years have reached more than half of its area.
These issues are linked to abandonment of lands, monocultures, appereance of invasive species and it’s consequences on biodiversity.
The third and final workshop will allow participants to learn about the results generated by the project for the Portuguese case study and, based on these, discuss the most favorable scenarios to develop in the region.