Local Action in Portugal
22 May 2007, Cascais, Portugal. The County of Cascais became the first Municipality in Portugal to join Countdown 2010. The decision was based on the projects of its environmental agency Cascais Natura, presented to the public on 22nd of May in the signing ceremony.
Taking place in one of the projects’ sites, a 450 hectares abandoned old farm, the open-air ceremony gathered major local and national stake-holders and included the signature of partnership protocols with the Portuguese forestry services, the High Institute of Agronomy, the Statistics and Information Management Institute, the Portuguese Geographical Institute and the Association for Green Engineering.
These and other partners will work together with Cascais Natura to develop six different projects with a major focus in habitat restoration and monitoring. The areas under the intervention of Cascais Natura are all included in the Natural Park of Sintra-Cascais, which encompasses as much as a third of the County.
Besides knowledge and expertise, the agency operates as a platform to bring investment to this protected area, promoting business through its biodiversity policy.
