Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation supports environmental associations Almargem and Vita Nativa

In total, there will be eight Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations (ONGA) and similar organizations, which the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation will support, with a total of 350 thousand euros, within the scope of the Equity & Sustainability Program.

Distributed across eight municipalities, the organizations selected through a competition for core funding are dedicated to ecological restoration and sustainable ecosystem management, helping to reverse environmental degradation and biodiversity decline.

In the Algarve, the Vita Nativa Association – Environmental Conservation (Faro) and Almargem – Association for the Defense of the Algarve's Cultural and Environmental Heritage (Loulé) were selected.

The "Baseline Financing for Environmental Organizations" competition, created to strengthen the operational capacity and sustainability of NGOs and to promote the professionalization of the sector, received a total of 67 applications.

Through this support, these NGOs will be able to develop their activities in a continuous, sustainable and flexible manner.

The funding also aims to enhance the quality of the organizations' interventions and the scope of their work at the local, regional, and/or national levels; increase their internal management capacity and the dissemination of their work; enhance the impact of conservation actions; and promote collaboration, knowledge transfer, and experience-sharing among the selected NGOs. The organizations will also benefit from a training program in the areas of management, fundraising, and communication.

The initiative is part of the work that the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation has been carrying out in the environmental area, supporting projects that promote and preserve biodiversity.

"This support gives organizations greater capacity and autonomy in managing their resources, as well as greater financial and operational stability, which will allow them to continue, in a sustained manner, their nature conservation and ecosystem protection activities, making a real impact," emphasizes Luís Jerónimo, director of the Equity and Sustainability Program at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation .

In Portugal, more than half of existing habitats are showing signs of deterioration. The work of preserving, managing, and regenerating ecosystems, with a view to improving biodiversity, is largely carried out by environmental associations.

However, like the country's broader Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) sector, these organizations face significant challenges that hinder the maintenance and replication of their interventions. Their nature conservation activities, as well as raising awareness among the local communities in which they operate, require ongoing time and capital.

Also deserving of support are the Rewilding Iberia PT Association (Guarda); Transhumance and Nature Association (Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo); MILVOZ – Nature Protection and Conservation Association (Coimbra); MONTIS – Nature Management and Conservation Association (Vouzela); TAGIS – Butterfly Conservation Center of Portugal (Avis).