Portugal takes "exponential increase" in marine protected areas to biodiversity summit

The increase from 4.5% to 19.1% of marine protected areas is one of the new developments that Portugal will present at the United Nations Biodiversity Summit – COP16.2, which begins on Tuesday in Rome, the Government announced today.

The “exponential increase” is due to “the new Network of Marine Protected Areas in the Azores, which will be the largest in the North Atlantic”, explains the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MAEN) in a statement.

“We are particularly pleased to arrive at this United Nations Conference with the news of the creation of the Azores Marine Protected Areas Network, which will be possible thanks to the adoption of compensation measures that will be financed entirely with national funds, coming from the Environmental Fund”, says the Minister of Environment and Energy, quoted in the statement.

The minister acknowledges, however, that the Government is aware of the challenges that still lie ahead and has “an ambitious agenda to overcome them”.

Maria da Graça Carvalho leads the Portuguese delegation participating in the summit taking place until Thursday in the Italian capital.

According to MAEN, in terms of land areas, Portugal “has already exceeded the objective of protecting 30% of the territory”, with 36% of it “under protection and conservation measures”, with a new objective of “planting five million trees per year”.

“We are clearly on the right path to meet the 30 x 30 target, in the sense of having 30% of land area and 30% of marine area under protection by 2030, which makes us very proud”, says Maria da Graça Carvalho.

The minister acknowledges that planting that number of trees, which is “in line with the objectives of the European Union's Nature Restoration Regulation, which points to the need to plant three billion trees across European territory”, represents “a huge effort”.

“But this is a value that we assume as an appeal to all Portuguese people, from national and local authorities to companies and citizens”, he adds.

At the summit, Portugal will also take stock of the status of several initiatives, such as the National Nature Restoration Plan, currently under development, the new cycle of the co-management model for protected areas and conservation efforts for the Iberian lynx and the Iberian wolf.

The 16th Biodiversity Conference, which took place from October 21 to November 2 in Cali, Colombia, was suspended due to a lack of quorum to decide on issues such as financing of measures and monitoring and monitoring of defined targets.

The meeting in the coming days should allow it to be finalized.

The increase from 4.5% to 19.1% of marine protected areas is one of the new developments that Portugal will present at the United Nations Biodiversity Summit – COP16.2, which begins on Tuesday in Rome, the Government announced today.

The “exponential increase” is due to “the new Network of Marine Protected Areas in the Azores, which will be the largest in the North Atlantic”, explains the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MAEN) in a statement.

“We are particularly pleased to arrive at this United Nations Conference with the news of the creation of the Azores Marine Protected Areas Network, which will be possible thanks to the adoption of compensation measures that will be financed entirely with national funds, coming from the Environmental Fund”, says the Minister of Environment and Energy, quoted in the statement.

The minister acknowledges, however, that the Government is aware of the challenges that still lie ahead and has “an ambitious agenda to overcome them”.

Maria da Graça Carvalho leads the Portuguese delegation participating in the summit taking place until Thursday in the Italian capital.

According to MAEN, in terms of land areas, Portugal “has already exceeded the objective of protecting 30% of the territory”, with 36% of it “under protection and conservation measures”, with a new objective of “planting five million trees per year”.

“We are clearly on the right path to meet the 30 x 30 target, in the sense of having 30% of land area and 30% of marine area under protection by 2030, which makes us very proud”, says Maria da Graça Carvalho.

The minister acknowledges that planting that number of trees, which is “in line with the objectives of the European Union's Nature Restoration Regulation, which points to the need to plant three billion trees across European territory”, represents “a huge effort”.

“But this is a value that we assume as an appeal to all Portuguese people, from national and local authorities to companies and citizens”, he adds.

At the summit, Portugal will also take stock of the status of several initiatives, such as the National Nature Restoration Plan, currently under development, the new cycle of the co-management model for protected areas and conservation efforts for the Iberian lynx and the Iberian wolf.

The 16th Biodiversity Conference, which took place from October 21 to November 2 in Cali, Colombia, was suspended due to a lack of quorum to decide on issues such as financing of measures and monitoring and monitoring of defined targets.

The meeting in the coming days should allow it to be finalized.

The increase from 4.5% to 19.1% of marine protected areas is one of the new developments that Portugal will present at the United Nations Biodiversity Summit – COP16.2, which begins on Tuesday in Rome, the Government announced today.

The “exponential increase” is due to “the new Network of Marine Protected Areas in the Azores, which will be the largest in the North Atlantic”, explains the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MAEN) in a statement.

“We are particularly pleased to arrive at this United Nations Conference with the news of the creation of the Azores Marine Protected Areas Network, which will be possible thanks to the adoption of compensation measures that will be financed entirely with national funds, coming from the Environmental Fund”, says the Minister of Environment and Energy, quoted in the statement.

The minister acknowledges, however, that the Government is aware of the challenges that still lie ahead and has “an ambitious agenda to overcome them”.

Maria da Graça Carvalho leads the Portuguese delegation participating in the summit taking place until Thursday in the Italian capital.

According to MAEN, in terms of land areas, Portugal “has already exceeded the objective of protecting 30% of the territory”, with 36% of it “under protection and conservation measures”, with a new objective of “planting five million trees per year”.

“We are clearly on the right path to meet the 30 x 30 target, in the sense of having 30% of land area and 30% of marine area under protection by 2030, which makes us very proud”, says Maria da Graça Carvalho.

The minister acknowledges that planting that number of trees, which is “in line with the objectives of the European Union's Nature Restoration Regulation, which points to the need to plant three billion trees across European territory”, represents “a huge effort”.

“But this is a value that we assume as an appeal to all Portuguese people, from national and local authorities to companies and citizens”, he adds.

At the summit, Portugal will also take stock of the status of several initiatives, such as the National Nature Restoration Plan, currently under development, the new cycle of the co-management model for protected areas and conservation efforts for the Iberian lynx and the Iberian wolf.

The 16th Biodiversity Conference, which took place from October 21 to November 2 in Cali, Colombia, was suspended due to a lack of quorum to decide on issues such as financing of measures and monitoring and monitoring of defined targets.

The meeting in the coming days should allow it to be finalized.