Environmental Fund finances the restoration of burned areas in protected areas

The Government has authorized the Environmental Fund to distribute the multi-annual charges relating to the “Resilient Territories” program-contracts, intended for the restoration of ecosystems affected by rural fires in protected areas. The authorizations are contained in Ordinances no. 369/2026/2 and no. 370/2026/2, published in the Diário da República, 2nd series, no. 163, of August 24, 2026, within the scope of the Office of the Minister of Environment and Energy and the Office of the Deputy Secretary of State and Budget.

The ordinances were signed by the Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, and the Deputy Secretary of State and Budget, José Maria Gonçalves Pereira Brandão de Brito, and fall within the support and mitigation measures for the impact of rural fires established by Decree-Law no. 98-A/2025, of August 24, whose territorial and temporal scope was delimited by Council of Ministers Resolution no. 126-A/2025, of August 24. Ordinance no. 490-B/2025/2, of August 29, regulates the support to be provided through the “Resilient Territories” program-contracts.

Two funded thematic areas

Ordinance no. 369/2026/2 authorizes the distribution of charges in the thematic area “Efficient use of water and protection of water resources,” up to a maximum global amount of €3,294,167.00. Ordinance no. 370/2026/2 focuses on the thematic area “Forest and sustainable forest management,” with a maximum global amount of €3,656,301.48. In both cases, the values do not include VAT as they are financial supports.

Distribution of charges in the 2025-2026 biennium

The charges are distributed equally over the two years of the 2025-2026 biennium:

• Ordinance no. 369/2026/2 (water resources): €1,647,083.50 in 2025 and €1,647,083.50 in 2026;
• Ordinance no. 370/2026/2 (forest area): €1,828,150.74 in 2025 and €1,828,150.74 in 2026.

Beneficiaries and legal framework

The beneficiaries are the Municipalities, within the scope of the 1st phase of the “Resilient Territories” program-contracts — emergency stabilization measures — burned areas — immediate interventions. The assumption of multi-annual charges arises from the provisions of paragraph 1 of article 6 of Law no. 8/2012, of February 21, combined with Decree-Law no. 127/2012, of June 21, and was framed by Order no. 11386/2025, of September 26, which proceeded with the second amendment to the Environmental Fund budget for 2025. The ordinances enter into force on the day following their publication.

The measure ensures the continuity of public funding for the recovery of ecosystems affected by rural fires in protected areas, in a context where the operationalization of the measures did not allow for the totality of the payments planned for 2025. By guaranteeing the distribution of costs over the biennium, the Government enables municipalities to carry out emergency stabilization and ecological restoration interventions in the burned areas.

Source: Diário da República, 2nd series, no. 163, of August 24, 2026, Finance and Environment and Energy section (official reference: Ordinances no. 369/2026/2 and no. 370/2026/2).