Government accelerates Alcateia Program to protect Iberian wolf and livestock

The Office of the Minister of Environment and Energy has ordered the acceleration of the execution of the Alcateia Program 2025-2035, granting immediate priority to measures for the conservation of wild prey, the restoration of degraded habitats, and the protection of livestock in areas where the Iberian wolf occurs. The decision is contained in Order No. 12401-A/2026, signed on October 9, 2026, by Minister Maria da Graça Carvalho and published in the Diário da República No. 197, of October 12, 2026, in the supplement to the 2nd series. The Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests, I. P. (ICNF, I. P.) is tasked with presenting a detailed operational schedule within 30 days.

The order is part of the Government’s ongoing effort to reduce conflicts between the presence of the species and livestock activity, acting in two complementary dimensions: structural causes, through the improvement of the ecological conditions of the territories, and the reduction of losses for farms, through prevention, technical monitoring, and swift compensation for damages. The regulation is adopted under paragraph 1 of article 25 of Decree-Law No. 87-A/2025, of July 25.

Among the precedents cited in the order itself are Decree-Law No. 122/2025, of November 19, which clarified technical aspects of damage assessment and the determination of indemnity support; Order No. 14506/2025, of December 5, which updated the maximum compensation values per animal and determined their annual update; and Order No. 11319/2026, of September 15, which set a maximum processing time of 20 working days for indemnities, effective from January 1, 2027. The Alcateia Program 2025-2035 was approved by Order No. 14505/2025, of December 5.

Immediate priority: habitat and wild prey

The ICNF, I. P. must give immediate priority to four measures of the program:

• Conservation and promotion of wild prey, including habitat management, hunting management, and reduction of non-natural mortality (measure 1.2.1);
• Ecological restoration of degraded habitats in areas suitable for the presence of wolves (measure 1.1.6);
• Technical support to livestock breeders for the adoption of protection measures in risk situations of attack (measure 2.1.4);
• Pilot projects with technological solutions for the detection and reduction of attack risk (measure 2.1.7).

Funding for the protection of livestock

In coordination with the Office of Planning, Policies and General Administration (GPP), the ICNF, I. P. must operationalize and open the funding lines for two support measures for the protection of livestock in areas where the Iberian wolf occurs:

• Continuation, improvement, and dissemination of the support measure for the maintenance of livestock guardian dogs (measure 2.1.1);
• Development of a support measure for the installation of fixed and removable fencing to protect livestock from attacks (measure 2.1.2).

Timeline, cartography, and monitoring

The timeline to be prepared within 30 days must establish, for each measure, the actions to be developed, the execution deadlines, the entities to be involved, the necessary resources, and the priority territorial areas. The ICNF, I. P. shall also ensure the systematic georeferencing of attack occurrences attributed to the Iberian wolf and the monthly preparation and updating of incidence cartography for each population nucleus, in order to identify the most affected livestock farms and prioritize prevention, while safeguarding sensitive information regarding the species’ location.

Monitoring includes sending a status report every two months to the Office of the Minister of Environment and Energy, detailing the actions taken, the degree of execution, the results achieved, and any constraints. The ICNF, I. P. must also convene the Monitoring Commission of the Alcateia Program for a meeting within a maximum period of 30 working days after the order comes into force, which occurs on the day following its publication.

The acceleration of the program directly affects livestock breeders and rural communities in the areas where the species occurs, who will now have technical support, funding for guardian dogs and fencing, and monthly attack cartography to guide prevention. The requirement for a timeline within 30 days and bimonthly reporting creates verifiable deadlines for the ICNF, I. P., within a framework where compensation will have a maximum deadline of 20 working days starting from January 1, 2027.

Source: Diário da República, no. 197, of October 12, 2026, 2nd series (Supplement), Part C, pág. 1-2 (official reference: Despacho n.º 12401-A/2026).