Government approves five million euro plan to save the Iberian lynx

The Government has approved the Action Plan for the Conservation of the Iberian Lynx in Portugal (PACLIP 2026-2030), which secures 650 thousand euros annually from the Environmental Fund and assigns coordination to the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests, I. P. (ICNF, I. P.). The decision is contained in Order no. 12830/2026, signed on October 12 by the Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, and published in the Diário da República, 2nd series, no. 204, on October 21, 2026.

The order succeeds the plan approved in 2008 (Order no. 12697/2008, of April 23) and revised in 2015 (MAOTE Order no. 8726/2015, of August 7), and is issued under article 25 of Decree-Law no. 87-A/2025, of July 25. The revision was conducted by the ICNF in coordination with the PACLIP Executive Committee and was open for public consultation between May 12 and June 12, 2026.

The plan arrives at a moment of recovery for the species: in 2024, the Iberian lynx moved from “Endangered” to “Vulnerable” on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The 2025 Iberian census counted 2,663 animals distributed across 26 population nuclei, with reproduction confirmed in 18, and 394 individuals in Portugal — 265 adults and sub-adults and 129 cubs, with 74 territorial or breeding females.

One million euros per year until 2030

• Environmental Fund: 650,000 euros annually, transferred to the ICNF, I. P. as financial support, under paragraph j) of no. 1 of article 3 of Decree-Law no. 42-A/2016, of August 12.
• Ex situ component: 350,000 euros annually provided for in the cooperation protocol signed on May 2, 2026, between the ICNF, I. P. and Águas do Algarve, S. A., which guarantees the operation of the National Iberian Lynx Breeding Center and the Training and Recovery Complex until 2037.
• Total: base funding of 1,000,000 euros per year and a global investment of 5 million euros over five years, to which national and European funds may be added, specifically Portugal 2030 and Portugal 2040.

The ICNF, I. P. is further required to create a specific cost center associated with the Plan to consolidate and monitor all funding sources and expenses.

Damage compensation by the end of the year

The order sets concrete deadlines for the aspect of coexistence with agricultural and livestock activity. By December 31, 2026, the ICNF, I. P. must submit to the supervising authority a proposal for a support and damage compensation regime associated with the presence of the lynx, aimed at reducing conflicts with owners, farmers, and livestock breeders. The Plan provides for the creation of legal mechanisms for damage compensation and the funding of prevention measures with a target date of 2028.

On the axis dedicated to conflict prevention, the goal is to cover 50% of the species’ stable presence area — estimated at approximately 700 km² — with territory custody agreements, forecasting five agreements and 5,000 hectares per year until the end of 2030. The document identifies roadkills as the main cause of non-natural mortality for the species.

Baixo Alentejo, Algarve and Serra da Malcata

The PACLIP 2026-2030 applies to the entire continental territory, with priority focus on the areas where the national population occurs — Baixo Alentejo and Algarve — and in zones with expansion potential or historical occurrence, such as the Serra da Malcata. The Plan distinguishes three types of territory: critical areas, other areas of importance, and potentially favorable areas, including dispersal corridors and bridge nuclei.

Ten axes and eighteen entities in the executive commission

The Plan is organized into ten strategic axes, from legal protection and common monitoring to habitat conservation, mortality reduction, genetic management, reintroductions, captive breeding, conflict prevention, research, and coordination with Spain. The Executive Commission comprises 18 entities:

• ICNF, ADPM, ANP/WWF, ANEPC, CAP, CONFAGRI, Mértola City Council, CNCP, CIBIO/U.Porto, cE3c/University of Lisbon, DGAV, EDIA, FENCAÇA, GNR/SEPNA, INIAV, Infraestruturas de Portugal, LPN and Turismo de Portugal.

ICNF, I. P. shall submit a semi-annual status report to the Office of the Minister of Environment and Energy and promote an interim evaluation in the second semester of 2028. The order comes into force on the day following its publication.

The relevance for readers in the rural world is direct: the Plan defines who pays, who coordinates, and within what deadlines, and opens the door to a compensation scheme for damages attributed to the presence of the lynx on agricultural and livestock farms. For farmers, hunters, and municipalities in expansion areas, the coming months — until December 31, 2026 — are the decisive period to influence the design of this scheme.

Source: Diário da República, 2nd series, no. 204, of October 21, 2026, Environment and Energy, p. 1 (official reference: Order no. 12830/2026).