Revenues from future hydroelectric concessions will fund the restoration of Serra da Estrela

The Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, has determined that a portion of the rents and financial considerations from future hydroelectric concessions in the Serra da Estrela be applied to the ecological restoration and territorial enhancement of the natural park. The decision is contained in Order no. 13196-A/2026, signed on October 27 and published in the Diário da República on October 28, 2026, 2nd series, no. 209 (supplement). The order takes effect on the day following its publication, namely October 29.

The Serra da Estrela Natural Park (PNSE) covers approximately 89 thousand hectares, integrates mountain ecosystems that are unique within the national context, is partially covered by the Natura 2000 Network, and comprises the headwaters of some of the main Portuguese rivers, specifically the Mondego, the Zêzere, and the Alva. The availability of water, combined with steep altimetric drops, has allowed for the development of a system of hydroelectric exploitations with dams, reservoirs, canals, and power plants since the beginning of the 20th century.

According to a survey by the Portuguese Environment Agency, I. P. (APA, I. P.), there are 22 hydraulic exploitations in the geographical area of the PNSE associated with the Mondego and Zêzere basins. The order is based on the legal regime for water resource use titles, approved by Decree-Law no. 226-A/2007 of May 31, the Water Law, approved by Law no. 58/2005 of December 29, and the economic and financial regime for water resources, established by Decree-Law no. 97/2008 of June 11, to assert that rents, considerations, and fees must reflect the user-pays and territorial return principles.

Fourteen titles expire on October 9, 2028

The executive considers that the proximity of the expiration of the titles opens the possibility of already preparing a new procedure for the awarding of concessions, preferably in an aggregated manner. The timeline is as follows:

• 14 exploitations have concession titles expiring on October 9, 2028;
• the remaining exploitations expire on later dates;
• the tender should be prepared and launched still in 2027, with a mechanism to allocate part of the revenues to the ecological restoration and enhancement of the mountain range.

One hundred days of work for the APA

The order, issued under the powers of superintendence and guardianship provided for in subparagraph a) of no. 3 of article 25 of Decree-Law no. 87-A/2025 of July 25, assigns a set of obligations to APA, I. P., as the national water authority:

• promote the diligences and procedural acts so that a portion of the financial counterparts or annual concession rents is allocated to the financing of projects for the rehabilitation and requalification of water resources, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and nature restoration in the PNSE;
• consult the PNSE Co-management Commission, the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests, I. P. (ICNF, I. P.), the Intermunicipal Community of Beiras and Serra da Estrela (CIMBSE) and the Climate Agency, I. P., and submit them for the minister’s consideration;
• submit for approval, within 90 days from publication — until January 26, 2027 —, the proposals for standard environmental and financial clauses to be integrated into the tender specifications and draft contracts of concessions scheduled to end by December 31, 2030, including the fixing of the percentage of rents;
• submit, within the same period, the financing and execution model for the funds collected by the APA, to be transferred to the Environmental Fund.

The decree does not quantify amounts nor fix the percentage of rents: both depend on the standard clauses and the financial model to be approved within that period.

From the hydroelectric cascade to landscape restoration

The designated Serra da Estrela cascade was developed over several decades and includes, among other infrastructures, the power plants of Lagoa Comprida, Sabugueiro, Senhora do Desterro, Ponte de Jugais and Vila Cova. The new cycle of concessions is presented as a way to create a stable source of funding for the territory, with the following declared objectives:

• sustainable management of water resources;
• reduction of fire risk;
• adaptation and mitigation of climate change;
• sustainable regional development and landscape recovery.

The Government classifies the approach as innovative and integrated, as it combines renewable energy production with the enhancement of ecosystem services and the restoration of water-providing ecosystems. The measure directly interests the municipalities of the mountain range, the inhabitants, and the users of the Mondego and Zêzere basins, who now have a formal mechanism for the territorial return of water rents — but its real scope will only be known when the percentage and the financing model are approved, in early 2027.

Source: Diário da República, 2nd series, no. 209, of October 28, 2026, supplement, Part C — Environment and Energy, pág. 1-2 (official reference: Despacho n.º 13196-A/2026).