COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The EU Environmental Implementation Review 2019 Country Report - PORTUGAL Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Environmental Implementation Review 2019: A Europe that protects its citizens and enhances their quality of life
Date: 2019-04-04
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: EU environmental policy, Portugal, application of EU law, climate change policy, environmental law, environmental protection, governance, green economy, public health, quality of the environment

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 4.4.2019  SWD(2019) 129 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The EU Environmental Implementation Review 2019   Country Report - PORTUGAL       Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Environmental Implementation Review 2019:  A Europe that protects its citizens and enhances their quality of life   {COM(2019) 149 final} - {SWD(2019) 111 final} - {SWD(2019) 112 final} - {SWD(2019) 113 final} - {SWD(2019) 114 final} - {SWD(2019) 115 final} - {SWD(2019) 116 final} - {SWD(2019) 117 final} - {SWD(2019) 118 final} - {SWD(2019) 119 final} - {SWD(2019) 120 final} - {SWD(2019) 121 final} - {SWD(2019) 122 final} - {SWD(2019) 123 final} - {SWD(2019) 124 final} - {SWD(2019) 125 final} - {SWD(2019) 126 final} - {SWD(2019) 127 final} - {SWD(2019) 128 final} - {SWD(2019) 130 final} - {SWD(2019) 131 final} - {SWD(2019) 132 final} - {SWD(2019) 133 final} - {SWD(2019) 134 final} - {SWD(2019) 135 final} - {SWD(2019) 136 final} - {SWD(2019) 137 final} - {SWD(2019) 138 final} - {SWD(2019) 139 final}  
 
 
This  report  has  been  written  by  the  staff  of  the  Directorate-General  for  Environment,  European  Commission. 
Comments are welcome, please send them to ENV-EIR@ec.europa.eu 

More information on the European Union is available at http://europa.eu. 

Photographs:  p. 8  —  ©iStock/vallefrias;  p. 13  —  ©iStock/ah_fotobox;  p. 18  —  ©iStock/SeanPavonePhoto; 
p. 27 — ©iStock/volcjoks; p. 36 — ©iStock/cineman69 

For reproduction or use of these photos, permission must be sought directly from the copyright holder. 

©European Union, 2019 

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. 

1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table of Contents 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................... 3 

PART I: THEMATIC AREAS .............................................................................................................................. 4 

1. 

TURNING  THE  EU  INTO  A  CIRCULAR,  RESOURCE-EFFICIENT,  GREEN  AND  COMPETITIVE  LOW-
CARBON ECONOMY .............................................................................................................................. 4 

Measures towards a circular economy ................................................................................................. 4 
Waste management .............................................................................................................................. 7 
Climate change .................................................................................................................................... 10 

2. 

PROTECTING, CONSERVING AND ENHANCING NATURAL CAPITAL .................................................. 13 

Nature and Biodiversity ....................................................................................................................... 13 
Maintaining and restoring ecosystems and their services .................................................................. 14 
Estimating natural capital ................................................................................................................... 15 
Invasive alien species .......................................................................................................................... 16 
Soil protection ..................................................................................................................................... 17 
Marine protection ............................................................................................................................... 18 

3. 

ENSURING CITIZENS' HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE ........................................................................ 20 

Air quality ............................................................................................................................................ 20 
Industrial emissions ............................................................................................................................. 21 
 ................................................................................................................................................. 22 
Noise 
Water quality and management ......................................................................................................... 23 
Chemicals ............................................................................................................................................ 25 
Making cities more sustainable ........................................................................................................... 26 

PART II: ENABLING FRAMEWORK: IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS ................................................................... 29 

4. 

GREEN  TAXATION,  GREEN  PUBLIC  PROCUREMENT,  ENVIRONMENTAL  FUNDING  AND 
INVESTMENTS ..................................................................................................................................... 29 

Green taxation and environmentally harmful subsidies ..................................................................... 29 
Green Public Procurement .................................................................................................................. 30 
Environmental funding and investments ............................................................................................ 31 

5. 

STRENGTHENING ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE ......................................................................... 35 

Information, public participation and access to justice ...................................................................... 35 
Compliance assurance ......................................................................................................................... 37 
Effectiveness of environmental administrations ................................................................................ 39 
International agreements ................................................................................................................... 39 
Sustainable development and the implementation of the UN SDGs .................................................. 41 

2 

 
 
 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

Executive summary 

Portugal  and 
Review (EIR) 

the  Environmental 

Implementation 

In  the  2017  EIR  report,  the  main  challenges  identified 
with  regard  to  implementing  EU  environmental  policy 
and law in Portugal were: 
 

Improving  waste  management  and  developing  the 
potential of the circular economy; 
Enhancing  the  effective  protection  of  the  Natura 
2000 network; and 
Following  up  the  implementation  of  the  marine 
strategies  to  meet  a  good  environmental  status  of 
marine waters. 

 

 

Portugal organised an EIR National Dialogue in Lisbon on 
14  March  2018.  There  was  widespread  participation  by 
public  authorities,  with  a  general  debate  on  the 
environmental  implementation  review  exercise  and  its 
main findings for Portugal. The main focus was on three 
topics: 
and 
circular 
environmental governance. 

economy, 

natural 

capital 

(EIR-P2P),  a  practical  new 

In 2017 the Commission launched the TAIEX-EIR Peer-to-
Peer 
tool  enabling 
environmental  authorities  to  learn  from  each  other. 
Portugal  has  already  benefited  from  the  EIR-P2P  in  the 
fields  of  waste  management,  air  quality  and  forest 
management. 

Progress on meeting challenges since the 2017 report 

(2017-2020),  adopted  by 

The 2019 EIR report shows that substantial progress has 
been  made  on  the  transition  to  a  circular  economy. 
Portugal  has  approved  the  National  Action  Plan  for  the 
the 
Circular  Economy 
Portuguese  Government  in  December  2017.  However, 
the  Commission's  'Early  Warning  Report’  (2018)  states 
that  Portugal  is  considered  at  risk  of  failing  to  meet  the 
EU target of recycling 50% of its municipal waste by 2020. 
Further  efforts  to 
improve  waste  management  are 
therefore needed. 

As  regards  nature  conservation, 
in  May  2018  the 
Portuguese  Government  adopted  the  National  Strategy 
for  Nature  Conservation  and  Biodiversity.  However, 
further  efforts  are  needed  to  complete  the  adoption  of 
suitable  measures  to  protect  and  manage  the  Natura 
the  Atlantic  and  Mediterranean 
2000 
biogeographical regions. 

sites 

in 

Some  progress  has  been  made  with  marine 
conservation, notably on implementing marine strategies 
to achieve good environmental status for marine waters. 

There has been some progress with water management, 
including  improvement  in  the  amount  and  quality  of 
information  with  the  adoption  of  the  second  cycle  of 
River  Basin  Management  Plans,  in  accordance  with  the 
Water  Framework  Directive.  However,  many  challenges 
remain, including protection of the quantitative status of 
groundwater, improving water governance, and the need 
to  close  gaps  in  water  investment,  especially  as  regards 
wastewater. 

Moreover,  sustainable  development  could  be  further 
mainstreamed into other policy areas, including the land 
planning. 

Examples of good practice 

In addition to the points of excellence mentioned in the 
2017  EIR  country  report,  other  good  practices  on 
environmental implementation can be highlighted in the 
case of Portugal: 

Several good examples in the field of environmental 
governance: 
o 

iFAMA,  the  Single  Platform  for  Inspection  and 
Monitoring in the areas of Agriculture, Sea and 
Environment,  an  administrative  simplification 
measure  introduced  in  2017,  contributing  to 
improve the efficiency of public services and its 
relation with citizens and companies. 

o  E–GAR, 

a 

platform 

information 
accompanying  waste  shipments  that  replaces 
four  paper  documents  by  a  single  digital  one, 
implemented in 2017. 

for 

o  The  Single  Environmental  Permitting  Platform, 
Single 
to  operationalise 
developed 
Environmental  Permitting  Regime,  which 
simplifies, 
links  many 
environmental permits. 

standardises  and 

the 

Funding  Program 

The  Environmental 
(Fundo 
Ambiental),  an  important  tool for  investment  in  the 
fields  of  climate  change,  circular  economy  and 
habitat valorization. 

The  measures  adopted  by 
the  Portuguese 
Government  to  promote  a  more  sustainable  use  of 
resources  in  Public  Administration,  with  a  focus  on 
limiting  the 
paper  and  single-use  plastics,  and 
acquisition of fossil fuel by the central administration 
and public companies as of January 2019. 

 

 

 

3 

 
 
 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

Part I: Thematic Areas 

1. Turning the EU into a circular, resource-efficient, green and 

competitive low-carbon economy 

Measures towards a circular economy 

The  Circular  Economy  Action  Plan  emphasises  the  need 
to  move  towards  a  life-cycle-driven  ‘circular’  economy, 
reusing  resources  as  much  as  possible  and  bringing 
residual  waste  close  to  zero.  This  can  be  facilitated  by 
developing  and  providing  access  to  innovative  financial 
instruments and funding for eco-innovation. 

Following  the  adoption  of  the  Circular  Economy  Action 
Plan in 2015 and the setting up of a related stakeholder 
platform  in  2017,  the  European  Commission  adopted  a 
new  package  of  deliverables  in  January  20181.  This 
included  additional  initiatives  such  as:  (i)  an  EU  strategy 
for plastics; (ii) a Communication on how to address the 
interplay  between  chemical,  product  and  waste 
legislation; (iii) a report on critical raw materials; and (iv) 
a  framework  to  monitor  progress  towards  a  circular 
economy2. 

The  circular  economy  monitoring  framework  tracks  key 
trends  and  patterns  to  understand  how  the  various 
elements  of  the  circular  economy  are  developing  and 
whether  enough  action  has  been  taken.  The  framework 
comprises  10  key  indicators  which  cover  each  phase  – 
production,  consumption,  waste  management  and 
secondary  raw  materials  –  and  economic  aspects 
(investments, jobs, gross value added and innovation.) 

Among other key indicators, the circular (secondary) use 
of material in Portugal stood at just 2.1% in 2016 (EU-28 
average:  11.7%).  However,  Portugal performs  above  the 
EU-28  average  as  regards  the  number  of  people 
employed 
in  the  circular  economy  (1.82%  of  total 
employment in 2016; the EU-28 average is 1.73%). 

According to the 2017 Special Eurobarometer 468 on the 
attitudes  of  EU  citizens  to  the  environment,  91%  of 
Portuguese  people  were  very  concerned  about  the 
impact  of  plastic  products  (EU-28  average:  87%).  94% 
were worried about the impact of chemicals, against the 
EU-28 average of 90%3. There appears to be very strong 

support  in  Portuguese  society  for  circular  economy 
initiatives and environmental protection measures. 

As  regards  how  efficiently  the  economy  uses  material 
resources 
resource 
to  produce  wealth,  Portugal's 
productivity was EUR 1.14/kg (EU average: EUR 2.04 /kg) 
in  20174.  As  Figure 1  shows,  there  is  plenty  of  room  for 
improvement here. 

Figure 1: Resource productivity 2010-20175 

In 2015 the Portuguese Government adopted the Green 
Growth  Commitment  (GGC).  This  strategy  grew  out  of 
the  Coalition  for  Green  Growth  launched  in  2014.  The 
GGC  encompassed  16  sectors,  with  over  100  initiatives 
and 14 targets for 2020 and 2030. 

The  2017  EIR  highlighted 
importance  of 
implementing  the  numerous  measures  included  in  this 
national  strategy  on  green  growth,  which  was  designed 
to reorient the country’s economic development. 

the 

The  GGC  monitoring  framework  is  already  established 
the  country’s 
the  assessment  of 
and  delivering 
performance.  However, 
rapid  evolution  of 
environmental policies, towards a more circular and low-
carbon  economy,  called  for  adjustments  in  the  GGC’s 
framework  of  measures  as  well  as  stakeholder 
interaction. 

the 

1 European Commission, 2018 Circular Economy Package. 
2 COM(2018) 029. 
3 European Commission, 2017, Special 486 Eurobarometer, "Attitudes 
of European citizens towards the environment". 

4 Resource productivity is defined as the ratio between gross domestic 
product (GDP) and domestic material consumption (DMC). 
5 Eurostat, Resource productivity 

4 

 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

Thus,  the  model  of  operation  of  the  Coalition  is  now 
undergoing  a  review,  to  render  it  more  flexible  in 
accompanying 
evolution  without 
policy 
compromising its original goals. 

rapid 

It  was 

A natural sequence to this work was the focus on circular 
economy. 
initiated  by  raising  the  national 
awareness  for  this  subject,  with  the  launch  of  the 
ECO.NOMIA  webportal6  in  late  2016.  During  2017  an 
internal  group  developed  the  terms  of  the  National 
Action  Plan  for  Circular  Economy  2017-2020  (PAEC)7 
which was adopted in December of that year. The plan is 
intended  to  be  a  kick-off  to  policy  actions  in  support  of 
the  Portuguese  transition  towards  a  circular  economy, 
and is set to be reviewed at the end of 2020. 

The PAEC assumes three levels of operation: the national 
level, sectoral level and regional level. 

The national level, is routed on the main pillars of the EU 
Action  Plan.  It  presents  seven  areas  in  which  policy 
orientations  are  embedded,  which  are:  i)  design  and  re-
use;  ii)  market;  iii)  education;  iv)  food  waste;  v)  waste 
and  by-products;  vi)  water  and  nutrients;  vii)  research 
and innovation. 

Some  of  the  policies  already  deployed  include,  for 
example,  the  support  to 
local  repair  networks,  an 
environmental  eduction  strategy,  fiscal  instruments  for 
addressing  single-use  plastics  or  a  national  agenda  for 
R&I science in circular economy. 

The  sectoral  level  opted  to  focus  on  sectors  that  were 
either  particularly  resource-intensive  (e.g.  construction), 
or had a high exposure to exports (e.g. textiles, tourism), 
or  represented  a  high  internal  market  impact  (e.g. 
consumer  goods,  public  procurement).  For  this  case  the 
focus  has  been  placed  on  raising  the  awareness  among 
the  sectors  of  activity  and  working  the  circularity  within 
the framework for green public procurement. 

Finally,  the  regional  level  seeks  to  complement  the 
national  action  by  encouraging  and  guiding  the  regional 
coordination & development agencies to draw their own 
agendas  on  circular  economy,  rooted  on  their  regions 
socialeconomic  context  and  environmental  specificities. 
For  that  goal,  the  focus  was  turned  on  promoting  more 
'circular cities', industrial symbiosis and ecosytems. 

There  has  been  a  conscious  effort  to  include  circular 
economy  principles,  but  also  territorial  valorization  and 
decarbonization,  in  other  political  domains,  some  by 
direct  reference  in  strategic  documents  and  others, 
although  they  do  not  explicitly  refer  it,  do  contribute 

equally  to  these  objectives  (e.g.  SIMPLEX  program  for 
dematerialization of government procedures). 

Examples  of  this  integration  can  be  found  in  other 
important  policy  frameworks,  such  as  the  National 
Environmental  Education  Strategy  or  the  Agenda  for 
Research and Innovation in Circular Economy. 

The National Environmental Education Strategy for 2017-
2020  (ENEA  2020)  was  adopted  in  2017  and  aims  to 
establish  a  collaborative, 
strategic  and  cohesive 
commitment  to  environmental  literacy  in  Portugal.  It 
fosters an inclusive and visionary citizenship that leads to 
into 
a  change 
sustainable  models  of  conduct  in  all  dimensions  of 
human activity. 

in  civilizational  paradigm,  translated 

The  actions  envisaged  in  this  Strategy  are  based  on  the 
following  pillars:  i)  Decarbonise  society;  ii)  Make  the 
economy circular; iii) Valuing the territory. 

Actions  envisaged  in  ENEA  2020  contribute  for  active 
citizenship  in  the  field  of  sustainable  development  and 
for  the  construction  of  a  just,  inclusive,  low-carbon, 
rational  and  efficient  on  the  use  of  resources,  which 
combines the equity between generations, the quality of 
life of citizens and the economic development. 

Portugal  has  a  thematic  agenda  for  Research  and 
Innovation  in  Circular  Economy.  This  agenda  is  another 
strategy  for  a  transition  to  the  circular  economy  that 
inclusion  and 
enhances 
advantage of society. 

sustainability, 

resilience, 

The  agenda  is  a  multi-dimensional  research  guide  for 
research  and  the  search  and  response  prospects  for  the 
country  in  a  medium-  and  long-term  attempt  (2030):  i) 
Design and development of new products, processes and 
services;  ii)  Sustainable  management  of  resource  cycles; 
iii)  Governance  and  territory;  iv)  New  business  models, 
behavior and consumption 

The  Fundo  Ambiental  (Environmental  Fund),  created  in 
2016, continues to support circular economy projects. It 
began operating in 2017 and in that year alone over EUR 
41  million  were  invested  in  projects  related  to  climate 
change,  circular  economy,  nature  conservation  and 
environmental awareness. 
The number of EU Ecolabel products and EMAS-licensed8 
organisations in a given country provides some indication 
of  the  extent  to  which  the  private  sector  and  national 
stakeholders  are  actively  engaged  in  the  transition  to  a 
circular  economy.  It  also  shows  how  committed  public 
authorities  are  to  supporting  instruments  designed  to 
promote the circular economy. 

6 The ECO.NOMIA initiative was launched by the Ministry for the 
Environment to promote the circular economy. 
7 Approved by Resolution of the Council of Ministers n. 190-A/2017, 
published on 11 December 2017. 

8 EMAS is the European Commission’s Eco-Management and Audit 
Scheme, a programme to encourage organisations to behave in a more 
environmentally sustainable way. 

5 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

By September 2018, Portugal had 1 179 products and 20 
licences  registered  in  the  EU  Ecolabel  scheme  out  of  71 
707 products and 2 167 licences in the EU, showing a low 
take-up  of  these  licences9.  Moreover,  53  organisations 
from Portugal are currently registered in EMAS10. 

SMEs and resource efficiency 

Portuguese SMEs continue to score in line with the EU-28 
average  as  regards  the  environmental  dimension  of  the 
Small Business Act (see Figure 2). 

Less  firms  than  in  other  countries  are  developing  a 
distinct  'green'  profile,  generating  more  than  half  their 
turnover  from  green  products  and  services.  However, 
more  benefit  from  public  support  measures  for  their 
production of green products. 

Figure 2: Environmental performance of SMEs11  

latest  Eurobarometer,  entitled 

The 
'SMEs,  resource 
efficiency  and  green  markets'12,  asked  companies  about 
recent additional resource efficiency measures and those 
planned  for  the  next  two  years.  The  responses  were 
compared with those obtained in 2015. Portugal's results 

9 European Commission, Ecolabel Facts and Figures. 
10 European Commission, Eco-Management and Audit Scheme. 
11 European Commission, 2018 SBA fact sheet - Portugal, p. 14  
12 Flash Eurobarometer 456 ‘SMEs, resource efficiency and green 
markets’ January 2018. The 8 dimensions were Save energy; Minimise 
waste; Save materials; Save Water; Recycle by reusing material 
internally; Design products easier to maintain, repair or reuse; Use 
renewable energy; Sell scrap materials to another company. 

6 

show  a  marked  difference  between  measures  taken 
recently  and  those  envisaged.  Only  5  %  of  Portuguese 
companies  have  taken  no  resource  efficiency  measures 
at  all  (the  second  lowest  rate  in  the  EU-28).  However, 
44 % (28 % more than in 2015) have no such plans for the 
near  future.  In  the  past,  priority  was  given  to  saving 
inputs  (water,  energy  and  materials),  mentioned  by  63-
75%  of  firms.  In  the  context  of  plummeting  ambition 
(around  30%  in  nearly  all  dimensions),  respondents' 
priority for future action remains saving energy. 

Only  12%  of  Portuguese  companies  (against  22%  in  the 
EU-28, ranging from 3% to 8%) relied on external support 
in their efforts to be more resource-efficient (a very low 
value).  In  the  aftermath  of  the  financial  crisis,  private 
funding  provided  by  friends  and  relatives  disappeared 
almost  completely  (only  4 %  mentioned  such  funding, 
against  36 %  two  years  previously).  Half  of  respondents 
had  recourse to  private  sector  finance. Similarly,  private 
sector  consultancy  grew  in  importance  (rising  by  9%  to 
38%), while business associations lost out significantly (-
17% now mentioned by 13%). 

The EU-28 companies polled regard grants and subsidies 
as playing the most important role in helping make firms 
resource-efficient  (36%).  20-23%  of  the  firms  surveyed 
mention  technical  or  financial  consultancy,  technology 
demonstration and better cooperation among companies 
as useful in promoting resource efficiency. On the other 
hand,  20%  of  respondents  say  none  of  these  would  be 
any help. 

Just  19 %  of  Portuguese  companies  mention  grants  and 
subsidies  as  useful  help.  Demonstration  of  new 
technologies  (29%)  and  help  for  cooperation  with  other 
firms  (23%)  are  seen  as  significant.  Other  forms  of 
assistance,  however,  are  viewed  more  critically  than  in 
the rest of the EU-28. 

Portuguese  companies  have  limited  ambition  as  regards 
further  action  to  boost  resource  efficiency.  Direct  cost 
savings  may  have  motivated  past  action,  particularly 
during  the  credit  crunch.  If  this  trend  is  confirmed, 
Portugal  will  need  to  re-ignite  its  ambition  to  improve 
resource efficiency and make products and services more 
environmentally friendly. 

Eco-innovation 

Portugal  ranked  14th  on  the  European 
scoreboard for 2018, a fall of 1.5% since 201013. 

innovation 

However,  the  European  eco-innovation  scoreboard  for 
2017 ranked Portugal 10th,, with a total score of 105 (see 
Figure 3). 

13 European Commission, European innovation Scoreboard 2018. 

 
                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

It  is  worth  noting  that  Portugal  is  continuing  its  upward 
trend (96 in 2016, 92 in 2015 and 2014, 81 in 2013 and 88 
in 2012). 

Figure 3: 2017 Eco-Innovation Index (EU=100)14 

Moreover, Portugal is above the EU-28 average score for 
the  first  year  ever,  with  an  EcoI  Index  of  over  100  (see 
Figure 4). 

large  corporations  have  significant  in-house  R&D 
activities; 
  Portugal 

in  mineral  resources, 
making  it  less  pressing  for  sectors  like  construction 
to maximise resource efficiency; 

is  relatively  rich 

  There  is  no  specific  policy  programme  to  promote 
eco-innovation.  The  concept 
lumped 
together with concepts such as the circular economy 
and the green economy. 

is  often 

However,  there  are  factors  that  contribute  positively  to 
the  eco-innovation  and  the  circular  economy  agenda, 
such  as:  (i)  significant  private-sector  leadership  and 
investment  in  eco-innovation  efforts  in  telecoms  and 
energy;  (ii)  strong  political  support  for  eco-innovation 
and circular economy agendas from the government and 
from  regional  and  local  authorities;  (iii)  regulatory  and 
financial mechanisms designed to support eco-innovation 
and the circular economy. 

Those sectors on which eco-innovation could have more 
of  an  impact  and  which  have  stood  out  most  in  2016-
2017  are:  (i)  construction;  (ii)  food  and  agriculture;  and 
(iii) textiles. 

Examples  of  eco-innovation  projects  in  these  sectors 
include the installation of a low-temperature belt dryer in 
the Intercement Cimpor cement plant; options for indoor 
farming  needs  provided  by  CoolFarm;  the  Jindo  Burel 
sneakers made by BERG using only recyclable and locally-
sourced  natural  materials;  and  the  GoodAfter  online 
supermarket, which is paving the way for large-scale food 
waste prevention and recycling15. 

Figure 4: Portugal's eco-innovation performance 

2019 priority action 

 

Implement  the  measures  set  out  in  the  National 
Action  Plan  for  the  Circular  Economy  2017-2020 
(PAEC) properly and in good time. 

Waste management 

Turning waste into a resource is supported by: 
(i)  fully 
legislation,  which 
implementing  EU  waste 
includes  the  waste  hierarchy,  the  need  to  ensure 
landfill  diversion 
separate  collection  of  waste,  the 
targets, etc.; 
(ii) reducing waste generation and waste generation per 
capita in absolute terms; and  
(iii)  limiting  energy  recovery  to  non-recyclable  materials 
and  phasing  out  landfilling  of  recyclable  or  recoverable 
waste. 

The  four  main  barriers  to  more  eco-innovation 
Portugal are: 

in 

 

 

Lack  of  private-sector  leadership  or  investment  in 
the  key  sectors  of  waste  management  and  water 
services; 
In many areas, including R&D, Portugal still depends 
too  much  on  public  institutions;  traditionally,  only 

14 Eco-innovation Observatory: Eco-Innovation scoreboard 2015 

15 European Commission, Eco-Innovation Observatory, Country profile 
2016-2017: Portugal. 

7 

 
 
                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

This  section  focuses  on  management  of  municipal 
waste16  for  which  EU  law  sets  mandatory  recycling 
targets17. 

Figure  5:  Municipal  waste  by  treatment  in  Portugal, 
2010-201719 

After a downward trend, municipal waste18 generation in 
Portugal has started to increase in recent years. It came 
to  487  kg/year/inhabitant  in  2017,  although  it  remains 
similar  to  the  EU  average  (487  kg/year/inhabitant),  as 
Figure 5 shows. 

Figure  5  also  shows  municipal  waste  by  treatment,  in 
terms of kilos per capita. There has been a slight increase 
in recycling and composting and a small shift away from 
incineration  and  landfilling.  Incineration  (with  energy 
recovery)  comes  to  20%  of  the  total,  although  these 
figures are still provisional; while landfilling accounts for 
47%  (far  above  the  EU  average  of  around  24%).  The 
situation varies by region, but managing waste efficiently 
remains an important challenge for Portugal. 

16 Municipal waste consists of mixed waste and separately collected 
waste from households and from other sources, where such waste is 
similar in nature and composition to waste from households. This is 
without prejudice to the allocation of responsibilities for waste 
management between public and private sectors. 
17 Directive (EU) 2018/851, Directive (EU) 2018/852, Directive (EU) 
2018/850 and Directive (EU) 2018/849 amend the previous waste 
legislation and set more ambitious recycling targets for the period up to 
2035. These targets will be taken into consideration to assess progress 
in future Environmental Implementation Reports. 
18 Municipal waste consists of waste collected by or on behalf of 
municipal authorities, or directly by the private sector (business or 
private non-profit institutions) not on behalf of municipalities. 

Portugal  has  made  slow  but  steady  progress  over  the 
past  decade  on  stepping  up  its  recycling  rate  and 
diverting  municipal  waste  from  landfilling.  However,  the 
recycling rate for municipal waste in 2017 was 28 % (11% 
of which was recycled, while 17% was composted), after 
a decrease since 2016. This is well below the EU average 
of  46 %  (EU  2017)  and  shows  no  improvement  since 
2014. 

Figure 6 shows that Portugal needs to step up investment 
in recycling to meet the EU 2020 recycling target20. 

Figure 6: Recycling rate of municipal waste, 2010-201721 

19 Eurostat, Municipal waste by waste operations. 
20 Member States may choose a different method from the one used by 
ESTAT (and referred to in this report) to calculate their recycling rates 
and track compliance with the 2020 target of 50% recycling of municipal 
waste. 
21 Eurostat, Recycling rate of municipal waste. 

8 

 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

This is why the Commission's Early Warning report'22 lists 
Portugal as one of the countries at risk of missing the EU 
2020  target  of  recycling  50 %  of  municipal  waste.  The 
report  lists  key  priority  measures  which  Portugal  should 
implementation  gap.  Moreover, 
take  to  close  the 
additional  efforts  will  be  necessary  to  meet  recycling 
targets after 2020. 

the  National  Waste 
In  2014  Portugal  approved 
Management Plan 2014-202023 and the Strategic Plan for 
Municipal  Solid  Waste  for  the  mainland  (PERSU  2020)24. 
The  main  objective  of  the  PERSU  2020  is  to  determine 
the  roadmap  needed  to  meet  the  EU's  recycling  and 
reuse  target  for  municipal  waste  (50%).  A  revised  plan 
with  a  more  forward  looking  perspective (PERSU 2020+) 
is under preparation. 

Portugal  also  has  a  substantial  amount  of  mechanical-
biological  treatment  (MBT)  capacity  for  treating  residual 
waste.  The  bio-stabilised  outputs  from  this  system  are 
also  counted  towards  the  recycling  targets,  which 
explains  the  relatively  high  composting  rate.  However, 
this  possibility  will  be  phased  out  from  2027 
in 
accordance with the revised Waste Framework Directive 
(WFD)25. Recent assessment of the PERSU 2020 examined 
specifically the barriers linked to the overreliance of the 
waste management system on MBT facilities. 

Opportunities  for  waste  prevention  and  recycling  are 
thus not yet  fully  developed  in  Portugal.  The  proportion 
of  incinerated  and  landfilled  municipal  waste,  which 
remains  high,  is  holding  back  the  transition  to  a  circular 
economy. For instance, a particular focus has to be made 
on the Azores Islands in supporting waste prevention and 
recycling. 

Portugal  will  have  to  expand  the  separate  collection  of 
municipal waste and move away from a model that over-
relies  on  sorting  mixed  waste,  especially  if  it  is  to 
progress  towards  meeting  the  new  recycling  targets 
(55 % by 2025, 60 % by 2030, 65 % by 2035). In addition, 
the  assumptions  underpinning  calculations  on  the 
expected  contribution  of  MBT  facilities  to  meeting  the 
2020 recycling target need to be reviewed. 

The  underlying  causes  for  the  current  shortfall  from  EU 
waste targets are: 
 

Insufficient incentives for managing waste according 
to  the  waste  hierarchy  (including  a  low  landfill  fee 

22 European Commission, Report on the implementation of waste 
legislation, including the early warning report for Member States at risk 
of missing the 2020 preparation for re-use/recycling target on municipal 
waste, SWD(2018)422 accompanying COM(2018)656. 
23 Plano Nacional de Gestao de Residuos para o horizonte 2014-2020. 
Diário da República 16.03.2015. 
24 Plano Estratégico para os Residuos Urbanos (PERSU 2020) para o 
Portugal continental. Diário da República 17.09.2014. 
25 Directive (EU) 2018/851 amending Directive 2008/98/EC. 

 

 

and low waste charges for households); 
Lack of coordination between the various tiers of the 
public administration; 
Insufficient  door-to-door  separate  collection  of 
waste; 

source-segregated 

  Relatively  limited  implementation  of  systems  for 
from 

collecting 
households; 
Insufficient  financial  contribution  by  the  extended 
producer responsibility (EPR) systems. 

biowaste 

 

To tackle these shortcomings, Portugal has been actively 
developing the following initiatives: 
 

It  has  reviewed 
landfill  tax  (and  a  similar 
incineration  tax),  plus  the  recycling  targets  for 
municipalities, with a gradual increase in the run-up 
to  2020.  This  is  positive,  although  the  charges  are 
too low to change people's behaviour. 

its 

  Portugal  is  channelling  EU  funds  from  operational 
programmes  to  coordinate  the  efforts  made  by  the 
various  parties  involved  in  the  waste  management 
chain.  Projects  are  valued  if  they  include  measures 
and organisations that aim to meet targets.  

  Efforts  have  been  made  to  step  up  the  separate 
collection  of  waste.  There  are  also  operational 
programmes to fund specific projects involving door-
to-door  collection  and  pay-as-you-throw  (PAYT) 
schemes. 

  Portugal  has  implemented  some  EPR  schemes  for 
specific flows of waste: waste and packaging, waste 
electrical  and  electronic  equipment,  batteries  and 
accumulators,  end-of-life  vehicles,  used  tires  and 
used mineral oils. 

However,  there  is  clear  scope  for  developing  targeted 
policy  instruments  to  support  the  transition  to  a  more 
circular  economic  model.  The  key  priority  actions 
identified as part of the early warning report focus on: (i) 
the  need  to  step  up  separate  collection,  (ii)  the  use  of 
economic 
fees  and 
household  waste  charges),  and  (iii)  what  the  extended 
producer  responsibility  packaging  scheme  adds  to  the 
cost of operating the system. In addition, a system should 
be  developed  at  national  level  to  provide  municipalities 
with  technical  support  with  organising  and  managing 
collection services. 

instruments 

(including 

landfill 

It  is  worth  to  mention  that  representatives  from  Evora 
(Portugal)  went  on  a  TAIEX-EIR  P2P  study  visit  to 
Ljubljana (Slovenia) in September 2018. There was also a 
learn  about  waste 
reciprocal  expert  mission 
management26. 

to 

26 To give experts from the Alentejo region the opportunity to learn 
from the best practice of Ljubljana and get first-hand expert advice 
about waste management. 

9 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

2019 priority actions 

 

 

instruments, 

Introduce  new  policy 
including 
economic instruments, to promote prevention, make 
reuse  and  recycling  more  economically  attractive 
and  shift  reusable  and  recyclable  waste  away  from 
incineration  (by,  for  instance,  increasing  landfill  and 
incineration charges, considering the introduction of 
a  residual  waste  tax,  and  raising  the  charge  on 
municipalities for failing to meet recycling targets). 
Improve  and  extend  separate  collection  of  waste, 
including  bio-waste.  Introduce 
'pay-as-you-throw' 
systems  once  the  door-to-door  collection  services 
(including  bio-waste 
are 
operating  effectively,  and  improve  the  operation  of 
extended  producer  responsibility  systems,  in  line 
with  the  general  minimum  requirements  on  EPR27; 
and develop support programmes for municipalities. 
requirements, 
taking  into  account  the  changes  in  waste  collection 
and  the  need  to  move  away  from  mixed  waste 
treatment. 

infrastructure 

treatment 

collection 

systems) 

  Review 

Climate change 

The EU has committed to undertaking ambitious climate 
action internationally as well as in the EU, having ratified 
the Paris Climate Agreement on 5 October 2016. The EU 
targets are to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 
20 % by 2020 and by at least 40 % by 2030, compared to 
1990.  As  a  long-term  target,  the  EU  aims  to  reduce  its 
emissions  by  80-95 %  by  2050,  as  part  of  the  efforts 
required by developed countries as a group. Adapting to 
the adverse effects of climate change is vital to alleviate 
its  already  visible  effects  and  improve  preparedness  for 
and resilience to future impacts. 

The EU emissions trading system (EU ETS) covers all large 
greenhouse  gas  emitters  in  the  industry,  power  and 
aviation  sectors  in  the  EU.  The  EU  ETS  applies  in  all 
Member States and has a very high compliance rate. Each 
year,  installations  cover  around  99 %  of  their  emissions 
with the required number of allowances. 

For emissions not covered by the EU ETS, Member States 
have  binding  national  targets  under  the  Effort  Sharing 
legislation. Portugal had lower emissions than its annual 
emission  allocations  (AEAs)  in  each  of  the  years  2013-
2016.  According  to  preliminary  data,  emissions  in  2017 
were  slightly  lower  than  the  AEA.  For  2020,  Portugal's 
national target under the EU Effort Sharing Decision is to 
avoid  increasing  emissions  by  more  than  1 %  compared 
to  2005.  For  2030,  Portugal's  national  target  under  the 

27 Set out in Directive (EU) 2018/851 amending Directive 2008/98/EC. 

Effort  Sharing  Regulation  will  be  to  reduce  emissions  by 
17 % compared to 2005. 

Figure  7:  Change  in  total  greenhouse  gas  emissions 
1990-2017 (1990=100%)28.  

Figure 8: Targets and emissions under the Effort Sharing 
Decision and Effort Sharing Regulation29 

28 Annual European Union greenhouse gas inventory 1990–2016 (EEA 
greenhouse gas data viewer). Proxy GHG emission estimates for 
2017Approximated EU greenhouse gas inventory 2017 (European 
Environment Agency). Member States national projections, reviewed by 
the European Environment Agency. 
29 Proxy GHG emission estimates for 2017Approximated EU greenhouse 
gas inventory 2017 (European Environment Agency). Member States 
national projections, reviewed by the European Environment Agency. 

10 

                                                                 
 
 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

The  Portuguese  Government  announced  at  COP  22  the 
national objective to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. To 
this end, a new modelling exercise with a 2050 horizon is 
under  preparation 
the 
implications associated with cost-effective trajectories. 

identify  and  analyse 

to 

The  integrated  national  energy  and  climate  plan  (NECP) 
for the years 2021–2030 is to be drawn up in conjunction 
in  close  articulation  with  the  Roadmap.  The  work  builds 
on  long-term  energy  and  climate  plans  and  roadmaps, 
including  the  Low  Carbon  Roadmap  for  2050,  the 
Portugal  Green  Growth  Commitment  and  the  National 
Programme  for  Climate  Change  2020/30  set  up  in  2015 
(PNAC  2020/2030).  Portugal’s  low  carbon  development 
strategy  was  initially  published  in  2012  as  a  result  of  a 
Ministerial  decision 
in  2010.  The  so-called  “Roteiro 
Nacional  de  Baixo  Carbono  2050”  (RNBC)  has  been 
inspired  by  the  EU  Roadmap  towards  a  low  carbon 
economy  in  2050  in  order  to  identify  economically  and 
technically feasible trajectories to a low carbon economy 
in  2050  for  Portugal.  The  RNBC  has  not  been  formally 
approved  by  the  government  and  therefore  it  has  no 
legal  status.  However,  it  currently  stands  as  an  overall 
long term guidance document for climate policy. 

Transport  represents  almost  a  quarter  of  the  EU’s  GHG 
emissions and is the main cause of air pollution in cities. 
Transport  emissions  in  Portugal  increased  by  5  %  from 
2013 to 2016. 

The  F-gas  Regulation  requires  Member  States  to  run 
training and certification programmes, introduce rules for 
penalties  and  notify  these  measures  to  the  Commission 
by 2017. Portugal has notified both measures.  

The  accounting  of  GHG  emissions  and  removals  from 
forests and agriculture is governed by the Kyoto Protocol. 
Preliminary  accounting  for  2013-2016  shows  net  credits 
of,  on  average,  -7.7  Mt  CO2-eq  per  year,  which 
corresponds  to  6.7%  of  the  EU-28  accounted  sink  of  -
115.7  Mt  CO2-eq.  Portugal  is  one  of  eight  EU  Member 
States  which  exceed  the  cap  of  3.5%  from  emissions  of 
the base year (1990).  

The  EU  Strategy  on  adaptation  to  climate  change, 
adopted  in  2013,  aims  to  make  Europe  more  climate-
resilient, by promoting action by Member States, better-
informed  decision  making,  and  promoting  adaptation  in 
key vulnerable sectors. By adopting a coherent approach 
and  providing  for  improved  coordination,  it  seeks  to 
enhance the preparedness and capacity of all governance 
levels to respond to the impacts of climate change.  

Figure 9: Greenhouse gas emissions by sector (Mt. CO2-
eq.). Historical data 1990-2016. Projections 2017-203030 

In Portugal, a First National Adaptation Strategy (ENAAC) 
was  adopted  in  2010  (2010-2015)  and  revised  in  2015 
(ENAAC  2020  for  2015-2020).  There  is  a  significant  shift 
towards the development of Local Adaptation Strategies, 
with  the  project  ClimAdaPT.Local  having  led  to  27  local 
adaptation strategies. A National Adaptation Action Plan 
(NAP)  based  on  the  selection  of  actions  foreseen  in  the 
biannual  activity  planning  from  some  sectors  and 
transversal areas is currently under public consultation. 

Nine  priority  sectors  have  been  identified:  agriculture, 
biodiversity,  economy,  energy,  forests,  health,  safety  of 
people  and  assets,  transport  and  communications,  and 
coastal  areas/sea.  Presently  the  monitoring  has  been 
guaranteed  for  reporting  purposes  through  ENAAC’s 
formal  procedure 
Coordination  Group.  A  more 
is 
in  order  to  establish  a 
addressed 
monitoring and review system for the overall adaptation 
process,  particularly  with  close  collaboration  with 
sectorial groups following a mainstreaming approach. 

in  ENAAC  2020 

30 Annual European Union greenhouse gas inventory 1990–2016 (EEA 
greenhouse gas data viewer). Proxy GHG emission estimates for 
2017Approximated EU greenhouse gas inventory 2017 (European 
Environment Agency). Member States national projections, reviewed by 
the European Environment Agency. 

11 

 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

The  total  revenues  from  the  auctioning  of  emission 
allowances  under  the  EU  ETS  over  the  years  2013-2017 
were  EUR  415  million.  85  %  of  the  auctioning  revenues 
have  been  spent  on  climate  and  energy  purposes. 
National legislation stipulates that 100 % of the revenues 
should be spent on climate related purposes. 

2019 priority action 

In this report, no priority actions have been included on 
climate action, as the Commission will first need to assess 
the  draft  national  energy  and  climate  plans  which  the 
Member  States  needed  to  send  by  end  of  2018.  These 
plans  should  increase  the  consistency  between  energy 
and climate policies and could therefore become a good 
example  of  how  to  link  sector-specific  policies  on  other 
interlinked  themes  such  as  agriculture-nature-water  and 
transport-air-health. 

12 

 
 
 
 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

2. Protecting, conserving and enhancing natural capital 

Nature and Biodiversity 

in  the  EU  by  2020. 

The  EU  biodiversity  strategy  aims  to  halt  the  loss  of 
full 
biodiversity 
implementation  of  the  Birds  and  Habitats  Directives  to 
achieve  favourable  conservation  status  of  protected 
species and habitats. It also requires that the agricultural 
improve 
and  forest  sectors  help  to  maintain  and 
biodiversity. 

It  requires 

Biodiversity strategy 

The  Portuguese  Government  approved  the  country’s 
National  Strategy 
for  Nature  Conservation  and 
Biodiversity for 2030 (NSNCB)31 on 5 April 2018.32 

The  NSNCB  Vision  is:  to  achieve  a  good  conservation 
status  of  the  natural  heritage  by  2050,  based  on  the 
progressive  appropriation  by  society  of  the  design  of 
biodiversity,  by  both  acknowledging  its  significance  for 
the  country’s  development  and  pursuing  management 
models that advocate a closer approach to those working 
on the ground in the territories. 

Taking  into  account  the  2030  Sustainable  Development 
Agenda,  the  Strategic  Plan  of  the  Convention  on 
Biological Diversity and the European Union Strategy for 
Biodiversity,  the  NSNCB  provides  a  framework  for 
addressing  the  challenges  Portugal  will  face  between 
2018 and 2030. 

The  principles  underpinning  the  previous  national 
strategy  have  been  reinterpreted  in  the  light  of  the 
current challenges. There are three strategic aims: 

i. 

ii. 

iii. 

to  improve  the  conservation  status  of  habitats 
and species; 
to  instil  in  society  a  sense  of  responsibility  for 
the natural environment and biodiversity; 
to  promote  recognition  of  the  value  of  the 
natural  heritage  and  integrate  this  awareness 
into  a  number  of  policies,  strategies  and 
practices. 

The  new  Strategy  sets  out  goals  (30)  to  be  achieved  by 
2030,  ranked  by  priority.  Each  goal  is  broken  down  into 
over  107  measures,  each  with  indicators,  priorities, 
deadlines,  means  of  verification,  tools  and  responsible 
entities. 

31 Estratégia Nacional de Conservação da Natureza e da Biodiversidade 
2030, Resolução do Conselho de Ministros n.º 55/2018 - Diário da 
República N.º 87 Série I, de 7 de maio. 
32The Portuguese Government, National Strategy for Nature 
Conservation and Biodiversity for 2030   

Setting up a coherent network of Natura 2000 sites 

Portugal hosts 99 habitat types and 325 species covered 
by  the  Habitats  Directive.  The  country  also  hosts 
populations of 80 bird species listed in the Birds Directive 
Annex I. 

By  November  2017,  Natura  2000  areas  accounted  for 
20.6%  of  Portugal's  land  area  (EU  average:  18.1%),  with 
Birds  Directive  Special  Protection  Areas  (SPAs)  covering 
10%  (EU  average  12.3%)  and  Habitats  Directive  Sites  of 
Community Importance (SCIs) covering 17% (EU average: 
13.8%). 

Designating  Natura  2000  sites  and setting  conservation 
objectives and measures 

The most recent assessment of the SCI component of the 
Natura 2000 network shows that there are insufficiencies 
in designation. Especially the marine components of the 
network33 still shows a considerable insufficiency, despite 
the fact that there has been a moderate increase of the 
protected marine area in 2017. 

The 6-year deadline which the Habitats Directive sets for 
designating  special  conservation  areas 
(SACs)  and 
establishing  appropriate  conservation  objectives  and 
measures  has  expired.  Portugal  has  already  designated 
Importance  (SCIs)  of  the 
the  Sites  of  Community 
Macaronesian  biogeographical 
Special 
Conservation Areas (SACs). 

region 

as 

33 For each Member State, the Commission assesses whether the 
species and habitat types in Annexes I and II to the Habitats Directive, 
are sufficiently represented by the sites designated to date. This is 
expressed as a percentage of species and habitats for which further 
areas need to be designated in order to complete the network in that 
country. The current data, which were assessed in 2014-2015, reflect 
the situation up until December 2013. 

13 

 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

However,  no  special  conservation  areas  have  yet  been 
designated for the Sites of Community Importance in the 
Atlantic  and  Mediterranean  biogeographical  regions 
(most  of  the  Member  States  have  already  done  this,  at 
in  part).  Moreover,  Portugal  has  defined 
least 
management  plans  for  some  SCIs  only.  This  is  why  the 
Commission  has  decided  to  bring  the 
infringement 
procedure  opened  on  this  matter  before  the  Court  of 
Justice of the European Union. 

Therefore, Portugal has yet to complete its Natura 2000 
Network, particularly the marine network, and to provide 
for  the  necessary  management  measures  of  the  sites 
already designated. 

Progress 
restoring 
in  maintaining  or 
conservation status of species and habitats 

favourable 

Since  Member  States  report  only  once  every  6  years  on 
progress made under the two directives, there is nothing 
new to report on the state of natural habitats and species 
or on improvements in the conservation status of species 
and habitats in Portugal, as compared with the 2017 EIR. 

in 

are 

the  previous  EIR 

(EU-27:  16 %).  58 % 

As  noted 
report,  29%  of 
biogeographic  assessments  of  habitats  were  favourable 
considered 
in  2013 
unfavourable–inadequate  (EU-27:  47 %),  while  8 %  are 
unfavourable–bad  (EU-27:  30%).  As  for  species,  19 %  of 
assessments were favourable in 2013 (EU-27: 23 %), 31 % 
were  unfavourable-inadequate  (EU-27:  42 %)  and  10 % 
were  unfavourable-bad  (EU-27:  18 %).  As  regards  birds, 
43 % of breeding species showed short-term increases or 
stable  population  trends  (for  wintering  species,  this 
figure was 57 %). 

Overall,  the  status  of  natural  habitats  and  species 
covered  by  the  Habitats  Directive  has  improved  in 
Portugal, although many are still in a poor unfavourable. 

Progress  in  following  up  the  'suggested  actions'  in  this 
area that were set out in the 2017 EIR has been limited. 
Therefore, they overall remain valid for the 2019 EIR. 

2019 priority actions 

  Complete  the Natura 2000  site  designation  process, 
including in the marine part, and put in place clearly 
defined  conservation  objectives  and  the  necessary 
conservation measures for the sites. 

  Continue  to  develop  and  promote  smart  and 
streamlined  implementation  approaches,  especially 
as  regards  appropriate  assessment  procedures  and 
species  permitting  procedures,  ensuring 
the 
necessary  knowledge  and  data  availability  and 
strengthen communication with stakeholders. 

  Boost  capacity  building  to  improve  management  of 
for  the 

Natura  2000  sites  and  arrangements 
protection of particular species. 

14 

 

Strengthen  the  integration  of  biodiversity  concerns 
into  other  policies  (in  particular  in  agriculture,  but 
also  in  fisheries,  urban  and  infrastructure  planning 
and sustainable tourism). 

Maintaining  and  restoring  ecosystems  and 
their services 

The EU biodiversity strategy aims to maintain and restore 
ecosystems  and  their  services  by 
including  green 
infrastructure  in  spatial  planning  and  restoring  at  least 
15 %  of  degraded  ecosystems  by  2020.  The  EU  green 
infrastructure  strategy  promotes  the  incorporation  of 
green infrastructure into related plans and programmes. 

The EU has provided guidance on the further deployment 
of  green  and  blue  infrastructure  in  Portugal34  and  a 
country page on the Biodiversity Information System for 
Europe  (BISE)35.  This  information  will  also  contribute  to 
the  final  evaluation  of  the  EU  Biodiversity  Strategy  to 
2020. 

Several  other  strategies  and  plans 
include  green 
infrastructure  activities.  For  instance,  the  Natura  2000 
Sector  Plan,  the  National  Network  of  Protected  Areas, 
and  the  various  levels  of  spatial  plans  and  programmes 
(protected areas, coastal areas, reservoirs, municipal and 
regional  special  plans).  It  is  worth  to  mention  also  the 
National Programme on Spatial Planning Policy (PNPOT), 
together  with  the  National  Strategies 
for  Nature 
Conservation  and  Biodiversity  and  for  the  Oceans, 
designed to create a network of protected marine areas 
to  reconcile  economic  activity  with  protection  for 
estuarine, coastal and oceanic ecosystems. 

The  Coalition  for  Green  Growth,  formed  in  2014  by  a 
large  number  of  private  and  public  partners,  and  the 
subsequent  "Green  Growth  Commitment"  adopted  by 
the  Portuguese  Government  in  201536  (see  Chapter  1), 
include: (i) work on implementing nature-based solutions 
against  the  risk  of  natural  disasters  such  as  floods,  (ii) 
implementing the Business and Biodiversity Strategy, and 
(iii)  promoting  agro-industry  practices  that  sustain 
farming systems of high natural value. 

includes  green 
The  Lisbon  Strategy  for  2010-2024 
infrastructure  activities,  such  as  creating  a  network  of 
green  spaces  and  green  corridors  for  recreational 
activities and for protecting, appreciating and promoting 
biodiversity  and  natural  and  cultural  landscapes.  The 

34 European Commission, The recommendations of the green 
infrastructure strategy review report and the EU Guidance on a 
strategic framework for further supporting the deployment of EU-level 
green and blue infrastructure. 
35 Biodiversity Information System for Europe. 
36 The Portuguese Government, “Green Growth Commitment",2015.  

                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

Master Development Plan for Lisbon  aims  to ensure the 
continuity  and  complementarity  of  natural  and  semi-
natural systems in the urban territory. The city also has a 
target to increase 20% of its biodiversity by 2020. 

A successful instance of green infrastructure is the Quinta 
da  Granja  Urban  Park,  a  multifunctional  park  that 
embodies  many  different  visions  and  caters  to  a  variety 
of needs, with features such as flowerbeds, a playground, 
community  gardens,  woodland  and  the  restored  old 
palace.  Also  the  Quinta  do  Pisão37,  a  working  farm  and 
large  public  park  developed  on  abandoned  farmland.  It 
attracts both locals and tourists for recreation. 

As regards funding for green areas, legislation adopted in 
2008 (the Fundamental Network for Nature Conservation 
–  RFCN)  established  a  new  economic  and  financial 
framework  for  nature  conservation  and  biodiversity  and 
the  Fund  for  Nature  Conservation  and  Biodiversity  (that 
in 2016 was integrated in the new Environmental Fund). 
There  is  also  a  Permanent  Forest  Fund  (FFP)  to  finance 
forest  management.  The  Operational 
sustainable 
Programme  for  Sustainability  and  Resource  Efficiency 
(POSEUR)  allocates  funding  to  projects  dealing  with 
biodiversity  and  ecosystems.  There  is  still  scope  for 
encouraging private funding in cooperation with NGOs. 

Portugal  faces  some  challenges  in  implementing  green 
infrastructure:  (i)  reconciling  policies  targeting  business 
and  policies  benefiting 
the  environment  more 
information  to  national 
satisfactorily,  (ii) 
protected  areas  managers,  populations,  economic 
operators  and  other  stakeholders  about  the  benefits  of 
green 
the 
and 
socioeconomic  growth  benefits  of  green  infrastructure, 
particularly in the urban and rural contexts. 

infrastructure, 

promoting 

improving 

(iii) 

Reporting to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 
on resource mobilisation from Portugal is still pending for 
2015.  Reporting  on  financial  flows  to  the  CBD 
is 
important for the position of the EU and its members in 
the  CBD.  It  also  helps  support  good  practice  in  other 
countries. 

As  regards  forests,  the  2017  EIR  stressed  that  Portugal 
faces the following challenges: private ownership of most 
woodland,  intensive  farming,  the  spread  of  the  pine 
wood nematode, and the high risk of forest fires. 

Portugal  is  severely  affected  by  forest  fires,  owing  to 
more  extreme  weather  conditions  and  changes  in  land 
use. Since 2000, such fires have affected over 29 000 km2 
(nearly  32%  of  the  country’s  total  area  as  some  areas 
were affected  several  times).  While  the  total number  of 
wildfires  has  fallen  over  the  last  15  years,  Portugal  still 
suffers  from  episodes  of  catastrophic  'megafires'  which 

37Green infrastructure, The Quinta do Pisão. 

15 

burn  very  large  areas  and  are  almost  impossible  to 
extinguish  unless  weather  conditions  change.  A  case  in 
point was 2017, with the worst fire season in Portuguese 
history  in  terms  of  the  area  burned  (about  5 300  km2), 
damage to property, and, above all, loss of life. Extreme 
weather events such as heatwaves, severe droughts and 
strong  winds  are  expected  to  occur  more  frequently  in 
the context of climate change. 

Policy and management options for reducing forest fires 
must address their root causes. Changes in land use and 
forest  management  favoured  the  accumulation  of  large 
increased  the  fire-
amounts  of  potential  fuel  and 
proneness  of  forests  and  therefore  also  fire  risk  and 
magnitude.  Examples  are  abandonment  of  pastoralism 
and agriculture, neglect of traditional forest management 
leading to compact forest and shrub masses or significant 
expansion  of  fire  prone  eucalyptus  or  pine  plantations. 
Apart  from 
into  restoring  the  forests 
affected,  more  efforts  are  hence  needed  to  prevent  the 
outbreak of wildfires and to minimise the conditions for 
their spread and progression. This should include policies 
to strengthen forest resilience and avoid highly fire-prone 
forests, particularly if left unmanaged38. 

investments 

Portural  is  taking  measures  in  this  regard.  For  instance, 
the National Forest Strategy has been recently updated. 

Estimating natural capital 

The  EU  biodiversity  strategy  calls  on  Member  States  to 
map  and  assess  the  state  of  ecosystems  and  their 
services39 in their national territories by 2014, assess the 
economic  value  of  such  services  and  integrate  these 
values  into  accounting  and  reporting  systems  at  EU  and 
national level by 2020. 

Portugal  has  carried  out  a  regional  MAES  assessment 
(mapping  and  assessment  of  ecosystems)  in  Alentejo. 
However,  this  has  yet  to  be  upscaled  to  national  level, 
and a comprehensive approach is needed. Portugal has a 
wealth  of  experience  and  interest  at  local  level  on  the 
part  of  stakeholders,  NGOs  and  universities,  but  it  is 
launched  several 
fragmented.  The  government  has 
initiatives  that  take  account  of  the 
importance  of 
ecosystem  services  and  natural  capital  for  growth  and 
jobs: they include the green economy initiative, green tax 
reforms,  approaches  based  on  the  economics  of 
ecosystems  and  biodiversity  (TEEB),  and  ecosystem 
services assessments. 

38 European Commission, European Semester 2018, Country Report for 
Portugal. SWD(2018) 220, of 7.3.2018. 
39 Ecosystem services are benefits provided by nature such as food, 
clean water and pollination on which human society depends. 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

Regarding  ecosystem  services  assessment,  in  2018  was 
launched  the  study  “Economic  Instruments  for  the 
Conservation  of  Biodiversity  and  Ecosystem  Services 
Assessment  in  Portugal”.  This  last  study  will  also  have 
two intervention projects in two protected areas. 

A long term process is envisaged to be launched covering 
the  mainland  of  Portuguese  territory.  Developing  a 
platform network makes part of this effort. 

At the MAES Working Group meeting held in Brussels in 
September  2018,  it  emerged  that  Portugal  had  not 
provided  any  updated  information,  meaning  that  no 
progress  had  been  recorded  since  January  2016  as 
regards the level of implementation of MAES (Figure 10). 
This assessment was made by the ESMERALDA project40. 
It is based on 27 implementation questions and updated 
every six months. 

Figure 10: Implementation of MAES (September 2018) 

Business  and  biodiversity  platforms,  networks  and 
communities of practice are key tools for promoting and 
facilitating  natural  capital  assessments  (NCAs)  among 
business  and  financial  service  providers,  through  the 
Natural Capital Protocol of the Natural Capital Coalition, 
for  instance41.  NCAs  help  private-sector  firms  to  better 
understand and evaluate both their own impact and the 
extent to which they depend on nature. This contributes 
to 
the  EU's  Biodiversity  Strategy.  Business  and 
biodiversity platforms have been established at EU level42 
and in a number of Member States, though not all. 

Initiative  on  Business  and  Biodiversity43,  a 
The 
Portuguese  national  platform,  aims  to  promote  the 
introduction  of  biodiversity  strategies 
in  businesses 
through voluntary arrangements. 

2019 priority action  

  Continue supporting the mapping and assessment of 
ecosystems and their services, and the valuation and 
development  of  natural  capital  accounting  systems, 

40 EU project Esmeralda  
41 Natural Capital Coalition, Natural Capital Protocol 
42 Business and Biodiversity, The European Business and Biodiversity 
Campaign aims to promote the business case for biodiversity in the EU 
Member States through workshops, seminars and a cross media 
communication strategy. 
43 Portugal, Initiative on Business and Biodiversity 

indicators 
and 

further 

for  monitoring 
developing 

through  appropriate 
economic 
progress 
ecosystem accounts. 

Invasive alien species 

Under  the  EU  biodiversity  strategy,  the  following  are  to 
be achieved by 2020:  
(i) invasive alien species identified;  
(ii) priority species controlled or eradicated; and  
(iii)  pathways  managed  to  prevent  new  invasive  species 
from disrupting European biodiversity.  
This  is  supported  by  the  Invasive  Alien  Species  (IAS) 
Regulation, which entered into force on 1 January 2015. 

Portugal  has  submitted  one  risk  assessment  for  the 
second update of the Union list of invasive alien species 
(IAS):  the  American  mink  (Neovison  vison).  While  the 
assessment  has  received  a  positive  opinion  from  the 
Scientific Forum, the Committee has not yet ascertained 
whether the species meets the criteria for listing. 

The  report  on  the  baseline  distribution  (Figure  11),  for 
which  Portugal  did  not  review  its  country  or  grid-level 
data, shows that of the 37 species on the first Union list, 
10  have  already  been  observed  in  the  environment  in 
Portugal. Seven are aquatic species, with water hyacinth 
(Eichhornia crassipes) and parrot’s feather (Myriophyllum 
aquaticum) being the most widespread. 

Figure  11:  Number  of  IAS  of  EU  concern,  based  on 
available georeferenced information for Portugal44 

44 Tsiamis K; Gervasini E; Deriu I; D'amico F; Nunes A; Addamo A; De 
Jesus Cardoso A. Baseline Distribution of Invasive Alien Species of Union 
concern. Ispra (Italy): Publications Office of the European Union; 2017, 
EUR 28596 EN, doi:10.2760/772692 

16 

 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

Between  the  entry  into  force  of  the  Union  list  and  30 
October  2018,  Portugal  has  submitted  one  early 
detection notification for curly waterweed (Lagarosiphon 
major),  as  required  under  Article  16(2)  of  the  IAS 
Regulation. Eradication measures are ongoing. 

Portugal  has  notified  the  Commission  of  the  competent 
authorities 
IAS 
for 
Regulation,  as  required  by  Article  24(2)  of  the  IAS 
Regulation. 

implementing 

responsible 

the 

However,  Portugal  has  not  informed  the  Commission  of 
any  national  provisions  on  penalties  applicable  to 
infringements,  as  required  by  Article  30(4)  of  the  IAS 
Regulation.  Nor  has  it  informed  the  Commission  of  its 
lists  of  invasive  alien  species  of  concern  to  Madeira  and 
the  Azores,  as  required  under  Article  6(4)  of  the  IAS 
Regulation. 

2019 priority actions 

 

 

Portugal  is  urged  to  notify  the  Commission  of  its 
penalty provisions. 
Portugal is urged to notify the Commission of its list 
of  invasive  alien  species  of  concern  to  Madeira  and 
the Azores. 

Soil protection  

The  EU  soil  thematic  strategy  underlines  the  need  to 
ensure a sustainable use of soils. This entails preventing 
further  soil  degradation  and  preserving  its  functions,  as 
well as restoring degraded soils. The 2011 Roadmap to a 
Resource Efficient Europe states that by 2020, EU policies 
must  take  into  account  their  direct  and  indirect  impact 
on land use. 

Soil  is  a  finite  and  extremely  fragile  resource  and  it  is 
increasingly degrading in the EU. 
The percentage of artificial land45 in Portugal (Figure 12) 
can  be  seen  as  a  measure  of  the  relative  pressure  on 
nature  and  biodiversity,  and  of  the  environmental 
pressure  on  people  living  in  urbanised  areas.  A  similar 
measure is population density. 

Portugal ranks above the EU average as regards artificial 
land  cover  with  5.3  %  of  artificial  land  (EU-28  average: 

45 Artificial land cover is defined as the total of roofed built-up areas 
(including buildings and greenhouses), artificial non built-up areas 
(including sealed area features, such as yards, farmyards, cemeteries, 
car parking areas etc. and linear features, such as streets, roads, 
railways, runways, bridges) and other artificial areas (including bridges 
and viaducts, mobile homes, solar panels, power plants, electrical 
substations, pipelines, water sewage plants, and open dump sites). 

4.1 %).  The  population  density  is  113.5/km2,  slightly 
below the EU average of 11846. 

In  2014,  the  National  Action  Programme  to  Combat 
Desertification  (PANCD)47  was  updated  (building  on  a 
previous  version  dating  back  to  1999).  PANCD  is  fully 
aligned with the vision, the mission, and the strategic and 
operational  objectives and goals  of  the  10-Year  Strategy 
of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. 
Figure 12: Proportion of artificial land cover, 2015 48 

framework 

responsible 

PANCD  is  a  cornerstone  strategy  for  the  protection  and 
recovery  of  affected  soil  in  Portugal.  It  defines  the 
for  ensuring 
institutional 
implementation  and  establishing  a  desertification 
monitoring  system  to  assess  its  effects  and  trends.  It 
defines  a  strategic  vision,  setting 
four  strategic 
objectives: 1) To promote the improvement of the living 
in  areas  vulnerable  to 
conditions  of  people 
living 
desertification;  2)  To  promote 
sustainable 
management  of  ecosystems 
in  areas  vulnerable  to 
desertification  and  the  recovery  of  affected  areas; 3)  To 
generate global benefits and potential synergies with the 
processes of climate change and biodiversity in sensitive 
areas;  4)  To  promote  and  mobilise  resources  to 
implement  the  UNCCD  and  PANCD  and  associated 
specific objectives, lines of action and indicators. 

the 

46 Eurostat, Population density by NUTS 3 region. 
47 The Portuguese Government, Resolution of the Council of Ministers 
No 78/2014 
48 Eurostat, Land covered by artificial surfaces by NUTS 2 regions. 

17 

                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

Contamination  can  severely  reduce  soil  quality  and 
threaten  human  health  or  the  environment.  A  recent 
report  of  the  European  Commission49  estimated  that 
potentially  polluting  activities  have  taken  or  are  still 
taking place on approximately 2.8 million sites in the EU. 
At EU level, 650 000 of these sites have been registered 
in national or regional inventories. 65 500 contaminated 
sites  already  have  been  remediated.  Portugal  has 
registered 181 sites where potentially polluting activities 
have  taken  or  are  taking  place,  and  already  has 
remediated or applied aftercare measures on 83 sites. 

transboundary 

Soil  erosion  by  water  is  a  natural  process,  which  can  be 
aggravated by climate change and human activities such 
as  inappropriate  farming  practices,  deforestation,  forest 
fires or construction work. High levels of soil erosion can 
make  agriculture  less  productive  and  can  have  negative 
and 
impacts  on  biodiversity  and 
ecosystem  services,  and  on  rivers  and  lakes  (increased 
volume  of  sediments,  transport  of  contaminants). 
According  to  the  RUSLE2015  model50,  Portugal  has  an 
average annual soil loss rate by water of 2.31 tonnes per 
hectare  per  year  (t ha−a yr−y),  against  a  European  mean 
average of 2.46 t ha−a yr−y, which indicates soil erosion is 
moderate  on average.  These  figures are the  output  of  a 
model  run  at  EU  level  and  should  not,  therefore,  be 
considered as values measured in situ. The actual soil loss 
rate  can  vary  widely  within  the  country,  depending  on 
local conditions. 

Soil organic matter plays an important role in the carbon 
cycle and in climate change. Soils are the world's second 
largest carbon sink after the oceans. 

Marine protection 

EU coastal and marine policy and legislation require that 
by  2020  the  impact  of  pressures  on  marine  waters  be 
reduced  to  achieve  or  maintain  good  environmental 
status (GES) and ensure that coastal zones are managed 
sustainably. 

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)51 aims 
to achieve good environmental status of the EU’s marine 
waters  by  2020.  To  that  end,  Member  States  must 
develop  a  marine  strategy  for  their  marine  waters,  and 
cooperate  with  the  EU  countries  that  share  the  same 
marine (sub)region. 

For  Portugal,  the  Convention  for  the  protection  of  the 
marine  environment  of  the  North-East  Atlantic  (OSPAR 
Convention)  makes  a  major  contribution 
towards 
achieving this goal. 

These  marine  strategies  comprise  a  number  of  steps  to 
be developed and implemented over six-year cycles. The 
latest  step  required  Member  States  to  set  up  a 
programme of measures and report it to the Commission 
by  31 March 2016.  However,  Portugal  reported 
its 
Monitoring Programmes and Programme of Measures at 
the  same  time  in  2015.  The  Commission  has  assessed 
whether the measures reported by Portugal are sufficient 
to attain good environmental status52. 

Most  of  Portugal’s  measures  address  the  relevant 
pressures  in  part  only.  For  example,  while  they  address 
impacts on species of birds, fish and mammals, they fail 
to  cover  certain  by-catch  issues  (e.g.  those  relating  to 
birds). Moreover, Portugal relies on measures to protect 
marine  areas  in  general,  although  it  is  not  always  clear 
what pressures are to be addressed in such areas. 

The measures reported are often monitoring efforts and 
research  projects  mapping  human  activities.  While  they 
are  consistent  with  Portugal’s  targets,  they  cannot 
themselves  be  classed  as  measures.  It  is  thus  unclear 
they  will  help  attain  good 
whether  and  how 
environmental  status.  Although  most  new  measures 
were  expected  to  have  been  implemented  by  2016,  the 
Portuguese  authorities  do  not  say  whether  they  expect 
good  environmental  status  to  be  achieved  for  all 
descriptors,  and, 
if  so,  when.  Overall,  Portugal’s 
programme  of  measures  addresses  the  Marine  Strategy 
Framework Directive’s requirements in part only. 

49 Ana Paya Perez, Natalia Rodriguez Eugenio (2018), Status of local soil 
contamination in Europe: Revision of the indicator “Progress in the 
management Contaminated Sites in Europe”. 
50 Panagos, P., Borrelli, P., Poesen, J., Ballabio, C., Lugato, E., 
Meusburger, K., Montanarella, L., Alewell, C., The new assessment of 
soil loss by water erosion in Europe, (2015) Environmental Science and 
Policy, 54, pp. 438-447. 

51 European Union, Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC 
52 European Commission, Commission Report assessing Member States’ 
programme of measures under the MSFD – SWD(2018) 393 final, of 
31.07.2018. 

18 

 
                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

2019 priority actions 

 

 

Set timelines for attaining good environmental status 
if no such timelines have been reported. 
Provide more information about measures, establish 
more measures with a direct impact on the pressures 
and quantify by how much the pressure in question 
is expected to be reduced by these measures. 

  Cooperate  with  other  Member  States  sharing  the 
tackle 

region  or  subregion 

to 

same  marine 
predominant pressures. 

19 

 
 
 
 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

3. Ensuring citizens' health and quality of life 

Air quality  

EU clean air policy and legislation require the  significant 
improvement  of  air  quality  in  the  EU,  moving  the  EU 
closer to the quality recommended by the World Health 
Organisation.  Air  pollution  and  its  impacts  on  human 
health,  ecosystems  and  biodiversity  should  be  further 
reduced with the long-term aim of not exceeding critical 
loads  and  levels.  This  requires  strengthening  efforts  to 
reach  full  compliance  with  EU  air  quality  legislation  and 
defining strategic targets and actions beyond 2020. 

The  EU  has  developed  a  comprehensive  body  of  air 
legislation53,  which  establishes  health-based 
quality 
standards and objectives for a number of air pollutants. 

The  emission  of  several  air  pollutants  has  decreased 
significantly  in  Portugal,  as  mentioned  in  the  previous 
EIR.  Despite  the  reductions  achieved  since  1990, 
additional  efforts  are  needed  to  meet  Portugal’s 
commitments  to  cut  emissions  from  2005  levels,  laid 
down  in  the  new  National  Emissions  Ceilings  Directive54 
for 2020-2029 and for any year from 2030. 

Figure  13:  PM2.5  and  NOx  emissions  by  sector  in 
Portugal55  

However,  air  quality  in  Portugal  continues  to  give  cause 
for  concern.  The  European  Environment  Agency 
attributed an estimated 5 170 premature deaths in 2015 
to fine particulate matter concentrations56, 280 to ozone 

53 European Commission, 2016. Air Quality Standards 
54 Directive 2016/2284/EU 
55 2016 NECD data submitted by Member State to the EEA. 
56 Particulate matter (PM) is a mixture of aerosol particles (solid and 

20 

concentration 
concentrations58. 

and 

610 

to 

nitrogen 

dioxide57 

Levels  of  nitrogen  dioxide  (NO2)  above  EU  air  quality 
standards  were  registered  in  three  air  quality  zones  out 
of  17  (Lisboa,  Braga,  Porto)59  in  2017.  Moreover,  target 
for  ozone60  concentration  are  also  being 
values 
exceeded61. 

See  also  Figure  14  for  the  number  of  air  quality  zones 
where  NO2, 
(PM2.5),  and 
fine  particulate  matter 
particulate matter (PM10) values were exceeded in 2017. 

Figure  14:  Air  quality  zones  exceeding  EU  air  quality 
standards in 201762 

According  to  a  special  report  by  the  European  Court  of 
Auditors63[,  EU  action  to  protect  human  health  from  air 
pollution  has  not  had  the  impact  anticipated.  There  is  a 
risk  of  air  pollution  being  underestimated  in  instances 
where it is not monitored at the right locations. Member 
States  are  required  to  report  both  real-time  and 
validated air quality data to the Commission64. 

liquid) covering a wide range of sizes and chemical compositions. PM10 
(PM2.5) refers to particles with a diameter of 10 (2.5) micrometres or 
less. PM is emitted from many human sources, including combustion. 
57 NOx is emitted during fuel combustion e.g. from industrial facilities 
and the road transport sector. NOx is a group of gases comprising 
nitrogen monoxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). 
58 EEA, Air Quality in Europe – 2018 Report, p.64. Please see details in 
this report as regards the underpinning methodology. 
59 EEA, Central Data Repository  
60 Low level ozone is produced by photochemical action on pollution. 
61 EEA, Eionet Air Quality Portal and the related Central Data 
Repository…. 
62 EEA, EIONET Central Data Repository. Data reflects the reporting 
situation as of 26 November 2018. 
63 European Court of Auditors, Special report no 23/2018, Air pollution: 
Our health still insufficiently protected, p.41. 
64 Article 5 of Commission Implementing Decision 2011/850/EU of 12 
December 2011 laying down rules for Directives 2004/107/EC and 
2008/50/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards 
the reciprocal exchange of information and reporting on ambient air 
quality (OJ L 335, 17.12.2011) requires Member States to provide Up-
To-Date data. 

 
 
 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                                                        
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

In  2015,  the  industrial  sectors  with  most  installations 
covered  by  the  IED  were:  (i)  intensive  rearing  of  poultry 
and  pigs  (24%),  (ii)  slaughterhouses,  food  and  drink  and 
milk  (15%),  (iii)  waste  management  (14%),  (iv)  surface 
treatment (12%,) and (v) mineral production (10%). 

Figure  15:  Number  of  IED  industrial  installations  by 
sector, Portugal (2015)68 

The  European  Commission  is  following  up  persistent 
breaches of air quality requirements (for PM10 and NO2), 
which have extremely negative effects on health and the 
environment;  it  has  initiated  infringement  procedures 
against  all  the  Member  States  concerned,  including 
Portugal. The aim is to ensure that appropriate measures 
are taken to make all areas compliant. 

In April 2018, the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) 
hosted  a  TAIEX-EIR-P2P  multi-country  workshop  on 
monitoring air pollution impacts on ecosystems65. 

2019 priority actions 

 

In  the context  of  developing  and  adequate  National 
Air  Pollution  Control  Programme  (NAPCP),  take 
actions towards reducing the main emission sources; 
and meet all air quality standards. 

  Accelerate  reductions 

in  nitrogen  oxide 

(NOx) 
emissions and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations 
by further reducing transport emissions, in particular 
in urban areas. It may also require proportionate and 
targeted restrictions on vehicle access to urban areas 
and/or fiscal incentives. 

Industrial emissions 

The main objectives of EU policy on industrial emissions 
are to: 
(i) protect air, water and soil; 
(ii) prevent and manage waste; 
(iii) improve energy and resource efficiency; and  
(iv) clean up contaminated sites.  
To  achieve  this,  the  EU  takes  an  integrated  approach  to 
the  prevention  and  control  of  routine  and  accidental 
industrial emissions. The cornerstone of the policy is the 
Industrial Emissions Directive66 (IED). 

The  below  overview  of  industrial  activities  regulated  by 
the  IED  is  based  on  the  ‘industrial  emissions  policy 
country profiles’ project67. 

About 625 industrial installations in Portugal are required 
to have a permit based on the IED. 

65 In Lisbon, on 4-6 April 2018, providing experts from Portugal, Spain, 
France, Italy, Croatia and the Netherlands with a platform to share 
experiences of and know-how about the implementation of Article 9 of 
the new National Emissions Celling Directive (NEC), Directive 
2016/2284. 
66 Directive 2010/75/EU covers industrial activities carried out above 
certain thresholds. It covers energy industry, metal production, mineral 
and chemical industry and waste management, as well as a wide range 
of industrial and agricultural sectors (e.g. intensive rearing of pig and 
poultry, pulp and paper production, painting and cleaning). 
67European Commission, Industrial emissions policy country profile – 
Portugal.. 

ii. 

The  industrial  sectors  identified  as  placing  the  heaviest 
burden  on  the  environment  in  terms  of  emissions  to  air 
were: 
i. 

the  energy–power  sector  for  sulphur  oxides 
(SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter 
(PM2,5),  cadmium  (Cd),  arsenic  (As),  chromium 
(Cr), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg) nickel 
(Ni) and zinc (Zn), 
'other  activities'  (mostly  intensive  rearing  of 
poultry  or  pigs,  surface  treatment  and  pulp, 
paper and wood products) for particulate matter 
(PM2.5), 
organic 
compounds (NMVOCs) and ammonia (NH3), 
 mineral  production  for  chromium  (Cr),  lead 
(Pb), nickel (Ni) and zinc (Zn), 
iv.  metal production for zinc and 
v. 
waste  management 
for 
dibenzodioxins 
dibenzofurans (PCDD/F). 

polychlorinated 
polychlorinated 

non  methane 

volatile 

and 

iii. 

The breakdown is shown in Figure 16. 

68 European Commission, Industrial emissions policy country profile – 
Portugal. 

21 

                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

Figure 16: Emissions to air from IED sectors and all other 
national total air emissions, Portugal (2015) 

identified 

activities”  were 

having 
“Other 
environmental  burdens  for  emissions  to  water.  The 
waste  management,  chemicals  and  metal  production 
sectors mainly contribute to hazardous waste generation 
while  waste  management  and  “other  activities”  sectors 
mainly contribute to non-hazardous waste generation.  

as 

The  EU  approach  to  enforcement  under  the  IED  creates 
strong  rights  for  citizens  to  have  access  to  relevant 
information and to participate in the permitting process. 
This  empowers  citizens,  and  NGOs,  to  ensure  that 
permits  are  granted  appropriately  and  their  conditions 
respected.  

Developing  Best  Available  Techniques  (BAT)  Reference 
Documents  (BREFs)  and  BAT  Conclusions  by  sharing 
information 
industrial 
associations,  NGOs  and  the  Commission  ensures  good 
collaboration with stakeholders and improves the way in 
which the IED is implemented. 

involving  Member 

States, 

The  Commission  relies  on  and  welcomes  the  efforts  of 
national  competent  authorities  to  implement  the  legally 
binding  BAT  conclusions  and  associated  BAT  emissions 
levels 
in  environmental  permits.  These  efforts  cut 
pollution significantly in the long term.  

By  way  of  example,  implementing  the  recently  adopted 
BAT  associated  emission  levels  for  large  combustion 
plants will - on average and depending on the situation of 
individual  plants  -  cut  emissions  of  sulphur  dioxide  by 
25%-81%,  nitrogen  oxide  by  8%-56%,  dust  by  31%-78% 
and mercury by 19%-71%. 

The  challenges  identified  related  to  air  pollution  from 
power plants. 

2019 priority actions 

  Review  permits  and 

strengthen  control  and 
enforcement  to  comply  with  newly  adopted  BAT 
conclusions 
Tackle air pollution from the power sector. 

 

Noise 

The  Environmental  Noise  Directive69  provides  for  a 
common  approach  to  avoiding,  preventing  and  reducing 
the harmful effects of exposure to environmental noise. 

Excessive noise from aircraft, railways and roads is one of 
the  main  causes  of  environmental  health-related  issues 
in the EU70. 

limited  set  of  data71, 
In  Portugal,  based  on  a 
environmental  noise  is  estimated  to  cause  at  least 
around  100  premature  deaths  and  300  hospital 
admissions  annually.  Moreover,  some  120 000  people 
suffer from disturbed sleep. 

In  Portugal,  the  implementation  of  the  Environmental 
Noise Directive is ongoing although significantly delayed. 
On the basis of the latest full set of information that has 
been analysed (2012 for noise maps and 2013 for action 
plans),  noise  mapping  of  agglomerations,  roads  and 
railways  remains  incomplete.  Moreover,  Portugal  still 
lacks  action  plans  for  three  agglomerations  and  most 
roads  and  railways.  These  instruments,  adopted  after  a 
public consultation had been carried out, should include 
the measures to keep noise low or reduce it. 

Aware of the need to improve the existing approach and 
to  achieve  the  objectives  required  at  national  and  EU 
level,  Portugal  is  starting  in  2018  the  elaboration  of  the 
first  National  Environmental  Noise  Strategy  2030.  This 
Strategy  will 
the 
harmonization  and  availability  of  quality  information  to 
the public and the creation of a holistic approach to noise 
prevention and reduction. 

improvement, 

focus  on 

the 

2019 priority actions 

  Complete noise mapping  
  Complete  action  plans  for  noise  management  in 

urban areas. 

69 Directive 2002/49/EC. 
70 WHO/JRC, 2011, Burden of disease from environmental noise, 
Fritschi, L., Brown, A.L., Kim, R., Schwela, D., Kephalopoulos, S. (eds), 
World Health Organisation, Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, 
Denmark. 
71 European Environment Agency, Noise Fact Sheets 2017. 

22 

 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

Water quality and management 

EU  legislation  and  policy  requires  that  the  impact  of 
pressures  on  transitional,  coastal  and  fresh  waters 
(including  surface  and  ground  waters)  be  significantly 
reduced.  Achieving,  maintaining  or  enhancing  a  good 
status  of  water  bodies  as  defined  by  the  Water 
Framework Directive will ensure that EU citizens benefit 
from good quality and safe drinking and bathing water. It 
will  further  ensure  that  the  nutrient  cycle  (nitrogen  and 
phosphorus)  is  managed  in  a  more  sustainable  and 
resource-efficient way. 

The  existing  EU  water  legislation72  puts  in  place  a 
protective  framework  to  ensure  high  standards  for  all 
water  bodies  in  the  EU  and  addresses  specific  pollution 
sources  (for  example,  from  agriculture,  urban  areas  and 
industrial  activities).  It  also  requires  that  the  projected 
impacts  of  climate  change  are 
into  the 
integrated 
corresponding  planning 
instruments,  e.g.  flood  risk 
management  plans  and  river  basin  management  plans, 
including  programme  of  measures  which  include  the 
actions  that  Member  States  plan  to  take  in  order  to 
achieve the environmental objectives. 

Water Framework Directive 

reported 

Portugal  has  adopted  and 
the  second 
generation  of  River  Basin  Management  Plans  (RBMPs) 
under  the  Water  Framework  Directive  (WFD)  and  the 
European  Commission  has  assessed  the  status  and  the 
development  since  the  adoption  of  the  first  RBMPs, 
including suggested actions in the EIR report 2017. 

The  most  significant  pressures  on  surface  waters  are 
diffuse  pollution  from  agriculture  (39%  of  water  bodies) 
followed  by  other  diffuse  pollution 
(30%).  For 
groundwater bodies the most significant pressure is also 
diffuse  pollution  from  agriculture  (13%  of  groundwater 
bodies),  followed  by  alteration  of  water  level  or  volume 
(2.6%) and other point source (1.3%). 

Organic  pollution  was  the  most  significant  impact  on 
surface  water  (41%  of  surface  water  bodies)  and 
groundwater (13%). Nutrients is also a significant impact 
in surface water.  

The  classification  of  ecological  status/potential  is  now 
based  on  more  comprehensive  classification  methods 
that  consider  more  of  the  relevant  biological  quality 
and 
elements 

hydromorphological 

some 

and 

72 This includes the Bathing Waters Directive (2006/7/EC), the Urban 
Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) (on discharges of 
municipal and some industrial wastewaters), the Drinking Water 
Directive (98/83/EC) (on potable water quality), the Water Framework 
Directive (2000/60/EC) (on water resources management), the Nitrates 
Directive (91/676/EEC) and the Floods Directive (2007/60/EC). 

physicochemical  quality  elements.  Overall  ecological 
status has been reported for almost all delineated water 
bodies,  except  artificial  rivers  and  33%  of  coastal  and 
transitional water bodies. The ecological status/potential 
is illustrated in figure 17. 

The  total  number  of  monitoring  sites  has  increased  by 
36% in Portugal. There has been a significant increase in 
numbers of surveillance sites and decrease in operational 
monitoring (except for rivers). 

Figure 17: Ecological status or potential of surface water 
bodies in Portugal73 

The proportion of surface water bodies at good chemical 
status  decreased  from  around  40% to  25%  between  the 
first  and  second  River  Basin  Management  Plans.  The 
proportion  of  surface  water  bodies  failing  to  achieve 
good  status  has  remained  very  similar  and  unknown 
status  has  increased  from  around  58%  to  74%  (surface 
water  bodies  in  Portugal  not  monitored  for  chemical 
status  are  generally  reported  as  unknown  status, 
although  expert 
is  some  cases). 
Groundwater  bodies  failing  good  chemical  status  have 
decreased  from  4.9%  to  2.7%  of  the  total  groundwater 
body area. 

judgment 

is  used 

Groundwater  bodies  failing  good  quantitative  status 
increased  between  the  first  and  second  River  Basin 
Management  Plans  (from  1%  to  1.5%  in  terms  of  area). 
97%  of  groundwater  bodies  are  in  good  quantitative 
status and 3% are failing good status. 

73 EEA, WISE dashboard. 

23 

                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

The  amount  and  quality  of  information  has  in  general 
improved  considerably  between  the  first  and  second 
River Basin Management Plans. 

Significant pressures are identified in the second RBMPs 
and  addressed  by  measures  (Key  type  of  measures). 
Some measures are completed since the first Programme 
of  Measures  but  obstacles  such  lack  of  finance,  delays 
and  extreme  events  have  occurred  in  relation  to  the 
implementation of the first Programme of Measures.  

Gap analyses have been provided in order to achieve the 
environmental  objectives 
in  the  Water  Framework 
Directive  regarding  most  significant  pressures  and  the 
gaps are expected to be closed by 2027 (some by 2021). 

Drinking Water Directive 

As  regards  the  Drinking  Water  Directive,  no  new  data 
have  been  made  available  since  the  last  Environmental 
Implementation Review report74. 

Bathing Water Directive 

As regards the Bathing Water Directive, Figure 18 shows 
that,  in  2017:  (i)  87.7 %  of  the  603  bodies  of  bathing 
water  in  Portugal  were  of  excellent  quality,  (ii)  7.6 % 
were  of  good  quality,  and  (iii)  1.3 %  were  of  sufficient 
quality (85.1 %, 9.7 % and 2.2 % respectively in 2016). In 
2017,  five  bodies  of  bathing  water  in  Portugal  were  of 
poor  quality75.  Detailed 
information  on  Portuguese 
bathing  waters  is  available  from  a  national  portal76  and 
via an interactive map viewer produced by the European 
Environment Agency77. 

Figure 18: Bathing water quality 2014 – 2017 

Nitrates Directive 

According to the last report on the implementation of the 
Nitrates  Directive,  covering  2012-2015,  groundwater 
quality had improved slightly since the previous reporting 
period; the percentage of stations reaching or exceeding 
40 or 50 mgs of nitrate per litre had fallen from 23.9.1% 
to  21.4%,  and  from  20.4%  to  17.9%  respectively.  The 
situation as regards concentrations of nitrates in surface 
fairly  positive  and  stable,  and  some 
water  was 
improvements  had  been  made 
the 
eutrophication of surface water. 

reducing 

in 

Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive  

Over the years, Portugal has had difficulty in meeting its 
obligations  under  the  Urban  Waste  Water  Treatment 
Directive (UWWTD). According to the last available data, 
99.8 %  of  Portugal's  waste  water  is  collected,  while 
76.9 %  of  the  load  collected  is  subjected  to  secondary 
treatment. Finally, 66 % of the waste water load collected 
undergoes more stringent treatment. 

Portugal is the only EU Member State to have identified 
'less  sensitive'  areas78,  that  is,  areas  whose  intrinsic 
features  mean  that  they  are,  in  principle,  not  adversely 
affected by wastewater discharges79. 

Current  investment  in  collecting  systems  and  treatment 
plants  to  ensure  compliance  is  estimated  at  an  average 
EUR 49.5 million  annually  (EUR 5  per  inhabitant.)  Such 
investment  takes  no  account  of  the  funds  needed  to 
renew and extend existing infrastructure, specifically the 
collecting  systems80.  According  to  this  latest  report,  the 
final  projects  are  expected  to  be  completed  by  2018-
2019, a long time after the final 2005 deadline which the 
Directive set for Portugal. 

in 

is  engaged 

The  Commission 
follow-up  with 
agglomerations that have failed to meet their obligations 
under  the  UWWTD,  launching  infringement  proceedings 
where  necessary.  Despite  improvements  in  compliance 
over  the  years,  in  which  EU  funding  has  played  an 
essential role, the Court of Justice of the European Union 
has  ruled  against  Portugal  on  several  occasions  for 
incomplete  implementation  of  the  UWWTD.  One  such 
case,  resulting  in  a  fine  for  Portugal,  was  resolved  in 
2018. However, further efforts are needed to address the 
remaining gaps, such as those in the Madeira region. 

74 Compliance with the Drinking Water Directive microbiological and 
chemical parameters as last reported was very high. 
75 European Environment Agency, 2018. European bathing water quality 
in 2017. 
76The Portuguese Environment Agency,  bathing waters national portal 
and interactive map viewer   
77 EEA, State of bathing waters.  

78 Such as open bays, estuaries and other coastal waters with a good 
water exchange. 
79 Portugal reports regularly to the Commission on its areas identified as 
'less sensitive areas' : 'Cabo da Roca/Estoril' and 'Madeira (vertentesul)'. 
80 European Commission, Ninth Report on the Implementation Status 
and the Programmes for Implementation of the Urban Waste Water 
Treatment Directive (COM(2017)749) and Commission Staff Working 
Document accompanying the report (SWD(2017)445). 

24 

 
                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

Floods Directive 

The Floods Directive has established a framework for the 
assessment and management of flood risks, aiming at the 
reduction  of  the  adverse  consequences  associated  with 
significant floods. 

Portugal  has  adopted  and  reported  its  first  Flood  Risk 
Management Plans under the Directive and the European 
Commission conducted an assessment. 

 

  Continue  updating 

licenses  and  permits  for  all 

abstractions and flow regulations. 

  Continue  current  efforts  to  further  reduce  nitrates 

pollution from agriculture in groundwater. 

  Complete 

implementation  of  the  Urban  Waste 
Water Treatment Directive for all agglomerations, by 
building up the necessary infrastructure. 
Take  steps  to  improve  the  integration  of  the  flood 
risk  management  cycle’s  successive  steps  into  the 
Flood Risk Management Plan. 

The  Commission’s  assessment  found  that  good  efforts 
were made with positive results in setting objectives and 
devising  measures  focusing  on  prevention,  protection 
and  preparedness.  The  assessment  showed  that,  as  for 
other countries, Portugal’s Flood Risk Management Plans 
do  not  yet  include  a  strong  link  between  the  objectives 
and the measures and identification of specific sources of 
funding.  In  addition,  there  is  scope  for  improving  the 
integration  of  the 
flood  risk  management  cycle’s 
successive steps into the Flood Risk Management Plan. 

In  Portugal,  agriculture  account  for  about  80%  of  total 
water consumption. Although the amount of water used 
in  farming  has  fallen  in  recent  years,  significant  scope 
remains  for  saving  water.  While  much  depends  on 
improving  water  pricing  policy,  there  is  also  significant 
potential for water savings through innovation. 

Despite  the  progress  achieved  in  recent  years  in  water 
management, challenges remain, for instance with water 
governance  and  the  need  to  close  gaps 
in  water 
investments, especially for wastewater. At the municipal 
level,  the  sector  remains  highly  fragmented  and  the 
reorganisation of the water and wastewater services has 
not yet shown its full potential. 

Finally,  natural  water  retention  measures  for  flood 
prevention  are  often  disregarded,  despite  being 
sometimes  more  cost-effective  than  hard  infrastructure 
for  flood  prevention,  as  well  as  being  cheaper  than  the 
costs of flood recovery81. 

2019 priority actions 

 

 

Improve monitoring of surface water by covering all 
relevant  quality  elements  in  all  water  categories. 
Include  in  operational  monitoring  all  water  bodies 
which  are  subject  to  significant  pressures,  including 
in coastal waters. 
Ensure that projects, which potentially can affect the 
status of water bodies, are thoroughly assessed and 
justified  in  line  with  the  requirements  in  the  Water 
Framework Directive (Article 4(7)). 

81 RPA, 2014. Study on Economic and Social Benefits of Environmental 
Protection and Resource Efficiency Related to the European Semester. 
Study for the European Commission, Annex 1: Country fiches. 

Chemicals 

The  EU  seeks  to  ensure  that  by  2020  chemicals  are 
produced and used in ways that minimise any significant 
adverse  effects  on  human  health  and  the  environment. 
An  EU  strategy  for  a  non-toxic  environment  that  is 
conducive  to  innovation  and  to  developing  sustainable 
substitutes,  including  non-chemical  options,  is  being 
prepared. 

legislation82  provides  baseline 
The  EU’s  chemicals 
protection for human health and the environment. It also 
for  businesses 
ensures  stability  and  predictability 
operating within the internal market. 

The  2016  European  Chemicals  Agency  (ECHA)  report  on 
the  operation  of  the  Regulation  on  the  Registration, 
Evaluation,  Authorisation  and  Restriction  of  Chemicals 
(REACH)  and  the  Classification,  Labelling  and  Packaging 
Regulation  (CLP)83  showed  that  enforcement  activities 
are  still  evolving. 
In  the  Forum  for  Exchange  of 
Information  on  Enforcement,  coordinated  enforcement 
projects84 have shown that more could be done to make 
enforcement  more  effective,  especially  as  regards 
registration  obligations  and  safety  data  sheets,  which 
reveal quite a high level of non-compliance. 

for 

regards 

activities 

is  scope 
as 

Although  there  have  been  improvements  in  national 
further 
enforcement  activities,  there 
EU-wide 
such 
improving 
harmonisation, including checks on imported goods. It is 
also  clear  that  enforcement  remains  weak  in  some 
Member  States,  especially  as  regards  checks  on  imports 
and  supply  chain  obligations.  The  architecture  of 
enforcement  capabilities  remains  complex  in  most  EU 
countries.  Enforcement  projects  also  reveal  some 
differences  among  Member  States  some  systematically 

82 Principally for chemicals: REACH (OJ L 396, 30.12.2006, p.1.); for 
Classification, Labelling and Packaging, the CLP Regulation (: OJ L 252, 
31.12.2006, p.1.), together with legislation on biocidal products and 
plant protection products. 
83 European Chemicals Agency, Report on the Operation of REACH and 
CLP 2016. 
84 ECHA, on the basis of the projects REF-1, REF-2 and REF-3.  

25 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

reporting higher compliance than the EU average, others 
lower. 

A  2015  Commission  study  highlighted  already  the 
importance  of  harmonisation  in  the  implementation  of 
REACH  at  Member  State  level,  in  terms  of  market 
surveillance and enforcement, as a critical success factor 
in the operation of a harmonised single market85. 

In March 2018, the Commission published an evaluation 
of  REACH86.  The  evaluation  concludes  that  REACH 
delivers  on  its  objectives,  but  that  progress  made  is 
slower  than  anticipated.  In  addition,  the  registration 
dossiers often are incomplete. The evaluation underlines 
the need to enhance enforcement by all actors, including 
registrants,  downstream  users  and 
in  particular  for 
importers,  to  ensure  a  level  playing  field,  meet  the 
objectives  of  REACH  and  ensure  consistency  with  the 
actions envisaged to improve environmental compliance 
and  governance.  Consistent  reporting  of  Member  State 
enforcement  activities  was  considered  important  in that 
respect. 

Responsibility  for  checking  compliance  with  REACH  in 
Portugal rests with the following authorities87: 
- 

the General Inspectorate for Agriculture, the Sea, the 
Environment and Spatial Planning (IGAMAOT), which 
focuses on producers and formulators, 
the  Authority  for  the  Economy  and  Food  Safety 
(ASAE),  which  focuses  on  distributors,  wholesalers 
and retailers, and 
the  Tax  and  Customs  Authority  (AT),  which  focuses 
on importers. 

- 

- 

As  a  rule,  all  infringements  of  REACH  are  classed  as 
serious  or  very  serious  environmental  administrative 
offences.  If  the  infringement  is  sufficiently  serious,  the 
competent  authority  may  decide  to  impose  further 
penalties  in  addition  to  a  fine.  That  authority  may  also, 
where  necessary,  order  the  provisional  seizure  of  assets 
and documents. 

Making cities more sustainable 

EU policy on the urban environment encourages cities to 
put  policies  in  place  for  sustainable  urban  planning  and 
design.  These  should  include  innovative  approaches  to 
urban  public 
sustainable 
buildings,  energy  efficiency  and  urban  biodiversity 
conservation. 

transport  and  mobility, 

85 European Commission. (2015). Monitoring the Impacts of REACH on 
Innovation, Competitiveness and SMEs. Brussels: European Commission 
86 COM(2018) 116. 
87 ECHA, National Inspectorates - Portugal  

26 

Europe  can  be  seen  as  a  union  of  cities  and  towns. 
Around  75 %  of  the  EU  population  live  in  urban  areas88 
and  that  figure  is  projected  to  rise  to  just  over  80%  by 
205089.  Urban  areas  pose  particular  challenges  for  the 
environment  and  human  health,  but  they  also  provide 
opportunities  for  using  resources  more  efficiently.  The 
EU encourages municipalities to become greener through 
initiatives  such  as  the  Green  Capital  Award90,  the  Green 
Leaf Award91 and the Green City Tool92. 

Financing greener cities 

Portugal  has  assigned  significant  resources  from  the 
2014-2020  ERDF  (more  than  the  mandatory  5%  of 
allocations  under  the  ERDF  and  the  ESF)  to  sustainable 
urban development. 

Participation in EU urban initiatives and networks 

The  EU  stimulates  green  cities  through  awards  and 
funding,  such  as  the  EU  Green  Capital  Award,  which 
targets  cities  with  over  100 000  inhabitants,  and  the  EU 
Green  Leaf  initiative,  targeting  cities  and  towns  with 
between 20 000 and 100 000 inhabitants. 

The Portuguese city of Torres Vedras was one of the two 
winners of the inaugural EU Green Leaf award in 201593. 
Torres Vedras took part with other Green Leaf cities in a 
TAIEX-EIR P2P workshop on waste management and the 
green  economy  in  urban  areas,  held  in  Galway  (Ireland) 
in February 201894. 

Moreover,  it  has  to  be  highlighted  that  Lisbon  has  been 
selected as European Green Capital for 202095. 

Portuguese  cities  are  also  actively  involved  in  initiatives 
such  as  Eurocities  and  the  EU  Covenant  of  Mayors.  By 
June 2018,  140  cities  and  towns  were  signed  up  to  the 
Covenant. 

initiatives  and  networks  should  be 
These  urban 
welcomed and encouraged, as they contribute to a better 
urban  environment.  In  2017,  15.4 %  of  city  residents 
considered  their  residential  area  to  be  affected  by 
pollution  or  other  environmental  problems,  down  from 
15.1 %  in  2016.  These  figures  are  lower  than  the  EU  28 

88 European Commission, Urban Europe, 2016. 
89 European Commission, Eurostat, Urban Europe, 2016, p.9. 
90 European Commission, European Green Capital.  
91 European Commission, European Green Leaf Award.  
92 European Commission, Green City Tool. 
93 European Commission Press Release, 18th June 2015, Torres Vedras 
wins inaugural European Green Leaf 2015  
94 Where the cities from the Green Leaf network from Spain, Ireland, 
Belgium, Portugal and Sweden collaborated and share best practice on 
the Waste Management and the Green Economy in urban areas. 
95 European Commission, Winners of the 2020 European Green Capital 
and 2019 European Green Leaf Award 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

levels  (20 %  in  2017,  18.9 %  in  2016  and  19.2 %  in 
2015)96. 

Figure  19:  Proportion  of  the  Natura  2000  network 
intersecting with functional urban areas 9899 

Nature and cities 

the 

In 
interests  of  promoting  sustainable  urban 
development  and  in  line  with  mainstream  European 
strategies  and  programmes,  Portugal  approved  the 
Sustainable  Cities  2020  Strategy  in  2015.  This  guiding 
document provides municipalities, inter-municipal bodies 
and  other  urban  stakeholders  with  a  roadmap  on  urban 
sustainability  for  the  next  EU  funding  cycle,  which  runs 
up to 2020. The document outlines a set of non-binding 
strategic  guidelines  to  be  adopted  by  Portuguese  cities 
and  towns.  These 
foundations  on  which 
Sustainable Cities 2020 can be put into practice, through 
its 
range  of 
the 
implementation97. 

tools  promoting 

launch  of  a 

lay  the 

restoration, 

regeneration  and 

the  paradigm  of 

This  strategy  is  designed  to  reinforce  the  strategic 
dimension  of  the  role  of  cities  in  various  areas,  namely: 
urban 
the  urban 
environment, low carbon, climate change, and risks. It is 
sustainable  urban 
based  on 
development.  This 
involvement  and 
commitment  of  various  players,  so  that  the  focus  of 
interventions  is  not  limited  to  the  physical dimension  of 
the urban area, but rather, seeks to achieve aims such as 
economic  development,  social 
inclusion,  education, 
participation and environmental protection. 

requires 

the 

96 Eurostat, Pollution by degree of urbanisation. 
97 The Portuguese Government, Council of Ministers Resolution No. 
61/2015, August 11 

27 

Urban sprawl 

relatively  high  weighted  urban 
Portugal  has  a 
proliferation  (WUP),  with  2.33  urban  permeation  units 
(UPU)100  per  square  metre  in  2009,  against  a  European 
average  (EU-28+4)  of  1.64  UPU/m2.  There  was  a  6% 
increase between 2006 and 2009101. 

Traffic congestion and urban mobility 

Personal  transport  exacerbates  seasonal  problems  with 
air  quality  and  traffic  congestion102 
in  the  major 
metropolitan areas in Portugal, namely Lisbon and Porto, 
leading  to  health  and  economic  costs.  A  comprehensive 
approach 
issue,  bringing 
environmental as well as economic and social benefits. 

is  needed  to  tackle  the 

The  Green  Growth  Commitment  sets  a  target  for 
increasing  use  of  public  transport.  It  identifies  several 
ways to meet the target, including: (i) modernising public 
transport, including rail transport; (ii) developing mobility 
plans  for  major  public  and  private  employers;  (iii) 
promoting 
less  polluting  vehicles  (including  electric 
vehicles  and  those  running  on  biofuels);  and  (iv) 
promoting environmentally friendly modes of transport. 

The  number  of  electric  charging  points  in  Portugal 
increased  steadily  between  2013  and  2016,  reaching 
1 250 in the latter year 103. 

is  also 

It 
important  to  consider  developing  new 
approaches  to  urban  logistics  with  the  potential  to 
reduce the number of lorries in urban areas. The Lisbon-
Tagus  Valley  region,  for  instance,  is  taking  part  in  the 

98 European Commission, The 7th Report on Economic, Social and 
Territorial Cohesion, 2017, p. 121. 
99 European Commission, Definition of Functional Urban Areas. 
100 Urban Permeation Units measure the size of the built-up area as well 
as its degree of dispersion throughout the region. 
101 EEA, Urban Sprawl in Europe, Annex I, 2014, pp.4-5. 
102 INRIX, 2015. Key Findings: INRIX 2015 Traffic Scoreboard  
103 European Commission, Transport in the European Union Current 
Trends and Issues, 2018, p. 110-111. 

 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

'Dorothy' project104, designed to improve the distribution 
of urban goods by cutting vehicle numbers and upgrading 
environmental standards. 

Another relevant issue is decentralisation under the new 
legal  framework  for  public  transport  services.  This  has 
the  potential  to  improve  the  planning  and  management 
of  public  transport  at  both  local  and  regional  level.  It 
allows for higher levels of efficiency, which should reduce 
the environmental impact of public transport. 

In  this  context,  the  'Lisbon  green  corridor'  initiative 
deserves  commending  as  an  example  of  green 
infrastructure benefiting a metropolitan area. The Lisbon 
Strategy  for  2010-2024  identified  three  main  objectives 
for the city: (i) city regeneration: rehabilitation of vacant 
buildings and degraded city districts and green areas, to 
reverse  depopulation;  (ii)  adaptation  to  climate  change: 
focusing on the challenges posed by climate change and 
the consequent natural vulnerabilities (such as flooding), 
as  well  as  on  energy  efficiency,  reducing  the  number  of 
vehicles in circulation and increasing the amount of land 
given  over  to  green  areas;  and  (iii)  green  connectivity: 
creating a network of green areas and green corridors for 
recreational  activities  and  the  protection,  appreciation 
and promotion of biodiversity and of natural and cultural 
landscapes.  This  strategy  has  increased  the  size  and 
improved  the  quality  and  connectivity  of  green  areas  in 
Lisbon,  thanks  to  cycle  lanes,  bicycle-friendly  streets, 
ecological  corridors  and  allotments.  The  green  corridor 
networks and informal open areas such as allotments are 
accessible to urban residents, workers and tourists. Other 
impact  on  health  of 
benefits  are:  (i)  the  positive 
(ii) 
(walking/cycling), 
transport 
active 
promoting 
environmental  impact  gains,  and  (iii)  additional  income 
(and jobs) from an increased number of visitors. There is 
still  room  for 
implementing  these 
measures. 

improvement 

in 

The  good  practices  that  make  for  sustainable  urban 
development could be extended across the country as a 
whole. 

104 Information about the Dorothy project, co-funded by the EU.  

28 

 
 
 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

Part II: Enabling framework: implementation tools 

4. Green taxation, green public procurement, environmental 

funding and investments 

Green  taxation  and  environmentally  harmful 
subsidies 

Figure  20:  Environmental  tax  revenues  as  %  of  GDP 
(2017)109 

Financial 
incentives,  taxation  and  other  economic 
instruments  are  effective  and  efficient  ways  to  meet 
environmental  policy  objectives.  The  circular  economy 
action  plan  encourages  their  use.  Environmentally 
harmful  subsidies  are  monitored  in  the  context  of  the 
European  Semester  and  the  energy  union  governance 
process. 

Portugal’s  revenue  from  environmentally  relevant  taxes 
remains in line with the EU average. Environmental taxes 
accounted  for  2.59 %  of  GDP  in  2017  (EU-28  average: 
2.40 %),  as  shown  in  Figure  20;  and  energy  taxes  for 
2.33 % of GDP, against an EU average of 1.84 % 105. In the 
same  year,  environmental  tax  revenues  were  7.02 %  of 
security 
total 
contributions (above the EU-28 average of 5.97 %). 

taxes  and 

revenues 

social 

from 

The structure of taxation shows a share of revenues from 
labour  tax  in  total  tax  revenues  lower  than  the  EU 
average in 2016, at 42.2 %, while the implicit tax burden 
on  labour  was  29 %106.  Consumption  taxes  remained 
relatively high (36.5 %, 12th in the EU-28), indicating that 
there is some  potential for shifting taxes from labour to 
consumption, especially to environmental taxes. 

impact 

There  are  some  instances  of  sound  fiscal  measures  that 
benefit  the  environment.  A  good  example  is  the  water 
resources  fee,  to  'offset  the  benefits  accruing  from  the 
private use of public water resources, the environmental 
costs  associated  with  activities  that  may  have  a 
significant 
the 
administrative  costs  of  planning,  managing,  control,  and 
the  guarantee  of  the  quantity  and  quality  of  water 
resources'107.  The  Ecological  Fiscal  Transfer  provides 
compensation  to  municipalities  which,  owing  to  the 
designation  of  Natura  2000  and  other  protected  areas, 
may have land-use constraints with potential opportunity 
costs in terms of economic development108. 

resources,  and 

in  water 

105 Eurostat, Environmental tax revenues, 2019. 
106 European Commission, Taxation Trends Report, 2018. 
107 Institute for European Environmental Policy, Case Studies on 
Environmental Fiscal Reform, Water resource fee in Portugal.  
108 Institute for European Environmental Policy, Case Studies on 
Environmental Fiscal Reform, Ecological Fiscal Transfer in Portugal. 

29 

Meanwhile,  fossil  fuel  subsidies  and  exemptions  have 
increased slightly over the past decade. In 2016, Portugal 
still had tax exemptions for fossil fuels used in navigation, 
railway vehicles, farm machinery, fixed engines, heating, 
and  autonomous  refrigerators.  These  exceptions  added 
up  to  EUR 270 million110.  Since  2018,  the  Government 
began  a  phase  out  of  excise  duty  and  carbon  tax 
exemptions  on  coal  for  eletricity  generation.  A  working 
group  to  study  energy  tax  exemptions  was  created  in 
2018. 

Some  progress  has  been  made  on  reducing  the  'diesel 
differential'  (the  difference  between  the  price  of  diesel 
and  that  of  petrol)  since  2005.  The  gap  between  petrol 
and diesel tax rates stood at 53 % in 2016, against 70 % in 

109 Eurostat, Environmental tax revenues, 2019. 
110 OECD, Inventory of Support Measures for Fossil Fuels, 2018. 

 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

2005111.  Rates  of  excise  on  petrol  and  diesel  in  2016 
remained  the  same  as  in  2015  (EUR 0.62 per  litre  for 
petrol, EUR 0.40 for diesel)112. 

Tax  breaks  for  company  cars  in  Portugal are a  cause for 
concern113.  No  relevant  tax  measures  relating  to 
company cars were introduced in 2018114, although there 
is  a  limit  to  fiscal  benefits  regarding  vehicles  under 
corporate income tax. 
Portugal  has  CO2-based  motor  vehicle  taxes115.  Vehicle 
taxation  is  based  on  engine  capacity  and  emissions,  as 
well  as  on  the  annual  road  tax  for  cars  registered  after 
1 July 2007116.  There  were  incentives  to  buy  cars  with 
lower CO2 emissions in 2016, linked to annual road taxes 
and  subsidies,  road  tolls,  congestion  or  low  emission 
zone  charges..  However,  there  are  no  incentives  to  use 
public infrastructure in preference to private transport117. 
New vehicles purchased in Portugal are among the most 
environmentally  friendly  in  the  EU,  with  average  CO2 
emissions  of  104.7  grams  per  kilometre,  below  the  EU 
average of 118 grams in 2016 118.  

The number of cars running on alternative types of fuel is 
increasing; the number of new passenger cars using such 
fuels  rose  more  than  ninefold  between  2011  and  2015. 
However, such cars still account for less than 1 % of the 
overall fleet. The share of renewable energy in transport 
has been growing quite fast, outstripping the EU average 
in 2015. Portugal has two schemes to support the use of 
renewable  energy  sources  in  transport:  a  tax  exemption 
for small producers of biofuels (PPDs) and a biofuel quota 
for  companies  supplying  fuels  for  consumption  in  the 
market119. 

Green Public Procurement  

The  EU  green  public  procurement  policies  encourage 
Member  States  to  take  further  steps  to  apply  green 
procurement  criteria  to  at  least  50 %  of  public  tenders. 
The European Commission is helping to increase the use 
of  public  procurement  as  a  strategic  tool  to  support 
environmental protection. 

111 European Environment Agency 2017, Environmental taxation and EU 
environmental policies, p.27. 
112 European Commission, Taxes in Europe Database, 2018. 
113 European Commission, Taxation of commercial cars in Belgium 2017. 
114 FleetEurope, Major changes to company car taxation in Europe. 
115 ACEA, CO2 based motor vehicle taxes in Europe. 
116 European Commission, European Semester 2018, Country Report for 
Portugal, p. 17. 
117 European Environmental Agency, Appropriate taxes and incentives 
do affect purchases of new cars, 18 May 2018. 
118 European Environment Agency, Average CO2 emissions from new 
passenger cars sold in EU-28 Member States plus Norway, Iceland and 
Switzerland in 2016. 
119 European Commission, Transport in the European Union Current 
Trends and Issues, 2018, p. 110-111. 

The purchasing power of public procurement amounts to 
around  EUR 1.8  trillion  in  the  EU  (approximately  14%  of 
GDP).  A  substantial  proportion  of  this  money  goes  to 
sectors  with  a  high  environmental 
impact  such  as 
construction  or  transport.  Therefore,  green  public 
procurement  (GPP)  can  help  to  significantly  lower  the 
negative  impact  of  public  spending  on  the  environment 
and  can  help  support  sustainable  innovative  businesses. 
The Commission has proposed EU GPP criteria120. 

In  Portugal  GPP  policy  has  been  institutionalised  since 
the introduction of the National Strategy for Green Public 
Procurement  2008-2010,  which  was  adopted  by  the 
Council of Ministers in 2007.  

In July 2016 the Portuguese Government approved a new 
national  GPP  strategy  (ENCPE  2020),  which  defines  the 
scope of the concept more precisely. This strategy, which 
covers more purchasing procedures, is designed to have 
a  wider-ranging  and  more  effective  impact  than  the 
previous one. 

GPP  criteria  will  be  developed  little  by  little  at  national 
level.  They  will  be  based  on  national  and  European 
studies  on  GPP  criteria  and  products  and  will  take 
account  of  Portugal’s  environmental  objectives,  such  as 
reducing greenhouse emissions. 

The environmental criteria for 21 priority product groups 
are the main tools for meeting the strategy's objectives, 
they are: office buildings, electricity, imaging equipment, 
electrical  and  electronic  equipment  used  in  the  health 
care  sector,  office  IT  equipment,  indoor  lighting,  street 
lighting  and  traffic  signals,  waste  water  infrastructure, 
road  design,  construction  and  maintenance,  furniture, 
wall  panels,  copying  and  graphic  paper,  combined  heat 
and  power  (CHP),  food  and  catering  services,  gardening 
products  and  services,  cleaning  products  and  services, 
water-based heaters, toilets and urinals, textiles, sanitary 
tapware and transport. 

The  2020 National  Strategy sets  targets  for  the  National 
System  for  Public  Procurement,  which  involves  most 
integrate 
public  bodies.  The 
environmental  criteria  in  60 %  of  contracts  and  60 %  of 
procurement  value  by  2020.  In  addition,  similar  targets 
were set for state-owned companies, at 40 %. 

target  set  was 

to 

The  Portuguese  Government  has  also  recently  adopted 
additional  measures  to  promote  a  more  sustainable  use 
of resources in Public Administration121. 

120 In the Communication ‘Public procurement for a better 
environment’ (COM (2008) 400) the Commission recommended the 
creation of a process for setting common GPP criteria. The basic 
concept of GPP relies on having clear, verifiable, justifiable and 
ambitious environmental criteria for products and services, based on a 
life-cycle approach and scientific evidence base. 
121 The Council of Ministers Resolution n.º 141/2018. 

30 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

Environmental funding and investments 

Figure  21:  ESIF  2014-2020  –  EU  allocations  by  theme, 
Portugal (EUR billion)125 

European  Structural  and  Investment  Fund  (ESIF)  rules 
oblige  Member  States  to  promote  environment  and 
climate  in  their  funding  strategies  and  programmes  for 
economic, 
rural 
development and maritime policy. 

social  and 

cohesion, 

territorial 

To achieve sustainability, both public and private sources 
of  funding  need  to  be  mobilised122.  The  EU  has  a  major 
role  to  play  here123.  Deployment  of  European  Structural 
and  Investment  Funds  (ESIF)124  is  essential  to  meet 
environmental goals and integrate them into other policy 
areas. Other instruments, such as Horizon 2020, the LIFE 
programme,  and  the  European  Fund  for  Strategic 
Investments  (EFSI),  may  also  support  implementation 
and help spread best practice. 

According  to  the  2017  Special  Eurobarometer  468  on 
attitudes of EU citizens towards the Environment, 92% of 
in 
Portuguese  people  support  more  EU 
environmental  protection  (the  EU-28  average  being 
85 %). 

investment 

European  Structural  and  Investment  Funds  2014-
2020 

significantly 

During  the  last  decades,  the  support  of  the  EU  funding 
has 
the 
contributed 
implementation  of  the EU  environmental  law and policy 
and Portugal. 

improve 

to 

Portugal's allocation from the five ESI funds for the 2014-
2020  programming  period  is  up  to  EUR 25.8 billion  (see 
Figure 21, current prices): 

 
 
 
 
 

From the ERDF: EUR 10 737 million. 
From the Cohesion Fund: EUR 2 862 million. 
From the ESF: EUR 7 760 million. 
From the EAFRD: EUR 4 058 million. 
From the EMFF: EUR 392 million. 

122 European Commission, Commission action plan on financing 
sustainable growth   
123 European Union, investEU  
124 ESIF comprises five funds – the European Regional Development 
Fund (ERDF), the Cohesion Fund (CF), the European Social Fund (ESF), 
the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), and the 
European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). The ERDF, the CF and 
the ESF together form the EU Cohesion Policy funds. 

The  2007-2013  operational  programmes  were  well 
implemented in general. There were no major problems 
with closure. The funds made available were used in full. 

It  is  too  early  to  draw  conclusions  about  the  use  and 
results of ESIF for 2014-2020, as the programmes are still 
under  implementation.  Portugal  currently  has  a  higher 
implementation rate for 2014-2020 than the EU average. 

Cohesion Policy 

Portugal has traditionally been a major beneficiary of the 
EU Cohesion Policy. 

Regarding  the  “status”  of  the  Portuguese  regions  over 
the  period  2014-2020  is  as  follows:  (i)  Lisbon  and 
Madeira  are  'more  developed  regions';  (ii)  Algarve  is  a 
'transition region'; and (iii) the Azores, Norte, Centro and 
Alentejo are 'less developed regions'. 

Environmental 
current 
programming  period  has  a  similar  weight  within  EU 
Cohesion Policy as in the previous programming period. 

investment 

during 

the 

125 European Commission, European Structural and Investment Funds 
Data By Country 

31 

                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

There is a national Operational Programme dedicated to 
the environment: the OP 'Sustainability and Efficiency in 
the  Use  of  Resources'  (POSEUR).  It  has  a  budget  of 
EUR 2.6 billion126  and  channels 
the 
environment through the Cohesion Fund in Portugal. This 
programme is designed to anticipate and adapt to global 
changes in the field of energy, climate change and more 
efficient  resource  use.  It  takes  a  dynamic  approach  that 
links  competitiveness  and  sustainability,  in  line  with  the 
Europe 2020 strategy. 

investment 

in 

There  are  also  two  other  national  OPs:  Competitiveness 
and  Internationalisation,  and  Technical  Assistance.  In 
addition,  there  are  seven  regional  OPs,  which  in  this 
period  are  multi-funding,  covering  both  ERDF  and  ESF, 
where environmental measures are also included. 

In addition, there are various ERDF OPs involving Portugal 
in transnational and cross-border cooperation (known as 
'territorial  cooperation')  in  which  investment  in  the 
environment plays a major role. 

As  regards  environmental  sectors,  Portugal's  main  ERDF 
priorities  over  2014-2020  are:  water  (EUR 626 million), 
adaptation  to  climate  change  (EUR 473 million),  waste 
(EUR 310 million),  cycle  tracks  and  footpaths  (EUR  291 
industrial  sites  and 
million)  and  rehabilitation  of 
contaminated land (EUR 164 million). 

The  environmental  integration  has  been  ensured  in  the 
Partnership  Agreement  2014-2020  and  the  different 
Operational  Programmes  for  the  five  ESIF  through  the 
application  of  the  Strategic  Environmental  Assessment 
(SEA) Directive and by other means. 

Portugal  has  also  created  an  “Environmental  Network” 
(Rede  Ambiental)  to  promote  environmental  integration 
into the EU Cohesion Policy127. This can be considered as 
a good practice. It has been done by some other Member 
States and also exists at EU level (ENEA-MA Network). 

The  general  environmental  ex  ante  conditionality  (EAC) 
on  EIA/SEA  (looking  into  the  legal  framework  and  the 
effective 
the 
environmental impact assessment rules) was considered 
as fulfilled by Portugal. 

comply  with 

arrangements 

to 

The  two  thematic  EACs  on  Water  and  Waste  were  only 
partially fulfilled by Portugal at the moment of adoption 
of  the  Partnership  Agreement  2014-2020  and  therefore 
action plans were agreed with the Portuguese authorities 
in  order  to  comply  with  all  the  criteria  by  end-2016.  All 
the pending issues were ultimately resolved. 

126 Including the national co-financing part. 
127 The inaugural meeting took place in Lisbon in January 2018. The 
Secretariat of the Network is linked to the managing authority of the 
POSEUR 2014-2020. A second meeting was hold in Lisbon in November 
2018. 

32 

Rural development 

In the Rural Development Programme (RDP) of Portugal-
Mainland,  the  funds  earmarked  for  environmental 
priorities have increased, now accounting for nearly 40% 
of  the  total.  However,  support  for  the  Natura  2000 
network  under  the  rural  development  programme 
remains 
insufficient.  On  a  positive  note,  the  rural 
development programme is helping to restore woodland 
after  the  mega  forest  fires  of  2017.  The  emphasis  is  on 
restoring  forests  by  replanting  with  native  species.  This 
should help make forests more resistant to fires. 

This RDP also supports the shift towards organic farming, 
a positive trend on the way to a more sustainable model 
of farming. However, areas under mono-cropping (maize 
and tomatoes) persist, placing considerable pressures on 
loss,  soil  and  water 
the  environment  (biodiversity 
resources).  The  authorities  have  set  up  a  scheme  that 
offers  an  alternative  to  mandatory  crop  diversification, 
low  environmental  benefits.  However, 
which  yields 
to  be 
to  mono-cropping  have  yet 
alternatives 
established. 

The  funds  earmarked  for  environmental  priorities  under 
Madeira's Rural Development Programme represent half 
(about  EUR 195 million)  of  the  total  allocation.  The 
programme's  measures  related  to  biodiversity  and  to 
Natura  2000  are  inadequate,  only  partially  covering  the 
needs  set  out  in  the  Prioritised  Action  Framework.  The 
RDP is expected to support the measures identified in the 
2016-2021  RBMP  in  the  field  of  water  supply  and 
irrigation. 

In the Azores' Rural Development Programme, the funds 
earmarked  for  environmental  priorities  represent  45 % 
(about  EUR 290 million)  of  the  total  allocation.  The 
programme's  support  for  biodiversity  and  Natura  2000 
remains insufficient to meet existing needs. In particular, 
the problems of invasive species are still of concern, with 
the  prevalence  of  large  areas  of  invasive  flora  in  Natura 
2000  areas  putting  pressure  on  their  conservation 
objectives  to  achieve  good  conservation  status  for 
protected  species  and  habitats.  The  contribution  of  this 
RDP 
is  non-targeted, 
unambitious,  and  very  limited,  and  does  not  follow  a 
logic of intervention based on threats and weaknesses in 
the environmental sphere. 

to  environmental  objectives 

European Maritime and Fisheries Fund 

Portugal is a major beneficiary of the European Maritime 
and  Fisheries  Fund  (EMFF),  with  EUR 392 million  over 
2014-2020. The national EMFF operational programme is 
a  key  investment  package  for  the  Portuguese  maritime, 
fisheries  and  aquaculture  sectors.  EU  funding  is  used  to 
promote  the  Blue  Economy, 
including  sustainability 
aspects. 

                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) 

The  CEF  is  a  key  EU  funding  instrument  developed 
specifically  to  direct 
investment  towards  European 
transport,  energy  and  digital  infrastructure  to  address 
identified  missing  links  and  bottlenecks  and  promote 
sustainability.  By  the  end  of  2017,  Portugal  had  signed 
agreements  for  EUR  678  million  for  projects  under  the 
Connecting Europe Facility128. 

Among  the  projects,  environmental  studies  for  the 
development  of  energy  connections  and 
the 
improvement of railway connections can be mentioned. 

for 

Horizon 2020 

Portugal has  benefited  from  Horizon  2020  funding  since 
the programme started in 2014. As of January 2019, 693 
participants  have  been  granted  a  maximum  amount  of 
the  Societal 
EUR 168.1  million 
for  projects 
Challenges 
with 
work 
environmental issues129 130. 

programmes 

dealing 

from 

In  addition  to  the  abovementioned  work  programmes, 
climate and biodiversity expenditure is present across the 
entire  Horizon  2020.  In  Portugal,  projects  accepted  for 
funding  in  all  Horizon  2020  working  programmes  until 
December  2018  included  EUR  166  million  destined  to 
climate  action  (27.1 %  of  the  total  Horizon  2020 
contribution  to  the  country)  and  EUR  34  million  for 
biodiversity-related  actions  (5.6 %  of  the  Horizon  2020 
contribution to the country)131. 
The  aim  of  the  EU-funded  SEEDS  project132 
is  to 
understand how changes in fauna are affecting flora as a 
whole.  The  FAIRWAY  project  focuses  on  reviewing 
current  approaches 
to  protecting  drinking  water 
resources from pesticide and nitrate pollution133. 

LIFE programme 

Portugal also benefits from the EU LIFE Programme, with 
its many interesting projects134. It is currently engaged in 

128 European Commission, European Semester 2018, Country Report for 
Portugal, p.15. 
129 European Commission own calculations based on CORDA (COmmon 
Research DAta Warehouse). A maximum grant amount is the maximum 
grant amount decided by the Commission. It normally corresponds to 
the requested grant, but it may be lower. 
130 i.e. (ii) Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine 
and maritime and inland water research and the bioeconomy; (iii) 
Secure, clean and efficient energy; (iv) Smart, green and integrated 
transport; and (v) Climate action, environment, resource efficiency and 
raw materials. 
131 European Commission own calculations based on CORDA (COmmon 
Research DAta Warehouse). 
132 European Commission, Horizon 2020 Seeds Project. 
133 European Commission, Horizon 2020 FAIRWAY Project. 
134 See LIFE country factsheet for Portugal. 

a  LIFE  capacity-building  project designed  to  improve  the 
country's overall capacity to take part in and make use of 
the  LIFE  Programme.  The  aim  is  to  increase  the  number 
and 
in 
improve  the  quality  of  projects  submitted 
response to the annual calls for proposals. 

The  EU  has  allocated  EUR 20 million  to  Portuguese 
projects over 2014-2017135. One good example is the LIFE 
Rupis,  designed  to  conserve  the  Egyptian  Vulture  and 
Bonelli’s Eagle in the Douro/Duero canyon. 

European Investment Bank 
The EIB Group136 lent around EUR 2 billion to Portuguese 
businesses  and  public  institutions  in  2018,  as  shown  in 
Figure 22. About EUR 73 million (3.7 % of the total) were 
directly invested in environment-related projects. 

Figure 22 EIB loans to Portugal in 2018 137 

European Fund for Strategic Investments  

The European Fund for Strategic Investments – the EFSI – 
is the central pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe.  

January  2019, 

By 
EUR 2.5 billion 
EUR 8.8 billion in additional investments138. 

the  EFSI  had  mobilised  over 
in  Portugal,  and  was  set  to  trigger 

This also includes projects in the field of the environment 
and  resource  efficiency.  For  instance,  under  the  Juncker 
Plan  the  EIB  is  providing  EUR 420 million  to  Águas  de 
Portugal  to  finance  investments  in  water  infrastructure. 
This project will improve the quality and sustainability of 
water  and  wastewater  services  in  Portugal  by  building 
new  facilities  and  renovating  older  ones.  This  work  will 
create  and  sustain  over  7 400 
the 
implementation stage. 

jobs  during 

135 Commission services based on data provided by EASME. 
136 The EIB Group includes EIB and EFSI investments and loans. 
137 European Investment Bank, Portugal and the EIB, 2018.  
138 European investment Bank, EFSI map.  

33 

                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

National environmental financing 

Portugal 
spent  EUR 1.09 billion  on  environmental 
protection  in  2016,  a  5%  fall  since  2015139.  39 %  of 
payments  went  on  waste  management  (EU  average: 
49.7 %).  EUR 218.3 million  were  earmarked  for  waste 
water  management 
and 
EUR 75.5 million  to  pollution  abatement  (7 %  of  the 
expenditure 
total). 
(EUR 168 million) went on protecting biodiversity and the 
landscape. Between 2012 and 2016, general government 
funding 
totalled 
EUR 5.3 billion140. 

environmental 

environmental 

(20 %  of 

protection 

total) 

5.4 % 

the 

for 

of 

As it has been mentioned through the report, one of the 
challenges  for  Portugal  is  to  ensure  that  environmental 
financing remains at an adequate level. Existent financial 
gaps  in  areas  such  as  waste  management,  water  quality 
and  the  support  of  green  activities  are  delaying  the 
correct  implementation  of  EU  environmental  law  and 
policies.  Therefore,  ensuring  financial  resources  to 
reduce the implementation gap should be considered as 
a priority for the country. 

2019 priority action 

 

Portugal should take advantage of the ESIF available 
for  the  2014-2020  programming  period  in  order  to 
improve compliance with the EU environmental law 
and  policy  and  to  exploit the  potential  of  the  green 
economy  for  improving  competitiveness  and  job 
creation. 

139 Eurostat, General Government Expenditure by function, 2018.  
140 Eurostat, General Government Expenditure by function, 2018. 

34 

 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

5. Strengthening environmental governance

Information, public participation and access to 
justice 

Citizens  can  more  effectively  protect  the  environment  if 
they  can  rely  on  the  three  ‘pillars’  of  the  Aarhus 
Convention:  
(i) access to information;  
(ii) public participation in decision making; and  
(iii) access to justice in environmental matters.  

It is of crucial importance to public authorities, the public 
and  business  that  environmental  information  is  shared 
efficiently  and  effectively141.  Public  participation  allows 
authorities  to  make  decisions  that  take  public  concerns 
into account. Access to justice is a set of guarantees that 
allows citizens and NGOs to use national courts to protect 
the  environment142.  It  includes  the  right  to  bring  legal 
challenges (‘legal standing’)143. 

the  most  recent  monitoring  data  (from  2017)146.  Data 
identification  and  documentation  have  made  good 
progress, and implementation levels are good. However, 
more  efforts  are  needed  to:  (i)  make  the  data  more 
widely  accessible,  (ii)  improve  the  conditions  for  data 
in 
reuse,  and  (iii)  prioritise  environmental  datasets 
implementation, especially those identified as high-value 
spatial  datasets 
implementing  environmental 
legislation147. 

for 

Figure  23:  Access  to  spatial  data  through  view  and 
download services in Portugal (2017) 

Environmental information 
Portugal’s  main  portal  is  well  designed144,  with  links  to 
national and EU environmental legislation. There are also 
links to all relevant environmental data portals, with easy 
navigation and data retrieval. However, Portuguese is the 
only  language  used,  and  there  is  no  English  version 
available and the search function does not always return 
the desired results. The portal has an attractive look, the 
homepage 
is 
straightforward.  The  one  drawback  is  the  lack  of  a  clear 
link to the INSPIRE portal. 

logically  structured,  and  navigation 

is 

The  INSPIRE  portal  is  good,  though  slightly  tricky  to 
navigate.  It  contains  a  wealth  of  information,  and  the 
data search functions are user-friendly. All the necessary 
documents  are  available,  as  are  related 
items  of 
information and links to relevant websites. 

Portugal’s implementation of the INSPIRE Directive could 
be  better.  Its  performance  has  been  reviewed  on  the 
basis of the country's 2016 implementation report145 and 

141 The Aarhus Convention, the Access to Environmental Information 
Directive 2003/4/EC and the INSPIRE Directive 2007/2/EC together 
create a legal foundation for the sharing of environmental information 
between public authorities and with the public. This EIR focuses on 
INSPIRE. 
142 The guarantees are explained in Commission Notice on access to 
justice in environmental matters, OJL 275, 18.8.2017 and a related 
Citizen’s Guide. 
143 This EIR looks at how well Member States explain access to justice 
rights to the public, and at legal standing and other major barriers to 
bringing cases on nature and air pollution. 
144 The Portuguese Environment Agency, Environmental information 
portal   
145 INSPIRE PT country sheet 2017  

Public participation 

Public participation is regulated mainly by the Portuguese 
Constitution,  in  particular  Articles  48  and  66.  Under 
Article 48, everyone has the right to participate in public 
affairs. Article 66 states that everyone has the right to a 
human,  healthy  and  ecologically  balanced  environment. 
Other key legal provisions148 are Article 12 of the Code for 
Administrative  Procedures,  which  stipulates  that  the 
administration  must  involve  the  public  in  administrative 
decisions,  and  Articles  100  and  101,  which  define  public 
hearings  and  consultations  as  part  of  administrative 
procedures.  Law-Decree  No 232/2007149  also  regulates 
public participation in plans and programmes. 

146 INSPIRE monitoring dashboard 
147 European Commission, List of high value spatial data sets  
148 The Portuguese Environment Agency (2018), Access to justice.  
149 The Portuguese Republic, Assembleia da República (2007), Decreto-
Lei n.o 232/2007, Diário da República n.º232/2007, Série I de 2007-07-
31, art. 3. 

35 

 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

There  is  a  central  portal  for  public  consultations  on 
legislative  documents  that  are  in  the  process  of  being 
drafted150. 

judicial  costs  if  they  win  their  case.  If  they  lose,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  costs  are  declared  –at  the  judge's 
discretion – to be a fraction of the usual value153. 

In  July  2015  an  official  portal  called  'Participa'  was 
launched  to  host  all  public  consultations  held  by  the 
Ministry for the Environment151. It has already been used 
for some 650 initiatives. This can be considered as a good 
practice in this field. 

The  2017  Eurobarometer  figures  show  that  86%  of 
respondents  think  individuals  have  a  role  to  play  in 
protecting the environment. This figure is the same as in 
2014. 

Access to justice  

Significant progress needs to be made to ensure that the 
general public knows how individuals and environmental 
associations can have access to justice on environmental 
matters  under  Portuguese  and  EU  law.  The  information 
available  online  does  not  give  a  clear  enough  picture  of 
justice  on  environmental 
how  to  obtain  access  to 
matters.  Moreover,  the  information  there  is  focuses  on 
the costs involved in bringing a lawsuit. 

Portugal  allows  both 
individuals  and  environmental 
associations  to  bring  legal  actions  on  environmental 
matters,  namely  under  Article  7  of  Law  No  34/2004,  as 
amended by Law No 47/2007. The system is quite liberal. 
Under  Portuguese  law,  individuals  and  associations  can 
be  exempted  from  fees,  giving  them  ready  access  to 
justice. The first mechanism for partial or full exemption 
from  fees  relies  on  judicial  aid,  which  is  available  to 
people  and  non-profit  organisations 
that  would 
otherwise  lack  sufficient  financial  means.  The  second  is 
the  option  of  bringing  actio  popularis  (a  class  action 
lawsuit)152. In general, if a lawsuit is filed with the intent 
to  serve  the  public  interest  (as  with  environmental 
issues), the law exempts institutions and individuals from 

150The Portuguese Republic, XXI Governo Constitucional (2018) 
Consultas públicas. 
151The Portuguese Republic, official portal 'Participa'   
152The Portuguese Republic, Assembleia da República (1995), Lei n.º 
83/1995, Consolidada. 

Costs  for  access  to  justice  in  Portugal  can  be  classed  as 
follows: 
1) 

Judicial  fees,  which  can  be  minimised  as  described 
above. 

2)  Costs incurred through instructing a lawyer, which is 
mandatory for court actions; however, when juridical 
aid  is  granted,  representation  is  assigned  by  the 
professional order; 

3)  Costs  for  further  substantiation  of  the  case  with 
opinions from relevant sources (technical or juridical) 
which are at the expense of the plaintiff. 

According to informed opinion, the main deterrent from 
legal  challenges  in  Portugal  appears  to  be  the  high 
judicial costs154. 

2019 priority actions 

 

 

Improve access to spatial data and services by linking 
the  central 
INSPIRE  website  more  closely  with 
regional  portals,  identify  and  document  all  spatial 
datasets  required  to 
implement  environmental 
law155,  and  make  the  data  and  documentation 
available to other public authorities and the public at 
least in its existing form, through the digital services 
for which the INSPIRE Directive makes provision. 
Inform  the  public  better  about  access  to  justice, 
especially in relation to air pollution and nature. 

153 Criteria for the value lies not only in the plaintiff’s economic 
situation, but also in the reasons for dismissal (substance of the 
complaint or procedural reasons). 
154 European Commission Staff Working Document: Impact Assessment 
on a Commission Initiative on Access to Justice in Environmental 
Matters, SWD(2017)255 final, p. 67. And Aragão, A. (2012), Study on the 
Implementation of Article 9.3 and 9.4 of the Aarhus Convention in 
Portugal, European Commission, p. 29–30, in particular ‘even though 
the cost of engaging legal procedures is not prohibitive per se, 
substantial costs from proper representation, scientific advice or expert 
opinions are at the expense of plaintiff’. 
155 European Commission, INSPIRE. 

36 

 
                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

Compliance assurance  

to  ensure 

Environmental compliance assurance covers all the work 
that 
undertaken  by  public  authorities 
industries,  farmers  and  others  fulfil  their  obligations  to 
protect  water,  air  and  nature,  and  manage  waste156.  It 
includes  support  measures  provided  by  the  authorities, 
such as:  
(i) compliance promotion157;  
(ii)  inspections  and  other checks that  they  carry  out,  i.e. 
compliance monitoring158; and  
(iii)  the  steps  that  they  take  to  stop  breaches,  impose 
sanctions  and  require  damage  to  be  remedied,  i.e. 
enforcement159.  
Citizen  science  and  complaints  enable  authorities  to 
liability160 
focus  their  efforts  better.  Environmental 
ensures that the polluter pays to remedy any damage. 

inspect  them  and  to  make  individual  inspection  reports 
available to the public164. The IGAMAOT website provides 
publicly  available  guidelines  on  inspection  planning  in  a 
Practical  Guide  for  Environmental  Inspectors165  and  a 
Supporting Guide for Environmental Inspections166. Some 
individual  inspection  reports  are  also  made  available  to 
the public. 

Citizen science and complaint handling  

Public  engagement  through  approaches  including  citizen 
science  can  deepen  knowledge  about  the  environment 
and help the authorities in their work. The role of citizen 
science has been recognised in Portugal. The universities 
of Coimbra and Porto, for example, have started several 
initiatives  that 
in 
environmental  monitoring167  168.  Other  bodies,  such  as 
REN, have also applied citizen science initiatives169. 

involve  members  of  the  public 

One of the topics discussed during the EIR dialogue with 
Portugal  held 
in  Lisbon  on  14 March 2018  was 
environmental governance. 

The availability online of clear information about how to 
make  a  complaint  is  an  indicator  of  how  responsive  the 
authorities are to complaints from the public. 

Compliance promotion and monitoring  

The  quality  of  online  information  to  farmers  on  how  to 
comply  with  obligations  on  nitrates  and  nature  is  an 
indicator of how actively authorities promote compliance 
in  subject-areas  with  serious  implementation  gaps.  In 
Portugal, 
information  about  obligations  concerning 
is  available  on  the  websites  of  APA  (the 
nitrates 
Portuguese  Environmental  Agency)  and  the  Directorate-
General 
for  Agriculture  and  Rural  Development 
(DGADR)161. Farmers can freely consult the Good Practice 
Manual162,  which  provides  all 
general 
information.  Information  on  nature-related  obligations 
for farmers is also publicly available163. 

relevant 

Major industrial installations pose serious pollution risks. 
The  public  authorities  are  required  to  have  plans  to 

156 The concept is explained in detail in the Communication on ‘EU 
actions to improve environmental compliance and governance’ 
COM(2018)10 and the related Commission Staff Working Document, 
SWD(2018)10. 
157 This EIR focuses on the help given to farmers to comply with nature 
and nitrates legislation. 
158 This EIR focuses on inspections of major industrial installations. 
159This EIR focuses on the availability of enforcement data and co-
ordination between authorities to tackle environmental crime. 
160 The Environmental Liability Directive 2004/35/EC, creates the 
framework. 
161 The Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development 
(2018). 
162 The Portuguese Republic, Assembleia da República (2018), Despacho 
n.º 1230/2018 , Diário da República, 2.ª série, N.º 25 de 5 de fevereiro 
de 2018. 
163 The Portuguese Republic, Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e da 
Biodiversidade, I.P. (2011), Integração das Orientações de Gestão do 
Plano Sectorial da Rede Natura 2000 nos Planos Municipais de 
Ordenamento do Território – Guia Metodológico, p.6,.   

Portugal  has  established  a  well-developed  complaint 
handling  system.  IGAMAOT  has  published  a  complaint 
handling  manual  which  details 
the  established 
to  complainants170. 
feedback 
including 
procedures, 
Detailed  instructions  on  how  to  lodge  complaints  about 
environmental  problems  are  publicly  available,  the 
authorities responsible are listed, and a mechanism exists 
to  guarantee  that  complaints  are  passed  on  to  the 
appropriate authority171. 

ERSAR,  the  Portuguese  Water  and  Waste  Services 
Regulation  Authority,  has  also  established  an  online 
complaint-handling  mechanism 
these 
services. 

for  users  of 

iFAMA, the Single Platform for Inspection and Monitoring 
in the areas of agriculture, sea and the environment, was 
set up in 2017 and is expected to be operational by end 
of  2018.  It  aims  to  simplify  administrative  procedures, 
improve  the  efficiency  of  public  services  and  their 

164 Article 23, Industrial Emissions Directive, 2010/75/EU. 
165 The Portuguese Republic, IGAMAOT (2016), Manual de Procedimento 
da EM CSI - Um Guia Prático para os Inspetores da Área Ambiental, 
p.25-30.  
166The Portuguese Republic, IGAMAOT (2016), Guia de Apoio às 
Inspeções Ambientais, p.5-7. 
167 The Portuguese Republic ,Invasoras (2012), Invasive Plants in 
Portugal. 
168 Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources-CIBIO (n.a.), 
Serralves em Flora.  
169 REN (2018), Iniciativa de Citizen Science: Semana das cegonhas. 
170 The Portuguese Republic, IGAMAOT, a complaint handling manual, 
established procedures  
171 The Portuguese Republic, IGAMAOT - Inspeção-Geral da Agricultura, 
do Mar, do Ambiente e do Ordenamento do Território (2017), 
Denunciar. 

37 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

relations  with  the  public  and  business  and  make  the 
complaint-handling system more efficient by: 
-  Making  available  a  unique  electronic  form  for 

- 

- 

complains. 
Providing  a  centralized  database  for  submitting 
accidents/incidents reported to every environmental 
authorities,  which  should  be  updated  and  managed 
regularly. 
Providing a platform for exchange and management 
of  information  between  environmental  authorities 
and, when necessary, regulated entities. 

The toll can be used also for risk assessments and better 
targeting of environmental inspections. 

Enforcement 

identifies  problems,  a  range  of 
When  monitoring 
responses  may  be  appropriate.  The  information  that  is 
publicly available in Portugal concerns mainly the number 
of  breaches  detected  and  relevant  court  decisions. 
However, it includes no details of whether compliance is 
achieved  once  follow-up  measures  and  enforcement 
action  have  been  taken172.  There  is  a  public  perception 
that  sanctions  imposed  by  administrative  authorities  for 
environmental offences are often reduced by courts173. 

Follow-up  actions  to  cases  of  non-compliance  are 
undertaken,  notably  through  the  issuance  of  warrants, 
notifications,  among  others,  for  the  verification  of 
industrial  facility174. 
environmental  obligations 
Reports  on  environmental  performance 
some 
industrial sectors are publicly available175. 

in  an 

in 

Reports with the main results of inspections are publicly 
available176. Information from IGAMAOT on responses to 
cross-compliance  breaches  on  nitrates  is  included  in 
inspections  reports.  IGAMAOT  reports´s  on  ensuring 
legality  on  nature  conservation  are  also  publicly 
available177.  

Tackling  environmental  crimes 
including  waste  and 
wildlife  crimes  is  especially  challenging,  requiring  close 
cooperation  between  inspectors,  customs  authorities, 
police  and  prosecutors.  Portugal  has  established  a  well-
designed  system  of  cooperation  and  coordination. 
Cooperation  agreements  exist  between  IGAMAOT  and 
the  Environmental  Fund178, 
IMPEL 

the  National 

172 The Portuguese Republic, IGAMAOT (2018), 20 Anos de Inspeção 
Ambiental em Portugal – 1997-2017, p.51,; Project Hermes, Official 
Justice Statistics.  
173 Altri company,; RTP Noticias news.  
174 IGAMAOT, pages 85 to 87 
175 IGAMAOT, Relatórios Temáticos – Domínio Ambiental 
176 IGAMAOT, reports   
177 IGAMAOT, Relatórios Temáticos – Conservação da Natureza.  
178 IGAMAOT & Fundo Ambiental (2017), Protocolo de Colaboração 
Técnica e Finaceira,. 

Cooperation Network179, DGT180, the Attorney-General of 
the  Republic181,  the  Financial  Institute  for  Regional 
Financeiro 
Development 
o 
(Instituto 
IFDR)182,  the  Republican 
Desenvolvimento  Regional, 
National Guard (GNR) and the Safety and Security Police 
(Polícia de Segurança Pública, PSP183).  

para 

The  annual  reports  of  the  works  developed  by  the 
IMPEL  Network  are  publicly  available184185. 
National 
four  national  working  groups 
Currently  there  are 
ongoing,  on  use  of  satellite 
images  and  drones, 
environmental  crime,  cease  environmental  harm  and 
complaints handling. 

At the international level, contacts and joint actions have 
been  carried  out  with  the  Spanish  authorities  Guardia 
Civil/Seprona,  Inspeccion  de  Medio  Ambiente  of  the 
Xunta  de  Galicia,  Junta  de  Castilla  y  Léon,  Junta  de 
Extremadura  and  Junta  de  Andalucía, 
in  order  to 
consolidate  an  efficient  Iberian  enforcement  network  of 
Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006. 

Environmental liability 

The  Environmental  Liability  Directive  (ELD)  establishes  a 
framework  based  on  the  ‘polluter  pays’  principle  to 
prevent  and  remedy  environmental  damage.  The  2017 
EIR 
information  on 
environmental  damage,  on 
financial  security  and 
guidance.  The  Commission  is  still  collecting  evidence  on 
the progress made. 

focused  on  gathering  better 

2019 priority actions 

 

 

the  public  better  about 

compliance 
Inform 
promotion, monitoring and enforcement by, at least, 
ensuring  that  more  detailed  information  is  available 
online  to  help  farmers  about  how  to  comply  with 
obligations  on  nature,  and  providing  more  online 
information on reports on industrial inspections. 
Publishing information on outcomes of enforcement 
action  and  of  the  follow-up  to  detected  cross-
compliance breaches on nitrates and nature. 

179 IGAMAOT (2017), Relatório de síntese do trabalho desenvolvido pela 
Rede Nacional IMPEL, p.3. 
180 DGT & IGAMAOT (2012), Protocolo de Colaboração entre a DGT e a 
IGAMAOT. 
181 PGR & IGAMAOT (2014), Protocolo de Colaboração entre a PGR e a 
IGAMAOT.  
182 IFDR & IGAMAOT (2013), Protocolo de Cooperação entre o IFDR e a 
IGAMAOT.  
183 PSP & IGAMAOT (2006), Protocolo de Cooperação entre a PSP e a 
IGAMAOT. 
184 IGAMAOT (2017), Relatório de síntese do trabalho desenvolvido pela 
Rede Nacional IMPEL, Janeiro 2016 – Março 2017.  
185 IGAMAOT (2018), Relatório síntese do trabalho desenvolvido pela 
Rede Nacional IMPEL, Março 2017 – Abril 2018. 

38 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

Effectiveness of environmental 
administrations  

in 

involved 

implementing 

environmental 
Those 
legislation at EU, national, regional and local levels need 
to have the knowledge, tools and capacity to ensure that 
the  legislation  and  the  governance  of  the  enforcement 
process bring about the intended benefits. 

Administrative capacity and quality 

Environmental  policy  developments 
in  Portugal  are 
driven  mainly  by  EU  Directives  and  Regulations,  and  the 
relevant  EU  rules  are  generally  transposed  in  time.  The 
number  of  complaints  and  infringements  about  the 
environment is currently below the EU average. 

The  implementation  of  EU  environmental  law  in  the 
various sectors concerned has overall improved over the 
last  decade.  For  instance,  there  has  been  progress  with 
implementing  environmental  assessments.  A  recent 
package of legislation designed to speed up the licensing 
of  projects  of  national  interest  raised  some  doubts,  but 
no  serious  problems  were 
it  was 
implemented. 

identified  when 

The Single Environmental Permitting Platform, developed 
to  operationalise  the  Single  Environmental  Permitting 
Regime,  is  an  example  of  good  practice.  It  simplifies, 
standardises  and  links  a  large  number  of  environmental 
permits. 

Adaptability, 
(eGovernment) 

reform 

dynamics 

and 

innovation 

Increasingly,  Portuguese  public  authorities  are  adopting 
and  deploying  electronic  services  that  enable  them  to 
interact  online  with  the  public  or  regulated  bodies, 
Portugal ranked 12th out of the EU-28 on the 2018 Digital 
Economic  Society  Index (DESI),  with  a  score  of  58,  same 
than the EU average188. 

Though  Portugal's  overall  score  has  risen  slightly,  the 
proportional  increase  is  below  the  EU  average.  The 
country's  scores  have  risen  in  all  dimensions  of  DESI 
except integration of digital technologies189. 

Portugal  is  developing  some  interesting  and  innovative 
tools in the environmental field. One example is E–GAR, a 
platform for information accompanying waste shipments 
that  replaces  four  paper  documents  by  a  single  digital 
one. This was introduced in 2017. 

Coordination and integration  

Enabling financing and the effective use of funds 

Environmental 

Impact  Assessment 

As  mentioned  in  the  2017  EIR,  the  transposition  of  the 
(EIA) 
revised 
Directive186 into national law provides an opportunity for 
countries  to  streamline  their  regulatory  framework  for 
environmental assessments. Portugal has transposed the 
revised  Directive  into  national  law,  although  it  did  not 
meet the deadline for full transposition (May 2017).  

the 

in  environmental  assessments 

The  Commission  encourages 
streamlining  of 
environmental  assessments  to  reduce  duplication  and 
for 
avoid  overlaps 
projects.  Streamlining  also  helps  reduce  unnecessary 
administrative  burdens  and  speeds  up  decision-making, 
without  compromising  the  quality  of  the  environmental 
assessment  procedure187.  Portugal  started  streamlining 
environmental  assessments  under  the  EIA  and  Habitats 
Directives  even  before  the  EIA  Directive  was  revised. 
Coordinated  procedures  have  been  established  for  the 
EIA  Directive,  the  Water  Framework  Directive  and  the 
Industrial Emissions Directive. 

186 Directive 2014/52/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of 16 April 2014 amending Directive 2011/92/EU on the assessment of 
the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment. 
187 The Commission issued a guidance document in 2016 regarding the 
setting up of coordinated and/or joint procedures that are 
simultaneously subject to assessments under the EIA Directive, Habitats 
Directive, Water Framework Directive, and the Industrial Emissions 
Directive, OJ C 273, 27.7.2016, p. 1. 

The Portuguese authorities have considerable experience 
in the management of EU funding and there are no major 
problems  here.  However,  sometimes  environmental 
projects suffer delays, for instance, because of the length 
of  procedures  to  obtain  the  national  co-financing,  or  to 
undertake the public procurement procedures. 

International agreements  

The  EU  Treaties  require  the  EU  environmental  policy  to 
promote  measures  at  international  level  to  deal  with 
regional or worldwide environmental problems. 

The EU is committed to strengthening environmental law 
and its implementation globally. It therefore continues to 
support  the  Global  Pact  for  the  Environment  process, 
which  was  launched  by  the  United  Nations  General 
Assembly  in  May  2018190.  The  EIR  is  one  of  the  tools  to 
ensure  that  the  Member  States  set  a  good  example  by 
respecting  European  Union  environmental  policies  and 
laws and international agreements.  

188 European Commission, Digital Economy and Society Index Report 
2018, Digital Public Services. 
189 European Commission, Europe's Digital Progress Report (EDPR) 2017 
Country Profile Spain, p. 10. 
190 UN General Assembly Resolution 72/277 and Organizational session 
of the ad hoc open-ended working group.  

39 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

Portugal has signed, but not yet ratified, two agreements 
under the  Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air 
Pollution:  (i)  the  Persistent  Organic  Pollutions  Protocol 
and  (ii)  the  Heavy  Metals  Protocol.  The  same  applies  to 
the Nagoya Protocol. 
Forests:  EU  Timber  Regulation  (EUTR)191/  Forest  Law 
Enforcement,  Governance 
(FLEGT) 
Regulation192 

Trade 

and 

The  European  Timber  Trade  Regulation  (EUTR),  which 
bans  placing 
illegally  harvested  timber  on  the  EU 
market193,  stipulates  that  EU  countries'  competent 
authorities  must  conduct  regular  checks  on  operators 
and  traders  and  impose  penalties  in  the  event  of  non-
compliance. 

From March 2015 to February 2017, Portugal conducted 
152  checks  on  domestic  timber  traders  and  166  checks 
on  timber  importers.  The  number  of  checks  must  be 
correlated  with  the  estimated  number  of  operators  in 
Portugal194.  As  regards  quality,  the  limited  volume  of 
customs  data  to  which  Portugal's  competent  authorities 
have  access  makes  it  difficult  for  them  to  establish  a 
sound risk-based inspection system. 

The Portuguese authorities have not so far imposed any 
penalties  on  operators  for  failing  to  meet  their  EUTR 
obligations,  but  have  been  issuing  a  number  of  notices 
for remedial action. 

In  February  2018,  the  EUTR  Indicator  System  has  been 
made available online in order to facilitate the follow-up 
of the EUTR implementation in Portugal. 

other 

collaboration  with 

As  regards  cooperation  (Article  12  EUTR),  Portugal 
reported 
government 
institutions in Spain and other EU competent authorities, 
mainly  through  FLEGT/EUTR  Expert  Group  meetings  and 
the  Ad-Hoc  Expert  Group  on  FLEGT.  Portugal  has  also 
been  actively  involved  in  the  launching  of  the  EUTR 
Mediterranean network, notably by hosting an inaugural 
meeting in June 2018 in Lisbon195. 

Genetic  resources:  Nagoya  Protocol  on  Access  to 
Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of 
Benefits Arising (ABS)196  

In  accordance  with  the  EU  ABS  Regulation,  which 
incorporates  the  compliance  measures  required  under 
the Nagoya Protocol into the EU legal order, Portugal has 
designated competent authorities and enacted sanctions 
for infringements of the Regulation. Work to set up a risk-
based  plan  for  checks  is  ongoing.  No  due  diligence 
declaration  has  yet  been  submitted,  and  no  penalties 
have been imposed. Portugal submitted its first report to 
the  Commission  on  the  implementation  of  the  EU  ABS 
Regulation at the end of 2017. 

International  wildlife 
the  Convention  on 
trade: 
International  Trade  in  Endangered  Species  of  Wild 
Fauna and Flora (CITES)197 

stemming 

Portugal  has  met  the  obligations  laid  down  in  the  Basic 
Regulation198,  which  incorporates  into  EU  law  the  major 
the  Convention  on 
from 
obligations 
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna 
and  Flora  (CITES):  it  has  established  relevant  national 
authorities  and  regularly  processes  requests  for  import, 
export and re-export and intra-EU trade documents.  

Reports  on  seizures  of  illegal  shipments,  in  particular 
those  reported  every  six  months  to  TRAFFIC  under  its 
contract with DG ENV, and those exchanged through the 
EU-TWIX  platform,  testify  to  the  activity  of  customs 
authorities. 

2019 priority action 

 

Increase  efforts  to  be  party  to  relevant  multilateral 
environmental  agreements,  by  signing  and  ratifying 
the remaining agreements. 

191 Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 20 October 2010 
192 Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005 of 20 December 2005 on the 
establishment of a FLEGT licensing scheme for imports of timber into 
the European Community. 
193 See Commission’s website on the Timber Regulation. 
194 Based on customs data, it is estimated that 2525 Portuguese 
operators placed domestic timber on the EU market for the first time 
and that 853 imported timber. 
195 Under the EIR-P2P, a Workshop was held to strengthen cooperation 
among eight Mediterranean EU countries and to improve and 
harmonise implementation of the EUTR in the Mediterranean region. 

196 Regulation (EU) No 511/2014 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 16 April 2014 on compliance measures for users from the 
Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and 
Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilisation in the Union 
Text with EEA relevance. 
197 The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of 
Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). 
198 Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the protection of species of 
wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein (the Basic Regulation) 

40 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Portugal 

1)  Education:  Fund  for  Innovation,  Technology  and  the 

Circular Economy (FITEC);  

3) 

2)  Promoting  innovation  and  entrepreneurship:  200M 
fund,  Fund  for  Tourism  Growth  (Fundo  Turismo 
Crescimento ) and the Fund to Support Theatre and 
Tourism (Fundo de Apoio ao Cinema e Turismo); 
Increasing  Territorial  Value:  the  Blue  Fund  (Fundo 
Azul),  the  Public  Transport 
Infrastructure  Fund 
(Fundo  para  o  Serviço  de  Transportes  Públicos)  and 
the 
the 
environment,  the  operational  programme  POSEUR 
will provide EUR 2,5 billion to 2020. 

Environmental 

Fund.  As 

regards 

In  2017,  Portugal  sent  the  UN  its  voluntary  national 
review on implementing the SDGs205 

Sustainable 
implementation of the UN SDGs 

development 

and 

the 

Sustainable development links environmental, social and 
economic policies in a coherent framework and therefore 
helps  to 
legislation  and 
policies. 

implement  environmental 

The sustainable development goals (SDGs) are integrated 
in policymaking at several levels, beginning with bringing 
Portugal’s  national  strategy  into  line  with  the  United 
Nations  international agenda.  To achieve  this,  Portugal’s 
Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs  has  set  up  task  forces  to 
improve  internal  ministerial  coordination  and  draw  up 
Individual  ministries  have  also  been  given 
reports. 
responsibility 
and 
implementing, 
monitoring  specific  SDGs199.  Portugal’s  strategy  is  to 
tackle all 17 SDGs through five targeted approaches (the 
5P  approach),  though  SDGs  4,  5,  9,  10,  13  and  14  are 
particular  priorities200.  The  Portuguese  Government  sets 
specific goals to be achieved by 2030, and changes in the 
relevant  indicators  are  measured  statistically  (where 
statistical  monitoring 
is  applicable)  by  the  National 
Statistics Institution (INE)201,202. 

regulating 

for 

One example is Target 14.4: 'By 2020, effectively regulate 
harvesting  and  end  overfishing,  illegal,  unreported  and 
unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices and 
implement science-based management plans, in order to 
restore  fish  stocks  in  the  shortest  time  feasible,  at  least 
to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield as 
determined  by  their  biological  characteristics.'  This  is 
monitored  by  looking  at  changes  in  indicator  14.4.1 
('Proportion  of  fish  stocks  within  biologically  sustainable 
levels')203. 

The National Reform Programme (Programa Nacional de 
Reformas)204  is  the  overarching  document  covering  the 
SDGs to be achieved. It draws on the various programmes 
that  contribute  to  the  reform  plan  and  provides 
indicators for measuring progress. 

The National Reform Programme highlights several public 
sources of  financing  other than  EU  funds to  be  assigned 
to specific areas. They include the following. 

199 Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros (2017), Relatório nacional sobre 
a implementação da Agenda 2030 para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável 
PORTUGAL, p.8-9,.  
200 Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros (2017), Relatório nacional sobre 
a implementação da Agenda 2030 para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável 
PORTUGAL, p.10-12,.  
201 INE (2017), Indicadores de Desenvolvimento Sustentável - Agenda 
2030 – 2017,.  
202 Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros (2017), Relatório nacional sobre 
a implementação da Agenda 2030 para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável 
PORTUGAL, p.86-87.   
203 Instituto Nacional de Estatística (2018) Sustainable Development 
Goals Lisboa, Instituto Nacional de Estatística, p. 176-179  
204 XXI Governo Constitucional (2018), Programa Nacional de Reformas.  

205 UN, National report on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for 
Sustainable Development: Portugal.  

41