Launched in 2019, the project, run by the Group for Studies in Spatial Planning and Environment (GEOTA), has already planted 580,000 native trees in an area of 1,850 hectares in the Monchique mountain range, as reported by Algarve Primeiro. The project is financed through the carbon offsetting initiative of the British airline Ryanair.

“Ryanair’s funding has already reached €2.2 million, which is significant, and our goal is to continue. The regeneration processes in these burned areas are interventions on a 20-year scale, and therefore we expect to continue for many more years with this ecological restoration”, Miguel Jerónimo, coordinator of the GEOTA project, says. The project has supported more than 80 landowners and has already planted 580,000 trees; they are on track to reach 600,000 by next February.

Combining environmental recovery with social regeneration

According to officials, another phase of the project in Monchique is that Renature Monchique goes beyond environmental recovery after the 2018 fire and also presents itself as a project of social and economic regeneration. “When we have these fires, it is real people who are affected, and we need to do things differently to avoid future fires that burn 27,000 hectares”, Miguel Jerónimo says. The project is being developed in partnership with the Monchique City Council, the Algarve Tourism Region, and the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF).

Providing the population with a sense of profitability is also a cornerstone of the project, as it involves protecting the ecosystem with native species and reconciling commitment with local economic activities linked to Monchique’s mountain range.

Local authorities highlight long-term benefits

The mayor of Monchique, Paulo Alves, has highlighted the importance of the Renature Monchique project, "which already has a mark on the municipality, due to its territorial expansion, support for property owners, and intervention in abandoned land that has no value." According to the mayor, reforestation with native species, such as the Monchique oak and the strawberry tree, is an additional value for landowners.

The president of the Algarve Tourism Region (RTA), André Gomes, describes the project as focusing on restoring the territory's ecology in a manner that is proximate to landowners. “It is an excellent example that it is indeed possible for us to work together, public and private partners, regional entities, municipalities and companies in an action to regenerate our territory, which is so important in the work we do at the level of Algarve Tourism, from the point of view of diversifying the offer of tourist segments, demonstrating more and more that the Algarve is, in fact, a year-round destination,” André Gomes remarks.