The Government has extended the deadline for land clearance to 30th June in municipalities covered by the state of calamity, including Faro, Monchique, and Alcoutim in the Algarve, declared as a result of a series of storms which hit Portugal with a drastic and multifaceted impact last month, as part of land management measures. Meanwhile, 31st May has been set as the cut-off date for all other municipalities.
Deadlines for land management across mainland municipalities are set annually by the Government, with the aim of helping to reduce “the spread of rural fires, the mitigation of risks associated with extreme weather events, and the strengthening of territorial resilience”.
In a joint order issued by the Secretaries of State for Civil Protection and Forests, the Government argued that this year’s circumstances, marked by adverse weather, justify “an extension of the timeframe for carrying out works related to the installation or maintenance of the works, taking into account the differing realities across the various regions of the mainland”.
Accordingly, work on land management strips may proceed until 31st May 2026 across mainland municipalities.
However, an exception has been made for councils under a formal state of calamity due to severe weather in 2026, where such work may continue until 30th June.
Landowners with properties located within 50 metres of residential buildings or economic activities will be required to carry out land management across a 50-metre-wide strip in forest areas, or 10 metres in agricultural land.
In built-up areas situated within or adjacent to forest land, land management is mandatory in a strip of no less than 100 metres, a requirement that also applies to campsites, industrial parks, and landfill sites.
After these deadlines, failure to comply may result in inspections and potential fines.
In the order, the Government stressed that the current year “has been characterised by a winter marked by persistent periods of heavy rainfall, at times accompanied by strong winds, which have hampered the normal progress of agricultural and forestry work, as well as land management operations”.
Moreover, the “catastrophic effects” of Storm Kristin at the end of January required “the urgent mobilisation of significant resources for emergency civil protection tasks” in the hardest-hit municipalities.
There is also a need to “safeguard the continuation of forestry operations and the clearing of landstrips in the coming months, with an exceptional allocation of material and human resources, given the scale of the devastation”, the statement added.
Source: LUSA
