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Description
The issue is the vulnerability to rapid flooding could increase considerably in relation to the current situation in Loures. According to the Adaptation Agenda, renaturalization projects have a very high contribution to strategic objective 1-Minimize the Exposure of People and Goods. Similarly, interventions to manage, maintain and renaturalize blue infrastructure, particularly upstream and through urban areas, could contribute to reduce the vulnerability to these events. ReNaturAdapt presents a set of actions to enhance the riverside gallery, acting specifically in reducing or minimizing the risks associated with flood. It also presupposes a set of actions foreseen in the development of decision support tools, capacity building and awareness.
Summary of project results
Initially, public participation actions were planned, but due to the pandemic state they were not able to be carried out. However, informative billboards were developed about each section of water line intervened within the scope of the project, in the respective locality. Additionally, brochures were developed about the intervened sections and distributed among the population.
A training session was carried out with technicians and operators in the water lines sector, with the aim of transmitting knowledge for monitoring the rehabilitation interventions to be carried out and also post-intervention. The training action consisted of creating an experimental nursery on site, which on the one hand allows understanding the evolution and resistance of different species, but also which can serve as a supplier for other places in need of renaturalization. A location was selected close to population clusters, easily accessible and devoid of tree or shrub cover. Thus, the action took place in a water line located in the Parish of Loures, next to Pinheiro de Loures. The training action lasted 1 day, with the participation of three technicians from the Water Lines Sector of the Public Environmental Services Division of the Department of the Environment and three operatives from the Guarda Rios Brigade. The Prosecutor added that, currently, they are developing similar actions in other locations in the municipality. At the local verification meeting, the Promoter stated that, at the time of the local verification, it was possible to observe an evolution in the various natural engineering techniques implemented, with success being more significant in some sections than others. For activity 1 (Renaturalization and Maintenance Work), maintenance work was being carried out on interventions already carried out on the date of the 1st on-site inspection. At the time of the local inspection, the selective pruning cuts had already been completed. The work that is ongoing and will accompany the execution of the project is the cutting and containment of spontaneous, exotic and/or invasive vegetation; the removal of waste from the bed and banks of water courses; irrigation of native vegetation and corrective work following extreme precipitation events. As for the activity 2 (Communication and dissemination), despite having already reached the target defined for the indicator “Number of trees planted”, they carried out the tree planting action on Autochthonous Forest Day (November 23). This action was developed in conjunction with another project financed by EEA Grants (PAB_LivingLab - Vive a decarbonização no Parque Adão Barata). The ReNaturRio Good Practice Guide was also developed. The Promoter informed that several copies had already been produced and were used on a study visit by some classes to the municipality''s water lines, on biodiversity day.
The project promoted the renaturalization of the riverside landscape and the creation of habitat conditions for flora and fauna, improving the hydrological and ecological resilience capacity of the river system in sections of waterways. These are considered priority activities due to the territory''s vulnerability to climate change.