In 2017 and 2018, Portuguese forests were severely affected by fires. To meet the need for the recovery and rehabilitation of these lands, AMI directed the Ecoética project, existing since 2011, for the reforestation of land destroyed by the fires.

The Ecoética project has as main purpose the rehabilitation of burnt land located throughout the national territory. The land is public or publicly managed and the shares are exclusively conservationist in nature, with no commercial purpose.

Since its beginning, in 2011, the Ecoética project has already allowed the rehabilitation and reforestation of more than 200,000 m² of land. Due to the high area of burnt forest in Portugal, in the summer of 2017, AMI directed its intervention towards burnt forests, having recovered 120,000 m² of land since then, with the planting of around 12,000 trees.

In order to strengthen the relationship between the participants and the intervention sites, all of these are georeferenced, with the geographic coordinates given to donors and / or volunteers. This initiative allows the participants to follow the evolution of the reforestation of the land, also contributing to their surveillance.

If you have any questions or want to know more about the project, send us a message using the form, selecting “Environment” in the “Subject” field”:

• Increase in plant area in Portugal;
• Prevention of impacts associated with the introduction of invasive species;
• Soil preservation;
• Protection of groundwater reserves;
• Improvement of the environmental quality of the intervention areas;
• Promotion of rural and nature tourism;
• Promotion of education, citizenship and environmental responsibility;
• Fire prevention;
• Monitoring and control of the intervention areas;
• Recovery of hard-to-reach areas using drones.

The intervention of 1 m² of land costs approximately €1, including cleaning, preparation of the land, reforestation and subsequent monitoring of the rehabilitated land.

The cost of planting a tree is €10.

You can support our project by making a donation or collaborating as a volunteer in our reforestation interventions.

Post-Fires Ecoética Donation

The intervention value of the land is €1,00/m².

Make a donation: Post-Fire Ecoética

Donation of MEOS points

If you are a MEO customer, you can also contribute through your accumulated points.

Find out how to donate your MEOS for free

Millennium BCP – Adhesion to the Digital Statement

If you are a Millennium BCP customer, and until September 30, for each adhesion to the Digital Statement, Millennium BCP will donate € 1.00 for the action of the Ecoética project in Pinhal de Leiria.

Learn how to exchange paper extracts for trees

Volunteering

Also collaborate as a volunteer by filling out the following form:

You can also help by publicizing this project, thereby contributing to fundraising and recruiting volunteers.

Download and post the images below on your social networks:

Each intervention has 5 phases, including not only the rehabilitation of the burnt terrain, but also the monitoring and follow-up after reforestation. A native tree is planted on 10 m², which is monitored during the first years of planting. Bearing in mind that about 30% of the trees planted die before reaching one year of planting, replanting is ensured.

Intervention area

Fóia (Serra de Monchique), Monchique municipality, Faro district.

Date of intervention

November 22-23, 2019

Context

The interventioned land was severely hit by a forest fire in August 2018, as well as the entire Serra de Monchique. The land is public and belongs to the Municipality of Monchique, being managed by A Nossa Terra Associaton.

Interventioned area

2 hectares

Participants

About 50 volunteers + 20 GreatFlower technicians

Partners and support

Monchique City Council, Grace, MEO, Monchique Water Society, Vale do Lobo Resort, Craft Fair (at Miradouro da Fóia), A Nossa Terra Association and GreatFlower.

Investment

€20.000

Terrain characterization

Located in the western Algarve, Serra de Monchique is the highest point in the Algarve and is characterized by a subtropical humid climate, with mild temperatures, fertile soils and varied vegetation.

The Serra de Monchique is integrated in a structure with high geological interest since, from the carbon shale punch normally prevalent in the region, an alkaline mass of syenites rises, characterized by abrupt but rounded slopes. It is this morphology of the terrain that makes possible the existence of the unique native flora found in the Serra de Monchique. In terms of shrub substrate, native vegetation is predominantly composed of broom, gorse and heather.

As the area of intervention is an area affected by fires, it has the following problems:

1. Lack of medium sized native vegetation. The herbaceous and shrub substrate was already constituted by native vegetation: broom, gorse and heather.
2. Climatic conditions: winds and heavy rains.

The objectives of the Intervention carried out were then the following:

1. Return the Serra de Monchique to its natural state by planting native vegetation.
2. Promote the conservation of biodiversity.
3. Sensitize the population to the need for forest conservation.

Planted species

In the interventioned area, 2,000 trees were planted in accordance with the legal regime applicable to afforestation and afforestation actions (RJAAR) of the land allocated to AMI. Also taking into account the edaphoclimatic conditions of the Serra de Monchique, the species planted were: quercus suber (cork oak), arbutus unedo (arbutus) and castanea sativa (chestnut). Planting was carried out at the contour line with a spacing between trees of 6 meters.

Companies can participate in nature conservation actions, taking advantage of them for team-building initiatives. The companies participating in this modality will be presented with a proposal for organizing the action, with a cost associated with its preparation.

Companies that supported the reforestation action in Monchique in 2019:

• A Nossa Terra Association
• Monchique Municipality
• Grace – Giro 2.1
• MEOS
• Water Society of Monchique
• Vale de Lobo

Parceiro:

• Great Flower

For more information contact us at [email protected]

Give space to nature, participate!

The actions to be developed will be defined and implemented by the forestry associations as they are dependent on scientific and technical criteria. However, you can always request information on the evolution of the land by sending us an email to [email protected] with the coordinates indicated in the certificate of participation. Additionally, AMI may develop actions aimed at citizens.

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