Mortágua is one of the 14 municipalities in the Coimbra region that is part of the RESIST project, which aims to increase the resilience of territories in the face of climate change, particularly the risk of rural forest fires.

In the case of Mortágua, the project focuses on the village of Painçal and the implementation of a “Village Condominium”, with forestry operations planned (creation of fuel management strips to protect the village) and changes to land use and occupation by planting native species that are more resilient to fires in these strips. In this way, the aim is to ensure greater resilience of the population to rural fires and, consequently, to increase the safety of people and property.

During 2023, several actions have already been carried out, such as a site visit to collect data/information, and an awareness-raising workshop to publicise the project among residents and liaise with landowners about the type of interventions to be carried out. This project is being monitored and supported by the municipality’s Technical-Forestry Office, with the collaboration of the Painçal Residents and Friends Association. The actions on the ground will take place throughout this year and cover an intervention area of 10.1 hectares.

RESIST is a five-year project funded by the European Union (European Horizon Programme) involving twelve areas of Europe, which arose from the need to make regions more resilient.

RESIST is a five-year project funded by the European Union (European Horizon Programme) involving twelve areas of Europe, which arose from the need to make regions more resilient in the face of emerging environmental challenges.

The Centre of Portugal is one of the four leading regions in the project, with Coimbra being one of the demonstration territories as part of the mission to adapt to climate change, as well as the Médio Tejo region.

In the Coimbra region, innovative solutions will be tested that focus on improving the participatory and governance model of the AIGP (Integrated Landscape Management Areas) and the Village Condominiums, with the aim of promoting the improvement of existing vegetation structures combined with the reduction of fuel loads, in order to increase resilience to rural fires in these locations. These activities will be developed by CIM-Região de Coimbra, in partnership with the Centre’s Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDRC), CoLAB ForestWISE®, the municipalities involved and local agents.