Cork Oak Forests & Conservation

Portugal is the largest cork producer in the world — about 50% of global cork production comes from here. The Montados (cork oak forests) of the Alentejo are a unique cultural landscape where agriculture and conservation have gone hand in hand for centuries.

The cork oak (Quercus suber) is stripped every nine years — the bark grows back, the tree continues to live, some for over 200 years. The freshly stripped trees with their bright reddish-brown trunks are an iconic image of the Alentejo. Cork is a sustainable natural product: the forests sequester CO₂, provide habitat for endangered species, and prevent soil erosion.

In the Montados live the Iberian lynx (the rarest predator in Europe, with only about 2,000 specimens left in Portugal and Spain), the Iberian imperial eagle, and countless other endangered species. The Parque Natural do Vale do Guadiana in southeastern Alentejo is one of the last refuges of the lynx in Portugal.

Portugal has a nature park system with one national park (Peneda-Gerês in the north, the only one) and 13 nature parks, which together protect almost a quarter of the country's area. The Peneda-Gerês National Park in the extreme northwest is wild and largely untouched: granite rocks, oak forests, wild horses (Garranos), and the last wolves of Portugal live here. Hikers can stay in villages that have changed little over centuries.

Marine Protection

Portugal's marine protected areas are steadily growing. The Azores Marine Protected Area is one of the largest in Europe. The Berlengas Islands off Peniche (mainland) are a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve with one of the largest seabird colonies in Southern Europe. The waters around the Berlengas are an excellent diving area with crystal-clear water and a rich underwater world.

A growing problem is the forest fires, which can reach devastating proportions, especially in summer. The catastrophe of Pedrógão Grande in June 2017, in which 66 people died, was a turning point: since then, Portugal has been investing massively in forest management, firebreaks, and reforestation with native species instead of fire-prone eucalyptus monocultures.