Portugal's environmental agency faces criticism over river work and adopts new beach rules

The municipal council of Abrantes condemned an unlicensed intervention on the Ribeira de Alcolobre, describing a 300‑metre stretch of dredging, reinforcement of protection banks and near‑total removal of river‑bank vegetation. Council member Manuel Jorge Valamatos said the APA had no licensing process for the work, which appears linked to the installation of an intensive olive orchard on a newly acquired farm, though neither the municipality nor the agency had prior knowledge.

In a separate move, the Portuguese government approved revisions to the coastal management programme for the Ovar‑Marinha Grande stretch, covering about 140 km of coastline. Prepared by the Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente with a consultative commission, the update creates and reclassifies several beaches, aiming to improve safety, accessibility and protect coastal ecosystems from erosion. Minister of Environment and Energy Maria da Graça Carvalho said the changes are needed to meet “the increasingly demanding challenges faced by the Portuguese coast”.