Story
Portugal
Payment for Ecosystem Services Preserves a Valuable Biodiversity Zone in Portugal
N
ature acts as one. And a design for holistic approaches to manage the environment sustainably, while widely recognized, has been difficult to create due to the varied and complex nature of managing the interests in land use. The Baixo Alentejo region in southern Portugal is a showcase that confirms this delicate balance is possible and profitable for all.
According to Portugal, 60 percent of its territory is susceptible to desertification and drought. The Baixo Alentejo region to the south is one of the most vulnerable areas in the country. Soil erosion and low fertility are common, and extreme climatic events are becoming more frequent in the form of floods, droughts, and heat waves. Castro Verde, a rural semiarid and subhumid zone in Baixo Alentejo, has shallow and stony soils. Up to 80 percent of Castro Verde’s soils are less than 20 centimeters deep, of which more than 40 percent are stones and gravel. There is a high risk of soil erosion and the soil’s water-retention capacity is less than 40 millimeters. But these constraints mask the area’s high biodiversity value. In 1995, Birdlife International listed it as an Important Bird Area (IBA). In 1999, the European Commission recognized it as a Special Protection Area for Birds (SPA) in the Natura 2000 Network. The Castro Verde SPA is about 85,000 hectares. It is the most important and representative area for the conservation of steppe birds in Portugal, and one of the most important in Europe, because of its diversity and abundance of endangered species. These endangered species include the great bustard, the little bustard, the lesser kestrel, the black-bellied sangrouse, the Montagu’s harrier, and the Calandra lark.
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UNCCD . World Bank
