For the first time in its history, Portugal has approved an ambitious plan that establishes the conservation and sustainability of pollinators as a national strategic priority. Entitled “Polinizadores em Ação” (Pollinators in Action), the plan introduces a specific measure to integrate citizen-generated data into decision-making and environmental compliance assurance. This measure seeks to ensure that citizen-generated data on pollinators is recognised and utilised in the official planning, management and evaluation of public policies concerning nature conservation, agriculture, spatial planning and environmental education. A specific target is set to include data from at least two citizen science projects, namely the Portuguese Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (launched by the NGO Tagis-Portuguese Butterfly Conservation Centre in 2019) and the Network of Moth Stations (created in 2021) into decision-making and environmental compliance assurance by 2035.
The Plan highlights more4nature as a flagship project, positioned as a model for how to support citizens to become central actors in collaborative environmental compliance assurance. The Plan’s development was a collaborative process developed via the PolinizAÇÃO project, in close collaboration between the polli.NET network and the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF), the national authority with key responsibilities for nature conservation. The PolinizAÇÃO project and the ICNF are key stakeholders in the more4nature national case study on pollinators conservation in Portugal, facilitated by partners from the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Lisbon.
“The plan introduces a specific measure to integrate citizen-generated data into decision-making and environmental compliance assurance“
The Portuguese Environmental Fund will provide 2 million euros that should be used in 2026 and 2027 to support the implementation of the Plan’s priority actions. This Plan will contribute to the Portuguese National Plan for Nature Restoration and to the European goal of reversing the decline of pollinators by 2030.
Four objectives for pollinator conservation
Portugal is home to a vast diversity of pollinators, including bees, butterflies, hoverflies and various other insects. Their presence within both natural and urban environments underpins plant reproduction, sustaining ecological balance and food production chains alike. However, pollinator populations are currently facing a sharp global decline. This is primarily driven by habitat loss resulting from changes to land use and the intensification of human activities, alongside the pressures of climate change, the spread of invasive species, and pollution.
The development of this Plan started in September 2023, and it has now been launched with the following four strategic objectives:
- To promote and consolidate scientific knowledge, monitoring and innovation relating to pollinators and their habitats.
- Apply knowledge and promote sustainable and integrated land management practices to create multifunctional landscapes favourable to pollinators.
- Mobilise and empower society through education, communication and active participation in pollinator conservation.
- Effectively integrate pollinator conservation into public policies and secure the necessary funding for their implementation.
The plan entered into force across Portugal, including the Azores and Madeira, in March 2026. It will remain in force for 10 years with an adaptive approach, and it will be reviewed after five years in 2030.
Citizen science and ECA in the Plan
The Plan is structured around 30 actions across various domains, each defined by specific measures and targets. Citizen science is explicitly integrated in at least six of these actions. Notably, the Plan highlights the usage of citizen-led data as a formal tool for environmental compliance assurance and decision-making. The key actions and objectives related to citizen science include the following:
- Action 4 – Strengthening existing citizen science programs like the Portuguese Butterfly Monitoring Scheme and the Network of Moth Stations. The target is to have two national citizen science programs fully operational and maintained by 2026.
- Action 8 – Creating of an open data repository, a centralized platform to systematize pollinator data, merging academic research and official inventories with citizen science contributions.
- Action 22 – Raising public awareness of the importance of pollinators and pollination with citizen science projects and community initiatives as a golden opportunity for civic engagement.
- Action 23 – Promoting citizen science to gather information on pollinators, encouraging the co-creation at least 5 established and supported citizen science initiatives by 2030 and 5 more by 2035.
- Action 24 – Promoting strategic and ongoing funding for both mandatory monitoring and at least five citizen science projects that remain fully operational through multi-annual financial support and legal safeguards.
- Action 29 – Promoting strategic planning and cooperation by integrating citizen science data from at least two projects into decision-making and environmental compliance assurance by 2035.
