Last updated: March 2025
FoodLink, a network for food transition in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (LMA), aims to create sustainable, competitive, and resilient agri-food systems closely integrated with regional and local spatial planning. The network's goals are to promote food security, economic and energy efficiency, environmental sustainability, and socio-territorial cohesion by 2030. The network seeks to ensure that by 2030, 15% of the metropolitan area's food supply is secured locally through sustainable production methods, innovative solutions in water management, soil conservation, climate adaptation, and low-carbon distribution networks involving community gardens, urban allotments, and agricultural spaces within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. (Ref 2)
FoodLink Team
https://www.ccdr-lvt.pt/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Relatorio-Enquadrador-FoodLink_27_07_2022_Eng.pdf
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Community gardens and allotments
- Allotments
- Horticulture
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change mitigation
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Improving physical health
- Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
- Sustainable production
- Food scarcity / security
Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)
- Land use and Socio-economic change
- Agriculture/ crop production
- Resource Scarcity and Competition
- Food insecurity due to disruptions in food production and distribution
- Over-exploitation of natural resources (water resources, overgrazing, fisheries, mangroves, fore products)
Key priorities
Climate action (adaptation and/or mitigation), Social Justice and community
Focus
Strategy, plan or policy development, Implementation of city-wide or neighborhood initiatives focused on biodiverity protection (e.g. bee-friendly initiatives, butterfly protection, "Spring cleaning")
Project objectives
1. Secure approximately 15% of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area’s (LMA) food supply locally by 2030 through sustainable production methods, including organic farming, integrated protection, and agroecology (Ref 1).
2. Implement innovative solutions in areas such as water management for irrigation, reduction of phytopharmaceuticals, soil conservation, and climate adaptation (Ref 1).
3. Develop low-carbon distribution networks and proximity food circuits to minimize environmental impacts and promote food safety and inclusion (Ref 4).
4. Enhance the socio-ecological and economic valorization of the region, strengthening urban-rural synergies (Ref 5).
5. Create innovative opportunities for recreation, gastronomic, and cultural tourism across the LMA (Ref 5).
6. Promote social cohesion by reducing food waste and improving nutrition and food security within the metropolitan area (Ref 3).
Implementation activities
1. Implement organic farming, agroecology, and integrated protection to reduce environmental impact (Ref 1).
2. Develop efficient irrigation and soil conservation practices to address water scarcity and enhance resilience (Ref 1).
3. Minimize phytopharmaceuticals to protect biodiversity and reduce pollution (Ref 1).
4. Establish local food circuits to reduce the carbon footprint and support local economies (Ref 4).
5. Foster connections between urban and rural areas through green infrastructure and local food supply chains (Ref 5).
6. Create gastronomic and cultural tourism opportunities linked to sustainable food practices (Ref 5).
7. Implement strategies to minimize waste across the food chain, enhancing efficiency and food security (Ref 3).
8. Engage communities in food production to enhance social cohesion and inclusion (Ref 3).
9. Conduct education and training programs to promote sustainable food practices (Ref 1).
10. Promote this sustainable and healthy diet (Ref 1).
11. Engage with national and international networks to share knowledge and international networks to share knowledge and best practices (Ref 6).
Climate-focused activities
Climate change mitigation:
- Improve agricultural practices (e.g. cover cropping, no-till farming, improved manure management) to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and increase carbon storage in soils.
Main beneficiaries
- Local government/Municipality
- Citizens or community groups
- Food producers and cultivators (i.e. farmers, gardeners)
Governance
Management set-up
- Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Regional government
- Local government/municipality
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
- Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
There is co-governance between government actors like the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (LMA) and the Commission for Coordination and Regional Development of Lisbon and Tagus Valley (CCDR-LVT), who oversee policy integration and regional planning, and non-government actors, including research institutions, local development associations, businesses, and citizen organisations, who contribute through research, community engagement, and implementation of sustainable practices. (Ref 2)
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Yes
(EU Level and International Level: the European Green Deal, particularly the "Farm to Fork" strategy, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations,)
... a national policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a local policy or strategy?
Yes
(Lisbon Regional Strategy 2030 and the Metropolitan Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change (Ref 1, Ref 2). the Biodiversity Strategy 2030, and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan 2023-2027. (Ref 1; 2))
Type of enablers
City network or regional partnerships focused on climate change, sustainability, GI or NBS in the city, Other
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
- Public local authority budget
- Public national budget
- Public regional budget
- EU funds
Type of funding
- Earmarked public budget
- Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Climate change
- Enhanced carbon sequestration
- Expected enhanced carbon sequestration
- Environmental quality
- Improved soil quality
- Expected improved soil quality
- Green space and habitat
- Increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
- Expected increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
Economic impacts
- Generation of other type of work opportunities (e.g. voluntary, work for rehabilitation)
- Expected generation of other type of work opportunities (e.g. voluntary, work for rehabilitation)
- Increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
- Expected increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved social cohesion
- Expected improved social cohesion
- Other
Type of reported impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
Yes
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
Yes
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Potential risks of implementation and trade-offs
Unknown
References
1.
Metropolitan Area Lisbon (2023). Food transition network. Accessed on August 21, 2024, [Source link];
2.
FoodLink (2022). FoodLink Strategic Framework. Accessed on August 21, 2024, [Source link];
3.
Oliveira, R. (2022). FoodLink—A Network for Driving Food Transition in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. Research Group SHIFT—Environment, Territory and Society, Accessed on August 21, 2024, [Source link];
4.
Forum das Cidades (2022). FoodLink: Network for Food Transition in AML. Lisbon: Accessed on August 21, 2024, [Source link];
5.
Mafra Municipality (2022). Foodlink Strategy. Mafra: Accessed on August 21, 2024, [Source link];
6.
CCDRLVT (2023). FOODLINK – Network for food transition in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area – Activity report. Lisbon: Accessed on August 21, 2024, [Source link];
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.