Last updated: March 2025
The Monsanto Forest Park Management Plan focuses on enhancing the Monsanto Forest Park as an urban ecosystem, thereby improving ecological health and biodiversity while promoting sustainable resource use and integration with urban areas. Key interventions include managing invasive species, preventing forest fires, and supporting native habitats. The plan also aims to improve recreational and educational facilities, reduce automobile traffic, and enhance public accessibility. It aims to cover conservation efforts, recreational use and urban integration as well as promoting the park as a model for sustainable urban forestry. The implementation is overseen by the Lisbon City Council. (Ref 1,4). In 2021, this historic urban forest received the Forest Management Recertification under the Forest Stewardship Council®, "the most important global certification in terms of environmental compliance of forestry operations (Ref. 6).
Parque Florestal de Monsanto
https://informacoeseservicos.lisboa.pt/contactos/diretorio-da-cidade/parque-florestal-de-monsanto
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Parks and urban forests
- Large urban parks or forests
Key challenges
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Habitat and biodiversity restoration
- Habitat and biodiversity conservation
- Regeneration, land-use and urban development
- Regulation of built environment
- Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)
- Climate-Related Hazards
- Heat stress & Extreme temperatures
- Forest fires and wildfires
- Environmental Degradation
- Biodiversity loss
- Invasive alien species
- Health, Well-being and Social cohesion
- Physical health harm (from pollution, wildfire, extreme temperature)
Key priorities
Biodiversity (conservation and/or restoration), Social Justice and community
Focus
Maintenance and management of urban nature, Urban reforestation, restoration of street trees, Protection of natural ecosystems, Habitat restoration, Habitat conservation, Monitoring and maintenance of habitats and/or biodiversity, Species-specific monitoring and conservation programs
Project objectives
- Improve the environmental sustainability of the Monsanto forest and enhance it's biodiversity conservation (Ref. 1).
- Represent a linking element to the Municipal Plan of Forest Defence against forest fires in Lisbon (Ref. 7).
- Address the pressures placed by urban expansion in the forest (Ref. 8).
- Reconnect the park and the city and foster closer relationship between the park and the urban environment;
- Research and address environmental challenges and understand the dynamics of the park and people;
- Promote environmental awareness and environmental public education about urban forestry;
- Implement management strategies for the multipurpose of the park balancing recreational, ecological, and aesthetic values;
- Continue and complete the expropriation process and remove incompatible private property;
- Strengthen park identity, information distribution and infrastructure (Ref 1)
Implementation activities
1. Biodiversity Management Programs
- Monitor biodiversity and ecological health.
- Restore habitats and control invasive species.
- Reforest areas with native species.
2. Sustainable Forest Management
- Conduct tree thinning and pruning.
- Establish firebreaks and implement fire monitoring.
3. Infrastructure Development
- Maintain trails and recreational facilities.
- Create educational centers and signage.
4. Public Engagement and Education
- Launch biodiversity awareness campaigns.
- Engage communities in planning processes.
5. Legal and Administrative Actions
- Complete land expropriation for public ownership.
- Acquire additional state lands.
6. Urban Integration
- Enhance access points and reduce park traffic.
7. Capacity Building and Training
- Train park staff in sustainable practices.
- Partner with academic institutions.
8. Protecting Traditional Knowledge
- Integrate traditional practices into management.
9. Enhancing Park Identity
- Improve signage and visitor infrastructure.
The management plan addresses critical issues by controlling invasive species, restoring habitats, implementing sustainable forestry, and enhancing public engagement, ensuring biodiversity conservation, forest health, community involvement, and urban integration.
(Ref 1, 4)
Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities
Biodiversity conservation:
- Protect and enhance urban habitats
- Preserve and strengthen existing habitats and ecosystems
- Reduce negative impacts and avoid the alteration/damage of ecosystem
- Protect species
- Undertake specific measures to protect species
- Undertake specific measures to protect native species
- Control and clean invasive alien species
- Means for conservation governance
- Manage biological resources for conservation and sustainable use
- Raise public awareness
Biodiversity restoration:
- Rehabilitate and restore damaged or destroyed ecosystems
- Restore species (native, endangered, or unspecified)
- Restore native species
- Clear and control invasive alien species
- Public engagement
Main beneficiaries
- Local government/Municipality
- Citizens or community groups
Governance
Management set-up
- Government-led
Type of initiating organisation
- Local government/municipality
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
The Parque Florestal de Monsanto is managed by the Municipality of Lisbon, which is responsible for overseeing the implementation and enforcement of the management plan in larger cooperation with the national government of Portugal in line with forest management law. Furthermore, research institutions are included as some research is being done in the forest in addition to the involvement of public sector institutions and private owners as facilities are managed (or expropriated) by (or from) them (Ref 1).
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
No
... a national policy or strategy?
Yes
(- Lei de Bases da Política Florestal, National Forest policy, policies on the prevention of forest fires (Ref. 1))
... a local policy or strategy?
Yes
(- Plano Regional de Ordenamento Florestal (Ref. 1))
Type of enablers
Governance innovations (such as public private partnerships)
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
- Public local authority 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
Type of non-financial contribution
- Provision of labour
- Provision of expertise
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
- Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Climate change
- Lowered local temperature
- Expected lowered local temperature
- Enhanced carbon sequestration
- Expected enhanced carbon sequestration
- Environmental quality
- Improved air quality
- Expected improved air quality
Economic impacts
- Unknown
Socio-cultural impacts
- Health and wellbeing
- Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Expected gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Education
- Increased support for education and scientific research
- Expected increased support for education and scientific research
- Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
- Expected increased knowledge of locals about local nature
Type of reported impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
No
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No
Potential risks of implementation and trade-offs
Lack of social acceptance, Other
References
1.
Lisbon Municipality (2020). Plano De Gestao Florestral Do Parque Florestral De Monsanto. Lisbon: Lisboa Gov, Accessed on August 1, 2024, [Source link];
2.
Lisbon Municipality (2020). FGC and MPGC networks in the Monsanto Forest Park. Accessed on August 1, 2024, [Source link];
3.
Oppla (n.d.). Lisbon: Nature-based Solutions (NbS) Enhancing Resilience through Urban Regeneration. Accessed on August 2, 2024, [Source link];
4.
Portuguese Association of Historic Gardens (n.d.). Monsanto Forest Park. Accessed on August 1, 2024, [Source link];
5.
Grilo, T. (2014). Monsanto Forest Park. Historical evolution and contribution to its management. Lisbon: Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Accessed on August 2, 2024, [Source link];
6.
Câmara Municipal de Lisboa (n.d.). Parque Florestal de Monsanto. [Source link];
7.
Comissão Municipal de Defesa da Floresta (2019). PLANO MUNICIPAL DE DEFESA DA FLORESTA CONTRA INCÊNDIOS DE LISBOA. Lisboa: p. 1-150 Accessed on August 7, 2024, [Source link];
8.
Redacção (2023). Parque Florestal de Monsanto: urbanismo continua a pressionar pulmão da cidade. Accessed on August 7, 2024, [Source link];
9.
Camara Municipal de Lisboa (n.d.). Public consultation of the forest management plan. Lisboa: Accessed on August 7, 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.