Sustainability is viewed as a core to the EU which means all the countries should follow the same regulations. Portugal is strongly committed to maintaining the rules and implementing them, positioning itself as a reliable partner in delivering EU priorities. Located in the western part of Lisbon metropolitan area, Oeiras is implementing reforms to drive the development of the village towards the path of a sustainable metropolis.The local authorities have been putting significant effort in rehabilitating the fauna and flora to bring back species, that might have gone extinct in the past, and increasing biodiversity. Oeiras is a municipality that places a high priority on the well-being of its citizens and actively participates in initiatives that promote an ideal model of ecological urban development. It has a strategic plantation plan with the goal of making the number of citizens equal to the number of trees (around 170 000) and many projects that span from educating young generations to eradicating invasive species and replacing them with native ones. The project Echoes of Nature is the municipality’s way of handling the local lack of awareness and knowledge in dealing with invasive species, which affect environmental stability and the level of biodiversity in the region. Invasive species often outcompete the native species, leaving the legion more homogeneous, reducing overall ecological diversity, and in some cases, leading to the extinction of indigenous species.
“The project is inspired by cleaning the spaces, but that wasn’t enough, nature needed more. Pollution is a serious problem and it is important to involve the youth by doing something useful. So we were very glad that you are here with us, because it means you can spread awareness in your country. Our dream is that Portugal would have such projects like this in every municipality, meaning nature would bloom to its fullest.”, says Sara Almeida, a biologist in the Environmental Management Division.
The main focus of the project are specific invasive species, which Guilherme, an environmental student, identified through his research as a masters student. He identified every species in the flora and found the leading cause of disturbance in the local ecosystem: The balloon plant.The balloon plant, scientifically known as Asclepias fruticosa, is a plant native to South Africa and is the host of the monarch butterfly, a species that has outcompeted the Aetherie Fritillary (Melitaea aetherie), a butterfly species indigenous to Portugal, that has gone extinct locally in the 1980s.
“These specific species come from South Africa. As most invasive species, they have a huge potential to propagate and colonize at high speed. In this case scenario, it is sometimes hard to control because they are very similar to cotton, by sharing the same ease. When the plants balloon pop, the seeds spread easily around with the help of the wind. As they sow in, they take up much space and the native species, which may be more sensitive, get conquered. This is why such projects and manual work is important, because the plants cannot fight the invasive species.” says Sara, biologist and researcher in masters degree.
As the plant disperses its seeds rapidly with its seed pouches, it eventually overtakes a native plant, Cardo (native thistle plant), which hosts the Aetherie Fritillary. The echoes of nature project is taking great effort in replanting Cardo, giving the extinct butterfly a chance to appear again.
The local council faces many challenges when it comes to fulfilling the core of the project Oeiras Community Valley. They devote so much time to developing educational projects, starting already in primary school. Though the real problem relies on not having the authority to demand changes from the private sector. The government can implement sustainable measures, but if the citizens and the companies or land owners are not fully committed, the municipality’s main goals will not be achieved. That’s why the ideal thing would be for the authorities to have a bigger say in how everyone deals with environmental issues. The municipality has to also keep and the educational and active projects to bring awareness to the whole community.
