Fire-smart villages: Portugal's Coimbra region reshapes eucalyptus landscapes

In the Coimbra Metropolitan Region of central Portugal, authorities are creating belts of less flammable vegetation around villages to reduce the damage wildfires can cause. The work is carried out under RESIST, a project funded by Horizon Europe, the EU's research and innovation programme. One example is Painçal, a village in the municipality of Mortágua, where around seven hectares of eucalyptus plantations have been converted into areas of native species. Eucalyptus is a fast-growing tree planted widely across central Portugal, and much of the local economy is tied to it.

Why land around villages matters

In the Coimbra region, combustible vegetation runs almost unbroken across the landscape, so a fire that starts meets little resistance. Most land is privately owned, often by people who lack the time or resources to manage it, which makes regular work difficult. The region therefore aims to manage the landscape before fires begin, not only to fight them.

The project has introduced "Village Condominiums" (Condomínios de Aldeia): fuel breaks around settlements where vegetation is reduced or changed. Project teams say these will not stop wildfires from starting or spreading. They do break the continuity of vegetation, reduce a fire's intensity and severity, and give firefighters better conditions to protect people and homes.

Nothing happens without the owners

On private land, replacing vegetation with more resilient species depends on the owner's consent. Where owners decline, teams can only do what the law allows: control undergrowth and thin trees, which still reduces the amount of material available to burn. In Painçal, residents and landowners were invited to a workshop before work began to discuss how the landscape could change.

Using teams already in place

The region drew on existing resources, notably its two forest firefighter teams. The project's aims are to protect people and property, improve forest management and make the landscape more resilient to climate change.

Vegetation grows back, and without regular management land can become hazardous again within a relatively short time. Owners remain responsible for maintaining their plots, so raising their awareness of that role is a core part of the project.