1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Sintra
Region
Europe
Native title of the NBS intervention
Recuperação Florestal e Ambiental da Tapada do Mouco
Short description of the intervention
A group of companies, coordinated by Citigroup and framed by the Sintra-Monte da Lua and Naturlink Parks, met to promote the environmental recovery of the Tapada do Mouco by rehabilitating the plant diversity in the area and removing invasive species in 2001.
The action took place when more than a hundred volunteers from the sponsoring companies triggered Tapada's recovery work” “selective cleaning of invasive alien species and afforestation with native trees and shrubs, such as oaks, ash, willows, arbutus, hazelnuts and holm oaks.” (1,2)
Address

Parque Pena
Sintra
Portugal

Location
Point location, which indicates where the NBS takes place
Total area
450000.00m²
NBS area
450000.00m²
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Natural Heritage Area/Untouched nature
Website of the intervention
http://naturlink.pt/article.aspx?menuid=3&cid=3440&bl=1&viewall=true
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
2001
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2001
End date of the intervention
2001
Present stage of the intervention
Completed
Goals of the intervention
- Rehabilitate the biological diversity of Tapada do Mouco in the Natural park of Sintra.
- Remove invasive species such as the Acacia tree which has easily spread in the area due to its high adaptability.
- Reverse the situation to its former bio-species make up native to the region: “recover the flora and fauna of the Tapada and to use it later for actions of environmental education, forest experimentation and outdoor activities.” (ref 1)
Complete rehabilitation of the Tapada do Mouco part of the park.

Quantitative targets
unknown
Monitoring indicators defined
Amount of invasive species removed from the area. (ref 1)
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Habitat and biodiversity restoration
Green space creation and/or management
Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
Environmental education
Cultural heritage and cultural diversity
Preservation of natural heritage
What types of restoration goals are / were defined for the NBS intervention?
Species-focused
Ecosystem-focused
What activities are implemented to realize the restoration goals and targets?
Rehabilitate and restore damaged or destroyed ecosystems
Restore species (native, endangered, or unspecified)
Restore native species
Clear and control invasive alien species
Public engagement
Implementation activities
“Launch of this action - Action: Tapada do Mouco 2001 - took place on November 14, 2001, when more than a hundred volunteers from the sponsoring companies (remember that we are living the International Year of Volunteering), framed By technicians from the Sintra-Monte da Lua Parks, triggered Tapada's recovery work”
“selective cleaning of invasive alien species and afforestation with native trees and shrubs, such as oaks, ash, willows, arbutus, hazelnuts and holm oaks.” (1)
Type of NBS project
Creation of new green areas
Ecological restoration of ecosystems
Protection of natural ecosystems
Knowledge creation and awareness raising
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Parks and urban forests
Large urban parks or forests
Vegetation Type
Shrubs
Trees
Other
Please specify how many trees were planted
Unknown
Amenities offered by the NBS
Unknown
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Regulating services
Other
Habitat and supporting services
Habitats for species
Maintenance of genetic diversity
Pest and disease control
Cultural services
Intellectual interactions (scientific and / or educational)
Please specify "other regulating service"
Regulation of plant species in area.
Scale
Spatial scale
Meso-scale: Regional, metropolitan and urban level
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Local government/Municipality
Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)
Marginalized groups
Young people and children
Marginalized groups
Socio-economically disadvantaged populations (e.g. low-income households, unemployed)
Governance
Governance arrangements
Led by non-government actors
Non-government actors
Public sector institution (e.g. school or hospital)
Private sector/Corporate/Business
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
“A group of companies coordinated by Citigroup - GalpEnergia , Grupo SAG , Grupo Sonae , PT Comunicações , Tejo Energia , Unicer and Vieira de Almeida Advogados - is sponsoring the recovery of Tapada do Mouco, with the promotion and support of the Naturlink portal and support Official of the League for the Protection of Nature .” The initiative works within the framework of the overall plan for forest and environmental recovery of the parks and covered areas of the Sierra de Sintra." (ref 1)
Key actors - initiating organization
Business association or network
Private sector/corporate actor/company
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
Local government/municipality
Non-government organisation/civil society
Private sector/corporate actor/company
Citizens or community group
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Taskforce groups
Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy
Unknown
NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan
Unknown
NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan
Yes
Please specify the "local regulation/strategy/plan"
The initiative works within the framework of the "General PLan for forest and environmnetal recovery" (plano geral de recuperação florestal e ambiental dos parques) an overall plan for forest and environmental recovery of the parks and covered areas of the Sierra de Sintra. (ref 1)
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Voluntary (spontaneous)
Enablers
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS vision/strategy/plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
The initiative works within the framework of the overall plan - "General PLan for forest and environmental recovery" (plano geral de recuperação florestal e ambiental dos parques) - for forest and environmental recovery of the parks and covered areas of the Sierra de Sintra. (ref 1)
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS section/part in a more general plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
If there is a relevant strategy or plan, please specify the theme / type of the plan.
City specific green space strategy or plan
Municipal / city level environmental plan or programme
Please specify other vegetation type
Afforestation with native trees and shrubs, such as oaks, ash, willows, arbutus, hazelnuts and holm oaks.” (1)
Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
The intervention emerged from the partnership of several companies aiming to recover the flora of the Tapada do Mouco. The companies are also supported by the League for the Protection of Nature, a regional NGO that works to protect the environement in the Iberian peninsula. (ref 1 and 2)
Presence of GI / NBS research project - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
“the Sintra Parks Research and Experimentation Center , which is being set up bringing together technicians from the Sintra - Monte da Lua Parks, the Higher Institute of Agronomy and the League for the Protection of Nature” will carry out the experimental techniques for flora recovery. (ref 1)
Subsidies/investment for GI / NBS in the city - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
Private companies coordinated to partake in the action contributed.
Maintenance actions and investment necessary to maintain World heritage status. (ref 1)
Co-finance for NBS
Unknown
Co-financing governance arrangements
Unknown
Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?
Unknown
What are the total amount of expected annual maintenance costs?
Unknown
What is the expected annual maintenance costs of the NBS or GI elements?
Unknown
Please specify cost savings
Unknown
Please specify total cost (EUR)
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
Unknown
Type of fund(s) used
Unknown
Non-financial contribution
Yes
Type of non-financial contribution
Provision of land
Provision of goods
Provision of labour
Provision of expertise
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
Public authorities (e.g. land, utility services)
Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
Private sector (businesses, financial institution)
Business models
Green densification model
Urban offsetting model (biodiversity or water)
Green heritage model
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Public actor (e.g. municipality)
Private for-profit actor (e.g. firm, insurer)
Citizens / local communities
Type of innovation
Social
Governance innovation
Please specify social innovation
The intervention is highlighted for the action taken by Civil Society and business bodies to contribute to the preservation of the environment and World Heritage landscape, “we believe that an action triggered and supported by this group of entities can be exemplary, contributing to what is desired to be a growing involvement of civil society in solving concrete environmental problems in our country.” (ref 1)
Novelty level of the innovation
Unknown
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
Unknown
Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Green space and habitat
Reduced biodiversity loss
Improved prevention or control of invasive alien species
Description of environmental benefits
Considering the site kept its UNESCO status as a World Heritage protected area, the NBS was successful: biodiversity of the area was restored by controlling the invasive species of acacia, which has a very regenerative capacity (1, 3).
Economic impacts
Unknown
Description of economic benefits
Unknown
Social and cultural impacts
Unknown
Description of social and cultural benefits
Unknown
Type of reported impacts
Achieved impacts
Indicators
Unknown
Environmental, social and economic impacts
Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Regeneration, land-use and urban development
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
Voluntary work opportunities
Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?
No information was found regarding negative impacts of the project
COVID-19 pandemic
Unknown as of August 2020.
Methods of impact monitoring
Process of recording NBS impacts
No evidence in public records
Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS
Unknown
Evidence for use of assessment
Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process
Yes
Presence of indicators used in reporting
Yes
Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports
Yes
Link to monitoring/evaluation reports
http://whc.unesco.org/en/soc/2571
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Impact assessment mechanism
Name of any specific impact assessment tools
Calculation of the total volume of Acacia melanoxylon R. Br. in the Tapada do Mouco (Serra de Sintra) [Portugal]] [1999]
Link to the output of assessments
http://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?recordID=PT2001000132
Use of GIS in mapping impacts
No evidence in public records
Citizen involvement
Citizens involvement in assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Unknown
References
Web links relevant to the intervention
Recuperação Florestal e Ambiental da Tapada do Mouco – Sintra.
LPN, Presentation
UNESCO, Sintra - Cultural landscape
List of references
1. Naturlink (2001), Recuperação Florestal e Ambiental da Tapada do Mouco – Sintra, Available at http://naturlink.pt/article.aspx?menuid=3&cid=3440&bl=1&viewall=true (Accessed 23-6-2020)

2. LPN (2012), Presentation, Available at http://www.lpn.pt/Homepage/A-LPN/Sobre-a-LPN/Apresentacao/Content.aspx?tabid=2371&code=pt (Accessed 23-6-2020)

3. UNESCO: World Heritage Convention (2010), Cultural Landscape of Sintra, Available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/soc/?action=list&id_search_properties=723 (Accessed 23-6-2020)
Comments and notes
Additional insights
It seems this is a rather often intervention, usually based on volunteers. For example in 2017 there was a similar action:
http://riodasmacas.blogspot.com/2017/10/menos-acacias-infestantes-na-tapada-do_13.html
Pictures of the NBS
/sites/default/files/nbs/images/tapada_do_mouco.jpg