Monitoring Net Land Take: Is Mainland Portugal on Track to Meet the 2050 Target?

Abstract

This study discusses the situation of mainland Portugal concerning the achievement of the European “no net land take” target by 2050. This target aims to curb land take by increasing the recycling of developed land and offsetting the consumption of undeveloped land by re-naturalizing an equivalent area of artificial land. Setting targets and interventions in each country to reach this goal requires monitoring land take, developed land recycling, and re-naturalization. This study assesses these processes in mainland Portugal, by NUTS III regions, for the first time, analyzing the land cover/land use changes that occurred between 2007 and 2018. In this period, the land take rate in mainland Portugal amounted to 7.2 ha/day. Re-naturalization and recycling of developed land were 1.0 and 0.2 ha/day, respectively, showing the shortage of their practices on the mainland. During said period, mainland Portugal and most of its regions experienced a reduction in population and an increase in artificial land, revealing low efficiency in urban land use. Since Portuguese legislation does not mention the European target, we believe that most decision-makers are unaware of it or have little knowledge of the practices that can contribute to its fulfillment. In this regard, the study aims to raise awareness among policymakers and public authorities about the need to limit, mitigate, and compensate for land take and to set land take targets for different levels of action. In addition, it describes how some European countries and regions are evaluating the same processes and approaching the goal under consideration.