APA and ICNF Clarify the Concept of "Deforestation" for EIA Purposes
The Portuguese Environment Agency and ICNF issued a joint order, dated 15 July 2024, clarifying the concept of "deforestation" for environmental impact assessment purposes.
The Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) and the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF) issued a joint order, dated 15 July 2024, to clarify the concept of "deforestation" under the legal regime for environmental impact assessment (RJAIA), governed by Decree-Law No. 151-B/2013 as amended by Decree-Law No. 11/2023, which transposes Directive 2011/92/EU (as amended by Directive 2014/52/EU).
Clarified definitions
- Deforestation: change of land use from "forest" to any other non-forest land-use class.
- Afforestation: change from a non-forest land-use class to forest land use.
- Tree planting: installation of forest tree species on land not occupied by forest in the last 10 years.
- Reforestation: replanting forest tree species on land previously occupied by forest in the last 10 years.
- Forest: defined under the 6th National Forest Inventory (IFN6) as land with a minimum area of 0.5 hectares, minimum width of 20 metres, trees at least 5 metres tall and a minimum canopy cover of 10%.
The order also clarifies that "conversion to another type of land use" refers to a change in the current use of the land, not to the use planned in territorial management instruments — an important clarification for the correct application of the EIA regime to projects with potential impact on forests.