The Peneda-Gerês National Park is the first protected area created in Portugal (in 1971) and the only one with the status of a national park and, in 2024, the anniversary of its creation will be held in the village of Pitões das Júnias, in the municipality of Montalegre, in the district of Vila Real.

Today, in a statement, the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF) said that "celebrating this heritage is celebrating all those who, over time, have contributed to its preservation, maintenance and appreciation".

"This initiative aims to strengthen the articulation and cooperation between all the agents in the territory, consolidating the feeling of belonging and ownership by the community and, consequently, the involvement of everyone in the greater objective of safeguarding and protection", it added.

In this sense, it added that the Co-management Commission of the Peneda-Gerês National Park is promoting an open day on Wednesday to commemorate these "53 years of history, nature and culture".

The programme includes guided tours of the Iberian Wolf Interpretation Centre in Pitões das Júnias, the Poço das Rãs peat bog and the oak forest management project in the Baldio de Covelães.

Opened in January, the interpretation centre pays homage to the Iberian wolf and invites visitors to learn about this protected species, its habitat, the legends and the traps. The peat bogs are a wetland ecosystem, formed by thick layers of partially decomposed organic matter, which has formed slowly over thousands of years, and which provide very relevant ecosystem services, particularly in the context of climate change, such as water retention, carbon sequestration and biodiversity refuge.

According to the ICNF, the open day will also include the presentation of the Branda Científica de São Bento do Cando project and the signing of a cooperation protocol for scientific research in this territory, a "living and dynamic laboratory of biodiversity, of great scientific and conservationist interest".

This project, according to the institute, configures "an important platform to support scientific research of an international and interdisciplinary nature, focused on the conservation and restoration of nature and biodiversity, as well as on the relationships between nature and society, namely in the management of resources and ecosystem services".

"In the context of the climate emergency and the loss of biodiversity and geodiversity, it is essential to enhance the contribution of science and knowledge, not only in mitigating impacts, but also in increasing innovative approaches to the integrated, cohesive and sustainable development of the territory", it stressed.

With approximately 70,000 hectares of area, the National Park was recognised as a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO and, according to the ICNF, it contains "a unique legacy that combines exceptional biodiversity and geodiversity and a cultural heritage full of ancestral traditions".

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