The Sub-Regional Action Programme for the Porto Metropolitan Area (PSA-AMP) is a programming tool for the Integrated Rural Fire Management System and establishes the link between the higher-level tool, the Regional Action Programme (PRA), and the subsidiary tools, the Municipal Implementation Programmes (PME) applicable to the 17 municipalities.

Sub-regional programming identifies the actions included in the National Action Programme (PNA) and the Northern Regional Action Programme (PRA-N), converting them into lines of work applicable to the sub-region, to be carried out at municipal level, and, conversely, capturing the information necessary to support national planning from local implementation, thus being one of the elements for defining priorities and adjusting the strategy and vision contained in the National Plan for Integrated Management of Rural Fires over time. The sub-regional programme, taking into account the reality and specificity of the sub-region, interprets the PRA-N and identifies the projects that will have the greatest impact on the implementation of the sub-regional strategy and the achievement of results (key projects).

In addition to the configuration of projects registered in PRA-N at the levels below, the identification of key projects and the possibility of registering new projects in accordance with the provisions of Article 5(2) of Order 9550/2022, 4 August, the PSA-AMP is also a regulatory instrument, defining the implementation of the secondary network of fuel management lanes.

It is also important to mention the national projects of the PNA, which are not included in this sub-regional programme but, as they have implications for the entire national territory, should also be taken into account in the sub-region's programming. (see: https://dre.pt/dre/detalhe/resolucao-conselho-ministros/45-a-2020-135843143).

The PSA-AMP proceeded to break down the 50 projects included in the PRA-N, applicable at a regional level, followed by an interpretation in terms of lines of work applicable to the North and the AMP sub-region, to which two new projects were also added. In the various Strategic Guidelines, this Programme sets out a series of targets for 2030, of which the following are particularly noteworthy:

- To ensure that the cumulative burned area is less than 28,354 ha.

- To get 80% of forest area certified with sustainable forest management, public management areas and common land (4,364 ha); 30% of areas under private management, with sustainable forest management (30,859 ha).

- To ensure effective management of 67,232 ha of combustible material.

- To ensure that the territory with highest risk of fire is covered by surveillance mechanisms.

- Adoption of best practices by 70% of the population in areas of highest risk.

- Compared to the average (2010-2019), to have 80% fewer ignitions (intentional and negligent) on days with a high risk of fire, during the PSA period.

- To base 100% of strategic decisions at the sub-regional level on probabilistic risk analysis.

As part of the preparation of the PSA-AMP, 12 key projects were also defined, namely those considered to be most transformative and capable of achieve the goal of “protecting Portugal from serious rural fires”.

To achieve these goals, the PSA-AMP proposes a budget of €282,438,700.62, in which the 12 key projects represent, on the one hand, around 31% of the overall budget, and the projects included in Strategic Guidelines (SG) 1 and 2 — respectively, Enhancing and Caring for Rural Areas — represent around 75% of the budget of this PSA - AMP. This distribution reflects a clear paradigm shift, demonstrating the sub-region's collective awareness of the need to direct the North's strategy towards enhancing and preserving the territory. It is also important to highlight the considerable weight of project 2.2.1.3 — Ensuring the management of the sub-region's secondary network of fuel management lanes, included in SG 2, which represents around 65% of the overall budget of the PSA-AMP.

Decree-Law No. 82/2021, of 13 October, establishes the Integrated Rural Fire Management System for mainland Portugal and defines its operating rules. The governance of the system is a fundamental vector, which is closely linked to planning instruments based on the principle of territorial coherence.

The AMP Sub-Regional Commission for Integrated Rural Fire Management was established on 20 January 2022.

Finally, it is worth mentioning the incremental and adaptive nature underlying the PSA-AMP. Incremental because integrated management will require concerted, progressive and continuous decision-making, as it is not possible to solve all problems and take advantage of all opportunities in a single cycle. Adaptive because territorial dynamics and their unpredictability recommend the adoption of flexible planning based on a monitoring and evaluation system that allows, at any given moment, the assessment, correction and reinforcement of the measures/projects in question, in particular, and conversely from the bottom up, during their annual review, capturing the information necessary to support national planning from local implementation, thus being one of the elements for defining priorities and continuously adjusting the strategy and vision contained in the National Plan for Integrated Management of Rural Fires over time.

Therefore, in order to achieve the ultimate goal of “protecting Portugal from serious rural fires” and to ensure efficient multi-level planning and programming, it is necessary to take into account certain aspects following the approval of this Sub-Regional Action Programme, as the AMP, due to its direct responsibility for coordinating the Municipal Commissions for Integrated Rural Fire Management and drawing up the respective Municipal Implementation Programmes, has repeatedly stated, in the following terms:


1. The missing regulations should be published as soon as possible.

2. An adequate financial envelope must be approved for the effective implementation of the actions and competences set out in the AMP and its municipalities.

3. The initiatives, budget and other decisions taken by the Municipal Commissions for Integrated Management of Rural Fires and their Municipal Implementation Programmes must be incorporated into the planned annual review of the PSA-AMP.

Under the terms of the Law, this PSA-AMP is approved by the Sub-Regional Commission for Integrated Management of Rural Fires in the Porto Metropolitan Area, having been subject to the opinion of the Regional Commission for Integrated Management of Rural Fires and forwarded to the Municipal Commissions for Integrated Management of Rural Fires in the area of intervention. The PRA-N document was used as a basis for this project, from which the relevant information for its implementation was extracted.

(...) a key element in the sub-regional effort for the integrated management of rural areas and fire prevention (...)


Enabling provision

Article 34 of Decree-Law No. 82/2021, 13 October, as currently worded.


Reference

Council of Ministers Resolution No. 45-A/2020, 16 June, approving the National Plan for Integrated Management of Rural Fires.

Council of Ministers Resolution No. 71-A/2021, 8 June, approving the PNGIFR National Action Programme (first iteration).

Decree-Law No. 82/2021, 13 October, in its current wording, creating the Integrated Rural Fire Management System.

Order 9550/2022, 4 August, establishing the technical rules for the preparation, public consultation, approval, and content of the planning instruments of the Integrated Rural Fire Management System.