Main challenges in the monitoring of habitats and species of Community Interest in Portugal

Abstract

The monitoring of species and habitats, common practices in biology studies, has assumed progressive importance in the European Union since the nineties, greatly encouraged by the Habitats Directive. Currently, Member States are required to monitor the conservation status of species and habitats classified under this Directive, a process that is reported every 6 years. However, both evaluation and biological monitoring require not only the availability of basic information, but also the existence of scientifically tested and standardized methodologies, in order to be comparable between territories. In Portugal, the lack of a proper strategy and regular funding has resulted in a poor monitoring, based mostly on expert opinion, from researchers of a few Portuguese universities.