Public Interest Trees: History or Politics?
[Online]
29 October 2020 · 18h00-20h00
Abstract
Portuguese heritage includes a vast arboreal heritage with a great variety of species. Some of these are classified, by the state, as public interest.
This paper addresses the issue of individual tree protection in Portugal, specifically in the city of Lisbon. To answer this problem it is necessary to study the existing legislation (1914, 1938 and 2012); review and assess the conservation status of classified trees of "public interest" of the city; understand the criteria set by the certification agency of the Environment ministry: the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forestry (ICNF).
A big problem is the lack of knowledge of people regarding botany. A better management of the network of heritage trees could help resolve the issue of “plant blindness”.
About the speaker
Ignacio García-Pereda is a member of CIUHCT/ULisboa. His interests are focused on forest history and on the history of gardening, engineering and agrarian products industry. He has coordinated several projects about the cultural history of the cork and fruit sectors, in Portugal, Spain and France. One of his last books is Mais e Melhor Fruta: Uma fotobiografia de Joaquim Vieira Natividade [More and Better Fruit: A photobiography of Joaquim Vieira Natividade] (Euronatura, 2018).