Origens da Comissão Nacional do Ambiente na emergência da política ambiental em Portugal

In the transition from the 60s to the 70s there was a politicization of the environmentalists’ currents and international platforms that were addressing environmental issues. In particular, especially bearing in mind the position of Portugal in the international system, this politicization was expressed in the North-South tension, clearly perceived by national elites, who grasped the political implications of the East-West rhetoric of cooperation for the environment, also provided by the general framework of Cold War political logics. On this historical conjuncture we describe the emergence of an environmental policy in Portugal, having in mind the origins of the National Environment Committee (1971), from various initiatives, largely unknown to the public, of coordination and studies carried out by the National Board of Scientific and Technological Research – JNICT (1967-1974). While national agency for the definition of an « integrated » science policy, the JNICT stimuli followed international organizations, contributing decisively to bring together a critical mass of different departments within the state administration, and even in conceptual terms, with respect to the formulation of concerns relating to both physical and mental condition of man, in the face of environmental degradation