O ordenamento do território e a certificação ambiental como contributos para a conservação da biodiversidade. O caso da horto-fruticultura intensiva no Perímetro de Rega do Mira

Mestrado em Engenharia Agronómica - Instituto Superior de AgronomiaThis study was developed with two main objectives: to assess the contribution of different biodiversity conservation tools, and to analyse the present situation in the Mira’s Irrigation Perimeter concerning with the implementation of those tools. This case study was chosen both because it is located inside a protected area, and its farmland has been occupied by many intensive horticultural farms in the last decades. The voluntary implementation of environmental certification schemes and the recent approval of a new regional plan allow assessing the relations between the two types of tools. With a methodology based on a relative classification of the measures generated by two territorial management tools and by two environmental certification schemes, it has been possible to conclude that the territorial management tools are necessary to comply with the specific conservation objectives in the case study, but certification schemes can play a valuable role in promoting good agricultural practices, with positive impacts on biodiversity conservation. After carrying nine semi-structured interviews in a second part of the study, it has been acknowledged the need to overcome some gaps and obstacles linked with the study site, in issues as following: assessing and distributing costs and benefits; technical and scientific knowledge accuracy; necessary means to implement and evaluate the vary instruments; stakeholders acknowledgement about their roles in biodiversity conservatio