Think Tank Nature+ brings together experts from the Associate Laboratory CHANGE and other key entities to discuss the future of ecological restoration in Portugal.
On 30 January 2025, the Associate Laboratory CHANGE (which includes MED, CE3C, and CENSE) hosted the first meeting of the Advisory Committee of the Think Tank Nature+. In addition to CHANGE, the event brought together several prominent entities in Portugal’s environmental sector, including the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF), the Associate Laboratory TERRA, the MARE research centre, Águas de Portugal, two scientific societies (SPECO and SPEA), five non-governmental organisations (Zero, LPN, Sciaena, Geota, and ANP|WWF), and the Portuguese Ecological Restoration Network.
Think Tank Nature+ is a transdisciplinary and critical-thinking platform initiated by CHANGE, bringing together specialists from various fields to discuss and propose innovative solutions for nature restoration, with the goal of influencing the formulation of effective public policies.
Nature+ aims to build bridges between science, policymakers, the business sector, and society, fostering strategic innovation in environmental sustainability. It seeks to co-create actionable, innovative solutions that align with socio-economic development.
During this meeting, the mission and objectives of Think Tank Nature+ were presented, and key challenges were identified as central to future discussions and activities of Think Tank Nature+, namely:
- the pursuit of broad understanding and consensus on complex and controversial issues, particularly in alignment with other public policies;
- the identification of priority areas for restoration;
- the development of monitoring tools to assess policy impacts and effectiveness;
- funding mechanisms for restoration; and
- the importance of engaging the business sector and civil society as drivers and facilitators of restoration processes.
Additionally, the meeting confirmed the transfer of knowledge generated by Think Tank Nature+ to the Working Group for Nature Restoration, led by the Ministry of Environment and Energy.
This group is responsible for preparing the National Nature Restoration Plan, in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2024/1991 of the European Parliament and the Council of 24 June 2024 (Nature Restoration Law).
This knowledge transfer will be facilitated by various actors within Think Tank Nature+, particularly researchers Alice Nunes (CE3C/CHANGE) and Rui Santos (CENSE/CHANGE), who are part of the Working Group as representatives of the Knowledge Network for Nature Restoration.