GREETING VOTEWORLD TREE DAY | INTERNATIONAL DAY OF FORESTSThe 21st of March marks World Tree Day and International Day of Forests.

This year, the United Nations highlights the theme "Forests and Innovation: New Solutions for a Better World". According to the UN, deforestation leads to the annual loss of ten million hectares of forest worldwide. It is also estimated that around seventy million hectares are affected by fires every year. Technological innovations are thus essential to create early warning systems, sustainable production and empowerment of indigenous populations themselves through land mapping and access to climate finance. At the same time, as the United Nations also points out, ecosystem restoration and reforestation can contribute to the mitigation of climate change and the biodiversity reduction crisis, and also to improve food security, while promoting sustainable timber production. On March 21st, communities around the world have the habit of carrying out symbolic actions of afforestation and reforestation. Cities are no exception, and Lisbon should also move in that direction – especially if we take into account that, according to data from the European Environment Agency, there is only 17% of tree cover in the city and a scant 2% of green urban spaces in relation to the total surface area of the municipality. The Lisbon City Council itself, based on the project "Cartography of Thermal Vulnerability – Mapping the Effects of Heat Waves in Lisbon in the Face of Climate Projections", has already concluded that the city will face a "significant increase in the number, duration and severity of heat wave episodes, with the corresponding impacts, such as increased summer cooling needs, or the health risks from exposure to extreme heat." And it also highlights the importance of green spaces as "islands of freshness", which help to cool and provide greater thermal comfort in their area of influence.  Another study, conducted by Zephyrus – Research Unit on Climate Change and Environmental Systems of the University of Lisbon, finds that the greater the density of vegetation, the lower the air temperature and the greater the cooling potential that green spaces, mainly wooded, represent for the city, contributing to the improvement of urban microclimates and to the mitigation of the "urban heat island" effect. These data are all the more important because in 2020 Lisbon was distinguished with the "European Green Capital" award and is currently part of the "One hundred climate-neutral and smart cities" — the mission led by the European Commission that aims to make 100 cities hubs for experimentation and innovation, with a view to declaring all European cities "climate neutral" by 2050. LIVRE presented at the public meeting of the Lisbon City Council on May 3, 2023 the proposal "Veredas de Lisboa", which is still awaiting scheduling for voting at a City Council meeting. Under the terms of this proposal, which aims to create a network of urban tree-lined paths throughout the city, a "renaturalization" of the same is advocated, namely through the planting of trees or other green structures that ensure shade, improvement of air quality, increase of permeable areas for rainwater infiltration and improvement of the quality of public space, Especially where there is a low density of trees and in areas identified as potential heat islands. The same idea was presented and approved that same month by the Lisbon Municipal Assembly, in the form of a recommendation from LIVRE for the creation and implementation of the "Veredas de Lisboa". Thus, the Councilor of the LIVRE party proposes that the Lisbon City Council, meeting in the ordinary session of March 20, 2024, deliberate:To salute World Tree Day and International Forest Day; To greet the School of Gardening of the Lisbon City Council; Greetings to the workers of the Departments of Environment, Green Structure, Climate and Energy of the Municipality.Send this deliberation to Associação Natureza Portugal – ANP|WWF, FCULresta, URBEM, the Platform in Defense of Trees, the Platform for Monsanto, the Lisbon Verde Association, the Portuguese Association for the Support and Protection of the Forest, the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF), the environmental protection associations and the School of Gardening of the municipality of Lisbon.Lisbon, March 19th, 2024The Councillor for LIVRERui Tavares