Sintra, Portugal, Jan. 6, 2026 (Lusa) - The “Finis Terrae” association wants to stop the felling of two large plane trees along the EN 247 national road in Galamares, Sintra municipality. Still, Infraestruturas de Portugal justifies the felling for the safety of road users.
According to Jorge Bernardo, from “Finis Terrae” - Association for the Defence of the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, a group of residents is waiting to deliver an "emergency injunction" to those responsible for cutting down two plane trees on the edge of the EN247, which aims to prevent "irreversible damage to individual or collective property", such as the Cultural Landscape of Sintra.
The GNR (National Republican Guard) was informed of the procedure. Still, so far the work has not resumed, forcing the formation of "resident pickets" to act, the activist explained to Lusa.
"Simultaneously with the ratification of this procedure in the Sintra Court, “Finis Terrae” will request a precautionary measure to protect all the plane trees that line the EN247", followed by a request to the Sintra City Council to "proceed with their classification, as is already the case with a limited number of those located next to the Adega Cooperativa de Colares", the association said in a statement. For the organisation, "the century-old plane trees lining the EN247, between Malveira da Serra [municipality of Cascais] and the town of Sintra, passing through Colares, are a striking part of the Cultural Landscape of Sintra", classified by UNESCO, but "are being cut down under various pretexts".
Although the two plane trees are not located in the world heritage area, Jorge Bernardo explained that they symbolically represent the trees cut down in a systematic and continuous "attack on the environment and landscape that has been committed" in the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park (PNSC).
For this reason, the association requested information from Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) about the "plan to cut down trees along the road" and about the authorisations granted by the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF) and the Sintra City Council for this purpose.
"The problem of tree felling is not restricted to Galamares," pointed out Florbela Veiga Frade, from the Sintra Tree Friends Group, also highlighting the "clear-cutting of several trees on the EN9, next to the São Pedro de Sintra fire station," and "the application, in the Natural Park, which should be an exception, of an abusive interpretation of the legislation on firefighting and fuel management".
In this regard, the group sent a letter to IP, Sintra City Council, ICNF, Parques de Sintra-Monte da Lua and the GNR's Nature and Environment Protection Service requesting meetings to discuss recent interventions that disregard "the tree as an asset to be preserved, essential in controlling carbon and pollution, saying human well-being".
In response to Lusa, IP stated that the decision to fell two large plane trees on a pavement along the EN247, "next to private property, was made with the sole aim of ensuring that road users are safe".
The intervention, which began on 29 December, is the result of a process monitored by IP "for several years" and "the decision to fell the trees, supported by a prior technical inspection, was only taken after it was verified that there was no viable alternative that would simultaneously ensure the preservation of the trees and the safety of the road infrastructure and citizens".
"The presence of trees on top of the fence and earth retaining wall has caused structural deformations, advanced cracking and loss of verticality, jeopardising the overall stability of this structure," explained the road network manager.
"The underground development of the roots, combined with the size of the trees, poses an increased risk to road safety on the EN247, to the inhabitants of the property located below the pavement and to pedestrian traffic," she added.
The company considered that only with the implementation of the intervention "will it be possible to safely rebuild the fence and earth retaining wall, restore road and pedestrian safety conditions on the EN247 and remove an obstacle to pedestrian traffic, particularly for those with reduced mobility".
IP noted that although the area is within the PNSC, it is in an "area not covered by the protection regime," and therefore does not require a prior opinion from the ICNF.
"The trees targeted for felling on the EN247, between Malveira da Serra (Cascais) and the town of Sintra, are located in an area classified as urban", integrated into the PNSC, "and therefore do not require an opinion" from the ICNF, the body responsible for the protected area replied to Lusa.
The ICNF assured that it "will continue to act within the scope of its powers as the national nature conservation authority and national forestry authority, maintaining dialogue with all entities with a view to complying with the legislation in force and safeguarding natural values".
LFS/ADB // ADB.
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