LISBON, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Portugal will activate a mechanism to provisionally register abandoned rural land as state-owned when no identifiable owner can be found, as part of the efforts to ensure proper maintenance and wildfire prevention, local media the Jornal de Negocios reported Monday.
The measure targets at plots registered in the tax authority's property database but lacking an owner.
Once registered, the management of the land will be handed to Florestgal, a state-owned forestry management company operating across 27 municipalities, which may also lease or transfer use of the land to third parties during the interim period.
Legitimate owners will have 15 years to come forward and reclaim their property before the state registration becomes permanent.
The procedure was created in 2019 following a series of devastating wildfires in Portugal, but was never implemented.
The move now addresses a longstanding challenge to land management in Portugal: a large part of small rural properties has changed hands over generations through inheritance, donations or unregistered sales, leaving many plots effectively abandoned with no traceable owner.
According to specialists interviewed by Xinhua, the absence of accountable landowners has long been identified as a key factor in the spread of wildfires, as unclaimed land often goes unmanaged.
Forest owners and industries are advocating for an increase of fast-growing commercial forests in abandoned scrubland to reduce the risk of fire and promote development.
Due to a lack of clearing, unproductive areas are often where the fires start, Luis Damas, president of the board of the National Federation of Forest Owners Associations, told Xinhua. ■