The UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES Coalition is proud to announce the formal recognition of the initiative ‘Integrated Areas of Landscape Management in Mação (AIGP)’ as an outstanding example of humanities-anchored, transdisciplinary sustainability science.
BRIDGES Recognition Programme: The Mission in Practice
The Recognition Programme was established to advance the BRIDGES mission: encouraging transdisciplinary research that is inclusive of the humanities and co-produced with communities.
The BRIDGES recognised initiatives exemplify our mission to foster transdisciplinary, humanities-inclusive solutions, offering innovative approaches to building socio-ecological resilience in real-world contexts where transformation is most critical.
Each project demonstrates that we cannot solve sustainability issues without understanding the social and cultural contexts that drive them.
UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES recognition follows a rigorous evaluative process assessing alignment with UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES’ principles and UNESCO’s sustainability science approach, with particular emphasis on transdisciplinary, socially responsible, ethical and transformative practice.
Influencing Global Policy
BRIDGES recognition provides a mechanism for these initiatives to inform international policy. By highlighting these projects as exemplary models, the actionable knowledge they generate will:
This project, supported by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) and the Environmental Fund, addresses the recurring problem of large forest fires in low-density territories. By redesigning the landscape through communitarian engagement, the initiative promotes the integrated management of approximately 20,000 continuous hectares. The project examines how a transition from technical solutions to a cultural vision can strengthen territory resilience, connecting production, conservation, and community functions.
Societal Challenges
The project addresses the critical issue of forest fire recurrence in the Centre Region of Portugal. While fires have often been viewed as a technical problem, this initiative identifies the core challenges as changes in the economic matrix, depopulation, and the discontinuity of cultural practices.
A significant barrier to sustainable management is territory fragmentation; the average land tenure is less than 0.5 hectares per building, with most owners living outside the region. This dispersal of ownership has historically prevented integrated strategies and led to landscape degradation. The AIGP seeks an alternative to expropriation through a participatory approach that involves locating and contacting hundreds of owners to co-design a shared vision for the future.
Humanities-Informed Approach
The research centres on the enhancement of material and intangible heritage as foundational tools. Key elements include:
Spaces of Memory: Using the "Spaces of Memory" within the AIGPs as the backbone of the methodology to preserve local knowledge while imagining future landscapes.
Creative Methodology: Incorporating the arts, including photography and poetry, to understand long-term landscape changes, alongside performative educational activities.
Cultural Preservation: Collaborating with the Earth and Memory Institute and the Museum of Mação to ensure research and preservation of heritage are integrated into territorial management.
Expected Outcomes and Legacy
Medium-term
Rehabilitation of abandoned areas; promotion of biodiversity; revitalisation of the landscape through sustainable agricultural and forestry practices.
Long-term
Increased resilience against future environmental challenges; a global model for participatory territorial management; sustained community empowerment through cultural foresight and the reduction of vulnerability to forest fires.
The work of Integrated Areas of Landscape Management in Mação (AIGP) strengthens the global UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES network and contributes meaningfully to transformative, humanities-anchored community-led initiatives.
Transdisciplinary Collaboration
The integrated landscape management methodology generates knowledge through the convergence of diverse disciplines and social actors:
Experts in ecology, urbanism, economics, and human and social sciences work together to create holistic solutions that respect both the environment and local needs.
Co-design and collaborative management ensure active participation from the local community, creating an environment conducive to innovative solutions.
Arts-Science Integration: Educational and creative activities, such as those seen in the “Ice and Fire” project, merge heritage awareness with scientific landscape transformation.
Collaborative Partnerships
Managing Entity: AZR - Gestão Territorial, S.A.
Public Institutions: ICNF (Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests), DGT (Directorate-General for Territory), and the Environmental Fund.
Local Bodies: Municipality of Mação (representing inhabitants) and Aflomação (Associação Florestal de Mação), which defends the interests of owners and villages.
Academic and Cultural Partners: Earth and Memory Institute, Museum of Mação, APHELEIA seminars, and various universities.
Methodological Importance
The project's importance lies in its collaborative management model, which allows all owners, regardless of their economic availability, to participate in territory preservation. By allowing owners to delegate management responsibilities to the managing entity, the project ensures the continuity of actions and the maintenance of landscape integrity without individual burden. This transition from value to method transforms systemic fire risks into cultural and sustainable strengths.
Sustainable Development Goals
BRIDGES recognises the importance of championing transdisciplinary initiatives that address complex, multi-faceted societal challenges in innovative ways to stimulate transformative change for the benefit of societies, people and planet.
A criteria of the BRIDGES Recognition Programme is the initiative addresses specific global, regional or local challenges encompassed by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Integrated Areas of Landscape Management in Mação (AIGP) serves as an exemplary case of how bridging diverse knowledge bases can provide innovative solutions to the SDG’s.
Through its focus on landscape resilience, community-led management, the preservation of material and intangible heritage, and environmental quality, the Integrated Areas of Landscape Management in Mação initiative addresses several of the United Nations SDGs:
SDG 4: Quality Education
The initiative integrates:
• Educational Activities: Using performative arts, photography, and poetry to help the community understand long-term landscape changes.
• Knowledge Integration: Combining millennial cultural adaptations and local knowledge with scientific research to "imagine futures."
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
The initiative seeks to revitalise "low-density territories" by:
• New Economic Matrix: Transitioning from abandoned smallholdings to a productive, managed landscape that supports sustainable agricultural practices and responsible tourism.
• Financial Sustainability: Securing 20 years of support through the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) and the Environmental Fund to ensure long-term economic viability for land management.
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities & Communities
Fostering inclusive, safe, resilient settlements via:
• DRR: Fire risk mitigation for people and assets through fuel strip and forest road management.
• Cultural Heritage: Material and intangible preservation using the Museum of Maçao and Earth and Memory Institute; "spaces of memory" form the methodological core.
• Learning: Community-led education and creativity leveraging Maçao’s UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities status.
SDG 13: Climate Action
The project responds directly to the environmental challenges of the 21st century, applying Climate Adaptation, Disaster Risk Mitigation, Landscape Resilience, and Sustainable Resource Management:
• Addressing global warming's role in fire recurrence by redesigning the landscape for long-term resilience.
• Reducing "fine fuel" accumulation across 20,000 hectares to mitigate disaster risks during adverse climatic conditions.
SDG 15: Life on Land
This SDG is a core AIGP focus.
• Resilience: Managing "fine fuels" and diversifying landscape units to reduce forest fire recurrence.
• Biodiversity: Rehabilitating abandoned land; protecting cork oak and maritime pine.
• Degradation: Reversing landscape decline from land abandonment and discontinued traditional practices.
SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
The AIGP is a model of transdisciplinary collaboration and "bottom-up" governance:
• Multi-Stakeholder Engagement: It brings together public institutions (ICNF, DGT), local associations (Aflomação), universities, and the managing entity (AZR-Gestão Territorial, S.A.).
• International Cooperation: Collaboration with international networks
