Faro
Our 3+ hectares of cork oak montado fall under ICNF's stewardship framework. Their guidance on sustainable cork harvesting, biodiversity corridor management, and fire prevention is essential to our conservation commitments.
— Hillside Sanctuary Team
National authority for nature conservation, forest management, and biodiversity protection. Oversees Natura 2000 network, cork oak montado ecosystems, protected species, and sustainable forestry standards.
The ICNF (Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas) is Portugal’s national authority for nature conservation and forest management. Operating under the Ministry of Environment, ICNF is responsible for the protection of biodiversity, management of the national network of protected areas, oversight of the Natura 2000 network in Portugal, regulation of hunting and fishing, and the development of sustainable forestry policy. In the Algarve, ICNF’s regional directorate in Faro manages conservation priorities across one of Europe’s most ecologically diverse regions.
For Hillside Sanctuary, ICNF’s relevance centres on two critical areas: cork oak montado protection and fire prevention. Our property includes over 3 hectares of cork oak (Quercus suber) montado, an ecosystem that is legally protected under Portuguese law. Cork oaks cannot be felled without ICNF authorisation, cork harvesting must follow regulated cycles (typically every nine years), and any land management activities that affect montado habitat require compliance with ICNF guidelines. This legal framework shapes how we manage a significant portion of our 11.4-hectare property, from pruning schedules to grazing management and understorey clearing.
Fire prevention is the second major area of ICNF engagement. The Algarve’s interior is classified as high fire risk, and ICNF coordinates the national framework for fuel management, firebreak maintenance, and emergency response in forested areas. Property owners in the rural interior are required to maintain defensible space around buildings, manage vegetation within specified distances of structures and boundaries, and comply with annual fuel management deadlines. ICNF inspects compliance and can issue penalties for non-compliance. For Hillside Sanctuary, meeting these requirements is both a legal obligation and a practical necessity for the safety of our guests and infrastructure.
ICNF also oversees biodiversity monitoring and the management of protected species. Our property supports a range of Mediterranean flora and fauna, including species associated with the montado ecosystem. ICNF’s guidance on biodiversity corridor management, habitat restoration, and sustainable land use practices informs our long-term conservation strategy. The relationship is regulatory at its core, but it also provides the scientific and policy framework within which our conservation ambitions take shape. Responsible land stewardship in the Algarve’s interior requires working with ICNF, not around them.
