Value for conservation

The Alvor Estuary is the most important wetland area in the Algarve. Within its 1454 hectares it contains a coastal lagoon (estuary), marshes, dunes, salt-pans and the peninsulas of Quinta da Rocha and Abicada with their mixed habitats of riverain vegetation, small areas of pine forest and semi-cultivated farm land. The Alvor Estuary is a tiny paradise which is increasingly under pressure on all sides from developers and tourism but which stands out very definitely from the surrounding landscape as a result of its great variety of habitats and surprising biodiversity.

Situated on the south coast of Portugal and confined between the parishes of Alvor (Portimao local council) and Odiaxere (Lagos local council), the Alvor Estuary is a product of the confluence of four water lines flowing down from the south slopes of the Monchique mountains and resulting in an abundant and complex estuarine system. The estuary is protected from the ocean by two large sandbanks with fixed dunes surrounding the vast estuary area with banks of mud and sand, abandoned salt-pans, fish farms and salt marshes. The riverain vegetation and small areas of pine forest and uncultivated land occur upstream where the influence of the tides is less.

Recognition of the ecological singularity of the Alvor Estuary has led to its classification as a Wetland of International Importance (Ramsar convention), a CORINE Biotope and a Special Conservation Area (NATURA 2000 network).

The Alvor Estuary also has inestimable value for the surrounding areas which benefit from this ecosystem whether in terms of the landscape, culture or as an economic stimulus. This is a rich ecosystem, where the sea and the land live in a unique and delicate balance. The Alvor Estuary dunes demonstrate how seemingly fragile structures can be an effective barrier against the erosive forces of the sea and the wind. The line of dunes with its tough vegetation make it possible for the marsh and the even the estuary - upon which a great diversity of animal and plant life, as well as local communities of fishermen and shellfish gatherers depend - to exist.

The Reserva Agrícola Nacional (RAN, National Agricultural Reserve) and the Reserva Ecológica Nacional (REN, National Ecological Reserve) comprise various parts of the Alvor Estuary which, despite its small size, asserts itself as a natural bastion of incredible biodiversity that is resisting the region's unbridled urbanist pressure.