Resources

This page brings together practical and dissemination resources to facilitate the understanding and development of land stewardship. It is intended both for people who are approaching this approach for the first time and for entities, professionals and administrations.

What you’ll find here:

• Glossary: ​​Key concepts of land stewardship.
• Documents and guides: Reference, technical, or informational.
• Videos: Experiences, projects, and practical aspects of land stewardship.

These resources will help you:

• Better understand what land stewardship is.
• See how it is applied in practice.
• Have useful materials to promote or support conservation initiatives in the territory.

Glossary

1. Sales contract

It is the contract by which ownership of a thing or other right is transferred for a price. – Articles 874 et seq. of the Civil Code.

2. Donation

It is the contract by which a person, out of a spirit of freedom and at the expense of their assets, disposes of a thing or a right free of charge, or assumes an obligation, for the benefit of another contracting party. – Articles 940 et seq. of the Civil Code.

3. Rental Contract

This is the contract whereby one party undertakes to provide the other with the temporary enjoyment of something, in return for payment. – Articles 1022 et seq. of the Civil Code.

4. Service Contract

This is when one of the parties undertakes to provide the other with a certain result of their intellectual or manual work, with or without remuneration. – Articles 1154 et seq. of the Civil Code.

5. Deposit

This is the contract whereby one party hands over a movable or immovable item to the other to keep and return when required. – Art. 1185 et seq. of the Civil Code.

6. Building contract

This is a contract whereby one party undertakes to do a certain job for another party for a price. – Art. 1207 et seq. of the Civil Code.

7. Rural Lease Contract

This type of contract establishes the relationship between a landowner and a tenant (farmer or breeder), allowing the land to be used for agricultural or livestock purposes. In many cases, the contract may include clauses aimed at preserving natural resources such as soil, water and biodiversity, encouraging sustainable agricultural practices.

Since 2019, Portugal has been promoting initiatives to integrate environmental conservation practices into rural leases, as part of the National Strategy for Nature Conservation and Biodiversity.

8. Rural loan agreement

Similar to leasing, rural lending allows the free use of land for a certain period. Although it is not a contract specifically focused on environmental issues, it is increasingly common to include conditions that promote sustainable management practices, particularly in areas of environmental interest, such as mountain areas or nature reserves.

Art. 1129 et seq. of the Civil Code – Comodato is the free contract whereby one of the parties gives the other a certain thing, movable or immovable, so that he can use it, with the obligation to return it.

9. Custody of the Territory

This type of contract is signed between private entities (usually landowners) and environmental conservation organizations. The aim is to manage and protect the natural values of a specific area in order to promote biodiversity and sustainable land management. In Portugal, the Land Custody Network is the main initiative promoting this type of agreement, in collaboration with environmental NGOs and public bodies.

10. Contracts under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)

The European Union’s CAP encourages sustainable agricultural practices through subsidies and financial support, as part of contracts between farmers and the state. These include:

Agri-environmental measuresContracts that promote agricultural practices that benefit the environment, such as conserving natural habitats, reducing the use of pesticides and fertilizers, and crop rotation.

Payments for Environmental ServicesFarmers can enter into contracts to provide environmental services such as carbon capture, soil conservation and improved water quality.

11. Ecological Servitude Contract

This type of contract creates legal obligations for the landowner, imposing restrictions on land use and natural resource management. Usually, ecological easements aim to protect ecologically sensitive areas, such as wetlands, protected forest areas or priority habitats. The Portuguese Environment Agency plays an important role in monitoring and regulating these contracts.

12. Contracts under the National Ecological Reserve (REN)

The REN establishes environmental protection zones, in which land use is restricted to protect natural resources such as coastal zones, forests and areas of water importance. Any type of contract or development in these areas must follow strict regulations to ensure the conservation of biodiversity and natural resources.

13. Forest Concession Contract

These contracts involve the concession of public forest land to private individuals for forest management. Forest management must meet strict environmental criteria, promoting practices such as reforestation, invasive species management and forest fire prevention.

14. Partnership Contracts for Organic Farming

These contracts, encouraged by both the Portuguese government and the European Union, establish agreements to promote organic farming, which excludes the use of synthetic chemicals and environmentally harmful practices. These contracts are particularly important in protected areas and on marginal land, promoting biodiversity and sustainability.

15. Natura 2000 contracts

Natura 2000 is a network of protected areas in the European Union, and in Portugal landowners within these areas can enter into management contracts with the state or conservation entities. These contracts usually include commitments to preserve protected habitats and species, reduce the impact of human activities and promote the recovery of ecosystems.

16. Promissory contract (Art. 410 et seq. of the Civil Code)

Article 410 of the Civil Code

1 – The legal provisions relating to the promised contract shall apply to the agreement by which someone undertakes to conclude a certain contract, with the exception of those relating to form and those which, by virtue of their nature, should not be considered to extend to the promised contract.

2 – However, a promise to enter into a contract for which the law requires a document, whether authentic or private, is only valid if it is contained in a document signed by the binding party or by both, depending on whether the promissory contract is unilateral or bilateral.

3 – In the case of a promise concerning the conclusion of a contract for consideration for the transfer or constitution of a right in rem over a building, or autonomous fraction thereof, already built, under construction or to be built, the document referred to in the previous paragraph must contain the in-person recognition of the signatures of the promisor or promisors and the certification, by the entity that carries out that recognition, of the existence of the respective license for use or construction; however, the contracting party that promises to transfer or build the right can only invoke the omission of these requirements when it has been culpably caused by the other party.

Art. 412 of the Civil Code

1 – The rights and obligations resulting from the promissory contract which are not exclusively personal shall be passed on to the successors of the parties.

2 – Transfers between living persons are subject to general rules.

Art. 413 of the Civil Code

1 – The parties may give effect to a promise to transfer or create rights in rem over immovable or movable property subject to registration, by means of an express declaration and entry in the register.

2 – Unless special law provides otherwise, a promise to which the parties give effect in rem must be recorded in a public deed or authenticated private document; however, where the law does not require this form for the promised contract, a private document with an acknowledgement of the signature of the binding party or both, depending on whether it is a unilateral or bilateral promissory contract, shall suffice.

LEGAL TERMS:

– Legal Personality

It is the susceptibility of being the holder of rights and obligations (Castro Mendes, Dir. Civil, Teoria Geral, 1978, I-169) – (Articles 66 to 69 of the Civil Code).

– Legal capacity

We speak of legal capacity to express the aptitude to be the holder of a circle, with more or less restrictions, of legal relations – one can therefore have a greater or lesser measure of capacity, according to certain conditions or situations, but one is always a person, whatever the measure of capacity (Mota Pinto, Teor. Ger. Dir. Civ., 2nd ed.-190; 3rd ed.-192). – (Articles 67 et seq. of the Civil Code ).

– Rights in rem

This is what gives the respective holders direct and immediate powers over certain and determined things (Almeida Costa, Dir. Obrigações, 4th ed. – 85; id. G. Telles, Dir. Obrigações, 6th ed. – 85).

– Property rights

Tangible things, whether movable or immovable, can be the object of property rights – Art. 1302 et seq. of the Civil Code;

– Expropriation (Art. 1308 et seq.)

No one may be deprived, in whole or in part, of their right to property except in the cases established by law.

Temporary requisition of private property can only take place in the cases provided for by law.

In the event of expropriation for public or private utility or requisition of property, appropriate compensation is always due to the owner and the holders of the other rights in rem affected;

– Accession

Accession occurs when the thing owned by someone is joined to and incorporates another thing that did not belong to them – Art. 1325 et seq. of the Civil Code;

– Pact of Preference

The preference pact consists of an agreement whereby someone assumes the obligation to give preference to another in the sale of a certain thing. – Article 414 of the Civil Code.

Art. 421 of the Civil Code (Real Effectiveness)

The right of first refusal may, by agreement of the parties, be effective in rem if, in respect of immovable property or movable property subject to registration, the formal and publicity requirements laid down in Article 413 are complied with.

– Right of Preference

The owners of adjoining plots of land, with an area smaller than the cultivation unit, enjoy the right of first refusal in cases of sale, transfer or leasing of any of the buildings to anyone other than the adjoining owner – Article 1380 of the Civil Code;

– Usufruct

It is the right to temporarily and fully enjoy something or something else’s right without altering its form or substance – Art. 1439 et seq. of the Civil Code;

– Surface rights

It consists of the right to build or maintain, perpetually or temporarily, a work on someone else’s land, or to make or maintain plantations on it – Art. 1524 et seq. of the Civil Code;

– Public Domain (of the State)

It is the set of assets that the State uses for its purposes using powers of authority, i.e. through public law. (A. Menezes Cordeiro, Direitos Reais, 1979-178).

– Public Water Domain

It is made up of several categories of public waters and, by connection, a certain amount of land closely linked to them. It is made up of:

1. 
   a) public maritime domain;
2. b) public river domain;
3. c) public lake domain;
4. d) springs and groundwater;
5. e) water from public fountains, built at state expense.

Art. 2 of Law no. 54/2005, of November 15 (Establishes ownership of water resources):

1 – The public water domain comprises the public maritime domain, the public lake and river domain and the domain of other waters.

2 – The public water domain may belong to the State, the autonomous regions, municipalities and parishes.

The maritime public domain belongs to the State, according to Article 4 of Law 54/2005 of November 15.

The water resources to which this law applies include waters, as well as their beds and banks, adjacent areas, areas of maximum infiltration and protected areas. In terms of ownership, water resources include dominial resources, or those belonging to the public domain, and patrimonial resources, belonging to public or private entities (Art. 1, no. 1 and 2 of Law no. 54/2005, of November 15).

Resources