Almost two decades after its first project in the area, Ecodevelopment is returning to Comporta in Portugal, launching a new partnership with ATLANTICA, an association comprising the region’s nine leading hotel operators.
During the period 2007–2008, Ecodevelopment in Comporta designed and implemented the first comprehensive, large-scale mosquito control programme ever carried out in Portugal since the end of the anti-malaria campaign. Today, significant ecological, agricultural, climatic and settlement-related changes in the region have created a need for a new operational plan (Phase A).
The first phase of the collaboration involves the collection and evaluation of existing entomological, hydrological, climatic and geospatial data, as well as the updating of the mapping of rice fields and crops. At the same time, new ecological mapping of wetlands, peri-urban areas and tourist facilities will be carried out, with the aim of identifying, categorising and operationally delineating the most significant mosquito breeding sites.
Particular emphasis is placed on the development of a comprehensive entomological monitoring system. The system will include larval sampling, monitoring of adult mosquito populations using carbon dioxide traps, oviposition traps and modern automated IoT counters.
ll field data is integrated into Ecodevelopment’s digital platform, ebite, which supports mapping, real-time data entry and operational logging of activities. At the same time, Ecodevelopment is training ATLANTICA’s local technical staff in methods for monitoring larval and adult mosquito populations, species identification, data management and larviciding applications.
Based on the results of this preliminary study, a new comprehensive operational readiness plan will be drawn up for the subsequent phases of the programme. The plan will include technical simulations of drone applications in the region’s rice fields, an assessment of alternative means of aerial application, specific proposals for operational actions, and a cost-benefit analysis of the actions for the period 2027–2028.
The renewal of our partnership with Comporta reaffirms the international recognition of Ecodevelopment’s expertise in the design and implementation of modern integrated mosquito control programmes. We are particularly honoured by the renewal of our partnership after almost 20 years, a fact which highlights the complexity of this particular endeavour and the difficulty in ultimately finding suitable organisations, such as Ecodevelopment, to resolve complex environmental and development issues relating to quality of life and public health.