In order to expand its tourism offerings, the Penamacor municipality hopes to recover three abandoned properties in the Serra da Malcata Nature Reserve. The Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF) was requested to add these properties to the State's list of abandoned heritage and to transfer them to the municipality through delegation of powers.
The municipality mayor, António Beites, stated that as part of the Serra da Malcata Co-Management Action Plan, which also includes Sabugal in the Guarda district, the properties in issue, which have been “abandoned for several years,” have already been identified with the intention of putting them to use for tourism. António Beites went on to say that the ICNF was given ideas about what the municipality in the Castelo Branco had planned for each of these structures, which were formerly also used for tourism but are currently in disrepair.
António Beites emphasised that more homes in the Serra da Malcata Nature Reserve are under the jurisdiction of the local government, and that is why the municipality wishes to get involved. He also continued saying, “It is clearly important for the municipality’s tourist attraction because they are all in the heart of the Serra da Malcata. They are all within the nature reserve, a classified heritage site, with 16 thousand hectares”.