Diplomatic relations between the State of Israel and the Portuguese Republic have developed gradually over many years. A Consulate of Israel opened in Lisbon in the late 1950s, becoming upgraded to a Consulate General after the “Carnation Revolution” in April 1974. In 1977, it became an embassy, thus achieving the highest level of full diplomatic relations. Since then, the two countries have maintained and encouraged friendly relations and cooperation in a wide range of areas such as technology and innovation, scienti c research, maritime research, agriculture and water management, energy and cyberspace, among many others. We have also witnessed the ourishing of tourism and cultural exchanges that stimulate knowledge and closer relations between both nations.
Portugal has always had a deep and ancestral connection with the Jewish people, and in 1989 an o cial apology was issued for Jewish persecution during the Inquisition. During World War II, Portugal served as a country of passage for many Jews who immigrated to various countries and, for some, onwards to Israel. Israel has recognized four “Righteous Among the Nations” from Portugal, of which the most famous is Aristides de Sousa Mendes, who issued visas to thousands of Jews while serving as Portuguese Consul in Bordeaux, France, during the Holocaust.
I express my sincere hope for the continuity and strengthening of this friendship and of the ties of cooperation between Israel and Portugal.
Tzipora Rimon
Israeli Ambassador to Portugal
The IMMRAC (Israel Marine Mammal Research & Assistance Center) is a non-profit organization that has long been dedicated to the study and preservation of the cetacean population in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Israel. This is the case with the population of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), a species that also occurs off the Atlantic coast of Portugal and is monitored by the Portuguese authority for nature conservation, the Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e Florestas, I.P. (ICNF), as well as by researchers from various other organisations in Portugal.
The resident population of bottlenose dolphins
in the Sado Estuary - Portugal
Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) have a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring in temperate and tropical seas around the world, both in coastal waters and in areas far from the coast. The species is quite common along the Portuguese mainland coast, notably the resident population of the Sado Estuary, a unique population in Portugal and one of the few resident populations at European level.
This population has been continuously studied since the late 1970s and currently has a population of around thirty animals. The use of photo identi cation techniques enabled recognition of individual bottlenose dolphins and paved the way for a detailed census of this population. There has been a recent increase in the survival rate of juveniles in this population, but the improvement of their conservation status depends on all of us and only a concerted e ort by all users of the estuary can ensure the continuity of this population.
In an attempt to halt the decline of this resident population, an Action Plan for the Safeguarding and Monitoring of the Bottlenose Dolphin Population of Sado Estuary was developed in 2009. This Action Plan de nes strategies for action, with the aim of protecting the population and reversing its decline, and improving the conditions and quality of their habitat, through the coordination of relevant stakeholders for their conservation. The plan is the result of work developed by the Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas, I.P. (ICNF), together with the participation of researchers and local stakeholders with direct and indirect in uence in the Sado Estuary and its resident population of bottlenose dolphins.
Rogério Paulo Rodrigues Rodrigues President of the Board of Directors of the ICNF Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e Florestas, I.P.
