Nuno Miguel Soares Banza, 44 years old, holds a degree in Environmental Engineering and a Master’s in Spatial Planning and Impacts from the Faculty of Science and Technology of the NOVA University of Lisbon. He is a PhD candidate in Climate Change and Sustainable Development Policies at the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon.

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He worked as a senior environmental engineering officer at the Institute for Nature Conservation (currently ICNF, I.P.), where he was responsible for the environmental engineering component in the planning of the Arrábida Natural Park and the Sado Estuary Nature Reserve.

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He also served as a senior officer at the Barreiro Municipality, where he coordinated the Environmental Working Group and headed the Environmental Sustainability Division. In this role, he coordinated the Municipal Environmental Plan of Barreiro as well as several EU-funded projects.

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He was responsible for the successful application to the EU IEE/EACI Programme, which funded the creation of the Regional Energy Agency for the municipalities of Barreiro, Moita, Montijo, and Alcochete (S. energia), where he served as Technical Director. In this capacity, he coordinated various regional projects in the fields of Energy and Climate Change. He was a member of the Founding Committee of the National Network of Energy Agencies — RNAE.

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He was the founder of the Local Nature Reserve of Mata Nacional da Machada and Sapal do Rio Coina, where he became the first Chair of the Management Committee as a locally elected official. He was also responsible for the successful LIFE Biodiversity application approved by the European Commission for this Local Nature Reserve.

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At the Inspectorate-General for Agriculture, Sea, Environment and Spatial Planning (IGAMAOT), he served as Deputy Inspector-General from March 2013 to May 2014, and as Inspector-General from May 2014 to May 2019.

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He represented the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities in the Coordination Group of the National Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change.

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In the private sector, he worked as an environmental project manager and consultant for several entities in the field of Environmental Impact Assessment.

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He is the author and co-author of several publications in his area of expertise and a regular contributor to some newspapers. He was the coordinator of the Portuguese case study in the European project “Participatory Spatial Planning in Europe — PSPE”.

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He is a full member of the Portuguese Engineers’ Association, Environmental Engineering Division.

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He is Chair of the Audit Committee of the Humanitarian Association of Volunteer Firefighters of Sul e Sueste, Barreiro.

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Since May 2019, he has been serving as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF, I.P.).