The Comunidade Intermunicipal das Beiras e Serra da Estrela is an administrative division in eastern Portugal, devided in 3 sub-regions: Beira Interior Norte; Serra da Estrela; and Cova da Beira. Since January 2015, Beiras e Serra da Estrela is also subregion of Centro Region, that covers the same area as the intermunicipal community.

Covering an area of 6.305 km², it counts 15 municipalities and has a population of 236.023 inhabitants (2021). Geographical characteristics closer to those of the Mediterranean basin. The highest mountain in continental Portugal Serra da Estrela and it is crossed by 3 rivers: Mondego River; Alva River; and Zêzere River (origin in Serra da Estrela).

Beiras e Serra da Estrela is a markedly rural territory, with a strong presence in the primary sector and extremely high-quality products. The main challenge is the population decline and aging, which raises serious alarms about the sustainability of the territory itself and its related dimensions: economic, environmental, social and cultural.

Fundão (Cova da Beira) is one of the main agricultural regions in the country, its waters from the Zêzere River irrigate the fields and orchards where some of the most distinctive fruits in the entire country are produced. Covering an area of 700 km², it is populated by 26.509 inhabitants.

Main economic activities include: Agriculture, Precision Metalworking, ICT, Services, Commerce and Tourism.

Current climate impacts and vulnerabilities
The most prominent climate impacts affecting the region are felt through extreme weather events with the occurrence of high temperatures, cold waves, excessive rainfall making the region vulnerable for floods, forest fires, water scarcity, desertification and soil erosion.

Transformation scenarios through DesirMED
The main intervention areas within DesirMED will address agro-forestry ecosystem restoration, water management, critical infrastructure and inclusion of digital solutions. Planned actions will address issues associated with the efficient use of water, the creation of landscape mosaics, namely with the installation of pastures improvements at altitude, the recovery of ecosystems, the inclusion of digital solutions in agricultural activities, the agricultural valorization of by-products and improvement of feed efficiency.

In Fundão there are already some activities and instruments that can be potentiated as monitoring methodologies for the performance of Nature-based Solutions, but an established framework is currently missing. An Inter-municipal Climate Change Council has been set up to ensure transversal and integrated management of the local adaptation implementation and monitoring process but there are still some gaps in observational data and monitoring systems, for which that DesirMED will play an important role in reversing this scenario.