The associations Almargem – Association for the Defense of Cultural and
Environmental Heritage of the Algarve and City of Participation - Civic
Association launched a fundraising campaign through the GoFundMe platform to halt the urbanization
of the wetlands of Alagoas Brancas, in Lagoa, facing the local authority in
court.
"Contrary to what you would expect," the organizers write on the
campaign's website, "the municipality of Lagoa continues to insist on
allowing the destruction of a wetland, ignoring its ecological value and
allowing construction in a flooded area."
At issue is the construction of a commercial area in the area, one of the
last freshwater wetlands of the Algarve and which integrates the urban area of the
city of Lagoa.
Recently studied by Almargem in partnership with SPEA – Portuguese Society
for the Study of Birds, Alagoas Brancas revealed great "ecological
richness", having been identified "114 species of birds, 1 percent of
the regional population of black ibis, 1 percent of the national carraceiro
population".
For Lucinda Caetano and Victor Lourenço, responsible for the campaign,
"it is necessary to stop this process".
However, help is needed, which they hope to achieve through the
crowdfunding now created.
'Aid to cover legal costs; help to prepare information materials on
wetlands in particular on Alagoas; help to prepare an exhibition on the history
of Alagoas; preparation of dissemination materials.'
The associations hope to raise around €10,000 to continue their work and
judicial procedures to halt the urbanization of the area.
CCDR Algarve deliberates that allotment should be subject to Environmental
Impact Assessment
The Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR) of the Algarve
has auscultated the Institute of Nature and Forest Conservation (ICNF) and the
APA/ARH Algarve and has already ruled, considering the need for the allotment
of Alagoas Brancas to be subject to an Environmental Impact Assessment (AIA).
It will now be up to the licensing entity, the Municipality of Lagoa, to
issue a decision on the need for AIA.
This opinion of CCDR Algarve arises due to the decision of the
Administrative Court of Loulé, on May 21, as a consequence of the injunction
brought by Almargem – Association for the Defense of Cultural and Environmental
Heritage of the Algarve and the Civic Association City of Participation against
the municipality of Lagoa, having as contradictthe anonymous company Atlantic
Buildings, to avoid the start of any
urbanization work which, irreversibly, would destroy the White Alagoas.
The opinion of CCDR Algarve considers that the project in Alagoas Brancas
is "likely to cause significant negative impacts on the environment"
and, following the opinion of the ICNF on biodiversity, recommends that there
are grounds for the realization of the EIA.
The ICNF states that "although the allotment is part of an urban area
for the implementation of the urban operation in question, however, there is,
however, the existence of biodiversity on the site, which will be hampered by
the implementation of the project, and significant impacts may occur on the
environment'.
The ICNF also states that "as a result of the project executed by
Almargem with several partners, it could be classified as a protected area of
regional or local scope, and it is up to the Municipality of Lagoa to consider
and decide on this matter".
It is believed that the Municipality of Lagoa, as mentioned on several
occasions, will respect the opinions issued, meeting the evaluation of these entities,
subjecting the allotment project of Alagoas Brancas to an environmental impact
assessment prior to any intervention, following the other procedures of this
same evaluation, such as the public consultation.
