Maria da Graça Carvalho announced that the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF) and the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) are collaborating with all the protected regions affected by fires this summer to establish three-year protocols for the recovery of infrastructure and vegetation.
“The region of Aljezur was not included initially, so we will have to create a separate protocol for this fire,” she mentioned during the signing ceremony of a protocol between the Environmental Fund and the Management Authority of the Algarve 2030 Regional Program, under the “Water That Unites” strategy, in Faro.
The official stated that the protocols are set to be signed this Friday, even though much of the work has already been completed, as the APA and ICNF progressed with urgent tasks, particularly those concerning water, which are “practically all finished.”
Maria da Graça Carvalho clarified that these urgent interventions are aimed at retaining ashes to prevent the contamination of water courses, as rainfall would lead to water contamination, and also reducing the risk of landslides.
Regarding the fire that broke out on Sunday in Aljezur and spread to Lagos, which was declared under control this morning, the Minister of Environment noted that an assessment of urgent works will be conducted before signing the recovery and reforestation protocol.
The protocol signed today at the Algarve Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR) in Faro, under the “Water That Unites” strategy, will ensure that the national counterpart in essential environmental investments in Algarve municipalities will be fully covered by the Environmental Fund, through the Climate Agency.
MAD // JLG
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