“It is everyone’s responsibility, the Government and the Assembly of the Republic, to review the existing reports and implement the necessary actions on the ground to achieve greater effectiveness. It’s essential to move to practice (…) The evidence shows that not as much has been done as needed,” he told journalists.
Aguiar Branco, speaking in the village of Ermida in Ponte da Barca, one of the areas in the Peneda Gerês National Park most affected by the July fire, stated that his visit aims to “bring the issue of prevention back into the media agenda” so that efforts to combat fires on the ground become easier when necessary.
“While it’s important to have measures aimed at both prevention and combat, we know there are reports produced in the past, whether in 2017 or in 2022, which already identified the risks and made recommendations at the prevention level to make combat more effective.”
