At the beginning of 2017 the Alagoas Brancas wetland was turned upside down by bulldozers and lorries. The worked then stopped just as suddenly and the machines disappeared leaving behind an unsightly mountain of rubble which remains there to this day, writes the Save the Alagoas Group.
What happened? Who was responsible? What does the future hold for this wildlife sanctuary?
With little information coming from the local authorities the general public has been left in the dark. The following information chronicles the events of the last six months from the point of view of the Save the Alagoas Group (Grupo de Defesa das Alagoas Brancas) which was formed to save the site from this commercial development.
History
Back in February 2017, the commercial development at the site was stopped by the Câmara Municipal de Lagoa owing to a breach of licensing technicalities on the part of the developer. At the same time Almargem, SPEA, Bloco de Esquerda and the PAN Party made representations to the Minister of the Environment who agreed to send APA officials to re-evaluate the environmental importance of the Alagoas Brancas. Soon afterwards, this brief was passed on to the ICNF.
The Save the Alagoas Group, encouraged by this positive news, set about a campaign of raising public awareness about the environmental value of the site. Over 2,000 people to date have signed a petition on line and on paper but 4,000 signatures are required in order for the matter to be raised in parliament.
The online petition can be found at http://peticaopublica.com/mobile/pview.aspx?pi=PT84449 )
In the following months there have been no public communications from either the Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente (APA) or the Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas (ICNF) or, indeed, the Câmara Municipal de Lagoa or the Ministério do Ambiente.
However, the Ministry has confirmed in writing that ICNF would be monitoring the site and that it is up to the Câmara to decide what would be the future of the Alagoas.
The Save the Alagoas Group has sent letters to Turismo do Algarve, Ministério do Ambiente, APA, ICNF, and the Presidente da Câmara de Lagoa. None of these have replied.
Almargem, a cultural and environmental protection association in the Algarve, has also written to the Ministry and APA querying how development work could have been allowed on this site. They have also received no reply.
Recent activity
After three requests for a meeting with the President of the Câmara Municipal de Lagoa representatives from Save the Alagoas Group, armed with over 2,000 signatures to the Group’s petition, were finally able to meet the President on 28th June 2017.
The Pesidente explained that the Câmara is unable to change what has been done previously because they have no grounds for challenging the legislative process and do not have the power to change the designation of the site. He said that the Câmara could incur substantial financial liability if they did this. He also said that he had received no official communication from the government stating that he has the power to decide the future of the Alagoas Brancas.
The council Presidente said that he had attended a meeting with APA and ICNF but did not disclose details. He recommended that the Save the Alagoas Brancas Group should contact the ICNF. He also provided the municipal Development Plan for Lagoa under which the Alagoas Brancas will disappear.
The Save the Alagoas Brancas Group was able to meet with a representative of the ICNF in Lagos on 25 July 2017.
The group was informed that the ICNF has not been monitoring the site on a regular basis (even though this has been mandated by the Ministry of the Environment). They had sent a bird ‘specialist’ to the site in June for one day.
After that one visit the ‘specialist’ formed the opinion that the Alagoas Brancas group is not of sufficient environmental importance to be given protected status. The ‘specialist’ counted 4 species of birds during his short visit.
However, the Save the Alagoas Brancas Group has previously informed the ICNF that over 70 species of birds have been recorded at the site (and many other animals) many of which are protected.
The Group feels that this “study” by the ICNF is clearly inadequate in the face of the evidence of the richness of the wildlife at the site. It mirrors the inadequate “study” which was carried out by APA in 2008 which helped the Câmara to change the designation of the site to allow commercial development.
Following the meeting the Group wrote to the ICNF on 28 July 2017 strongly challenging the conclusion of the bird ‘specialist’ and re-sending photos and articles and lists of protected birds prepared by Dr Manfred Temme – a German specialist who has been monitoring the site independently since 2008.
The Group proposed that ICNF carries out a proper study of the wetlands over a suitable period of time and not just on one day during a dry summer. The Group believes that this was the Ministry’s implied instruction.
The Group also requested the ICNF to inform its members what laws, guidelines, or directives, either in Portugal or under EU rules, exist in relation to protected species of wildlife. The Group asked ICNF to inform us whether they are prepared to invoke such laws, guidelines, or directives in order to prevent any further commercial development work at the site pending completion of a proper study of the location by ICNF. No reply has been received from the ICNF to date.
In the meantime, the Save the Alagoas Brancas Group applied to have a stand at the new Organic Market in Lagoa at the end of July to raise awareness about the Alagoas Brancas. The Câmara Municipal de Lagoa rejected the application stating that it “did not fit the norms and objectives of the Market”.
Furthermore, in July some parts of the fencing around the site (which had been erected without proper consent and subsequently embargoed by the Câmara) were removed and debris left scattered near the road. The Camera was unable to explain how this had been allowed.
In conclusion, while there has been much speculation about the fate of the Alagoas Brancas, in official terms nothing has been resolved.
The Ministry of the Environment promised a proper study and monitoring of the site but the ICNF have not done this.
The ICNF was mandated by the Ministry to find a solution to safeguard the birdlife at the site but their efforts to date have been woefully inadequate.
The local Câmara is not prepared to overturn the original decision to change the designation of the site because they fear the legal and financial implications. At the same time the Câmara claims that protecting the environment and the heritage of Lagoa is their priority.
While officials prevaricate the future of Alagoas Brancas remains in the balance with the possibility that development work at the site could re-start at any time once the developer has obtained the necessary permits.
Efforts to raise awareness are not supported by the Câmara and the small group of interested residents still struggles to gain momentum.
Current lagoon area
Building project as supplied by Lagoa council
Facebook: 'Salvar as Alagoas Brancas'
Sign the public petition: http://peticaopublica.com/mobile/pview.aspx?pi=PT84449
