The Communist party has delivered a resolution to parliament that recommends urgent intervention in the Cacela Velha and Fábrica areas of Vila Real de Santo António after the March storms caused further coastal damage, leaving the old fort even closer to the cliff edge.Erosion and the silting up of the Ria Formosa in this area was accellerated by poorly thought-out completed in 2010 when a new channel was opened to connect the Ria Formosa to the sea.
This served to silt up the area, leading to the end of shellfishing in the area and the movement of fishing boats to other, more navigable areas.
The local community of fishermen, nursery owners, shellfish farmers and heritage associations all agree that the 2010 work, "accelerated the process of sedimentation of the lagoon and erosion of the dune belt, with serious damages, both for the preservation of the environmental and cultural heritage, and for the economic activities that develop there," - a statement that the Communists have picked up on, noting the 2010 intervention had, “dramatic consequences for the preservation of local communities and their way of life."
The strong March storms, "aggravated the existing problems with the destruction of the dunes, the dumping of even more sand in the lagoon, the acceleration of the erosion process of the cliff below Cacela Velha and the abandonment of the last oyster nursery in the area which is putting at risk the patrimonial status of the historic village of Cacela Velha.”
The draft resolution results from a visit by MP Paulo Sá to the affected areas. The mayor of Vila Real de Santo António, Conceição Cabrita also has visited and the Ministry of the Environment will make an announcement ‘within a month, after analysing the documentation.’
It is clear what needs to be done – a reversal of the 2010 interventions being a good start point. With the dunes restored and the dredging of the navigation channels, wok that has been called for by the Association for Defence, Rehabilitation and Research of the Natural and Cultural Heritage of Cacela (ADRIP), but has been ignored by government for at least three years.
The silting up of the channel is a ‘natural phenomenon’ according to the Ministry of the Environment when questioned by Paulo Sá in February, so it did not see any need for new work as this requires "a cost benefit analysis."
Last week, Mayor Conceição Cabrita met officials at the Ministry of the Environment to talk over the problems, notably the outer wall of the fortress. This is when the Minister of the Environment, João Pedro Matos Fernandes, said that an answer would be forthcoming ‘within a month’ as he prays for no more storms before the calmer summer season arrives.
Even the Social Democratic opposition party, through MPs José Carlos Barros and Cristóvão Norte, has presented a draft resolution proposing an urgent inventory of risk along the Algarve coast, noting the Cacela Velha as a prime example of how nature reacts when you get things wrong.
(Photo: Patrícia Leal/ADRIP facebook)
