The mayor of São Brás de Alportel, Vitor Guerreiro, and the vice president, Marlene Guerreiro, met last Thursday with the Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, at the Ministry of Environment, in Lisbon, to reaffirm the importance of the creation of the Ribeira do Alportel dam and defend the inclusion of the municipality’s territory in the ongoing studies for the construction of a dam in the Ribeira do Alportel watershed.
During the meeting, the mayors remembered the minister the long process that, for decades, moves the municipality in defense of the creation of the Ribeira do Alportel dam and reinforced the strategic position of the territory of São Brás de Alportel, highlighting its central location, The amount of large water consumption centers in the Algarve, as well as their potential for population growth and agricultural and forest development capacity.
“St. Brás de Alportel has unique characteristics that can contribute decisively to increase the water storage capacity in the region, simultaneously promoting the preservation of Serra do Caldeirão and its economic and tourist dynamization,” said Vítor Guerreiro.
The vice-president, responsible for the oils of economic development and tourism, stressed the “central importance of the creation of these water management infrastructures, within the scope of strategy advocated by the municipality in the defense and appreciation of the rural villages of Serra do Caldeirão, as a defense potential Forest, population fixation and attractiveness of these territories, for the development of projects of economic and tourist valorization ”. Projects of the greatest relevance in combating human aging and desertification of these territories that benefit from an extraordinary geographical location and keep a valuable natural and cultural heritage.
It is important to remember that Serra do Caldeirão is one of the most important reserves of biodiversity and ecosystem services of Algarve, is integrated into the Natura 2000 network, classified as a national ecological reserve and recognized as mountain territory. In this context, the mayors have advocated the need for sustainable management of water resources that benefit not only are Alportel Brás, but also contributes to the water safety and resilience of the entire Algarve.
Given the challenges imposed by climate change, Vitor Guerreiro stressed “the urgency of additional and innovative solutions to ensure the sustainability and safety of water supply in the future.”
“Climate change requires concerted action and a firm bet on infrastructure to increase the storage capacity and management of water resources,” he said.
The municipality of São Brás de Alportel thus reaffirms its commitment to “the leadership and the promotion of sustainable solutions for the management of natural resources, recognizing that collaboration between different levels of government and society is essential to ensure a resilient future”. .
It states that “it maintains its full willingness to continue to collaborate with the Ministry of Environment and other competent entities to explore all opportunities to maximize the water potential of the region and ensure the well-being of future generations.”
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