PAN marks World Environment Day in Arrábida: “We have to ensure that there is renaturalization”
On World Environment Day, PAN chose to be present at the Serra da Arrábida quarries, in the district of Setúbal. In the final stretch of the campaign for the European elections, and after passing through places such as the Douro estuary or the Ria de Aveiro, the objective was to choose one more of “several points in the country where it is necessary work on renaturalization†and raise awareness of the need to “invest in the protection of biodiversity†.
For the head of the party list, Pedro Fidalgo Marques, this is “an example of a business that is already at the end of its exploration†. Instead of “talking about enlargement, which is what has been systematically requested and failed – both by the chamber and the CCDR†, he recalled – it is necessary to think about “preparation for the end, so we can renaturalize and work on recovery.”
The head of the PAN list with quarry work in sight
MOULTING LESSERICO
Last year, the cement company Secil announced the desire to expand the quarries (com capacity to be mined for another 40 years) in the Arrábida Natural Park, an attempt that fell to the ground with the unfavorable opinion of the process evaluation committee, led by the Lisbon and Tagus Valley Regional Coordination and Development Committee (CCDR-LVT). The Setúbal City Council and the National Civil Protection Authority also disagreed.
“In the middle of the Arrábida Natural Park, in the middle of one of our precious gems in the country in terms of nature, we have a mountain that has been completely excavated, a mountain that has been completely destroyed and that is what cannot happen,†he stressed. Pedro Fidalgo Marques at the beginning of a hot afternoon, with the occasional sounds of work taking place in the distance. Further north, the CDU caravan even visited the interior of a quarry. “We have to ensure that there is renaturalization and that we do not continue to see the mountains destroyed,†insisted the PAN candidate.
Secil wanted to expand the quarry to the slope on the right
Ana Baiao
Arrábida was also at the origin, in 1948, of the creation of the oldest environmental defense association in the Iberian Peninsula, the Liga for the Protection of Nature. “Already in the 1940s, the poet Sebastião da Gama launched a challenge to save Arrábida, precisely because the destruction of natural values was already beginning,†recalled the head list. “We cannot, almost 80 years later, continue to talk about the destruction of natural heritage and some species, whether flora or fauna.â€
It is in this context that the PAN defends the implementation of the Nature Restoration Law, which is “blocked in the European Councilâ€and calls on the Government to “work towards†unlocking. This legislation aims to recover at least 20% of the European Union’s land and sea areas by 2030 and restore degraded ecosystems by 2050. Pedro Fidalgo Marques highlights that this will ensure “protection and reserve zones†. “That has to be the way. This is the path to a green economy, nature tourism, an economy of the future,” he listed, on a day that began with a visit to the Moinho de Maré da Mourisca.
Sabugal
Tourism in Central Portugal
Accession of more countries
During the campaign, which included number two on the list, Tânia Mesquita, and the party leader, Inês de Sousa Real, the head of the list commented on the joint letter presented this Wednesday by Portugal and 11 other member states to request the convening, this month, of the Intergovernmental Conference to open accession negotiations for Ukraine and Moldova.
“What the PAN has advocated is that all countries that meet the Copenhagen criteria should be accepted. All countries that have this willingness and intention of wanting to join the project of peace, European integration, seeking better well-being for all people, animals and nature, must be welcomed and, therefore, it makes perfect sense to start this process,” declared Pedro Fidalgo Marques.
The PAN leader addressed another of the day’s topics: the votes in Parliament on the IRS. Inês de Sousa Real considers it “fundamental†that, when discussing the State Budget, there is a “greater effort†on the part of the Government. “LuÃs Montenegro and the PSD and CDS parliamentary groups cannot forget that they do not have an absolute majority, they have to be more dialoguing and be more available to accept the parties’ proposals,†he pointed out.
