José Macário Correia, President of the Chamber of Faro, or Fernando Pessoa, landscape architect and professor at the University of Algarve, are two of the 45 personalities who have already signed the Manifesto for Vale do Tua, promoted by the League for the Protection of Nature, GEOTA, Quercus, SPEA and Gaia.
"This document contains the 7 main points on which EDP's construction of the Tua Dam must be stopped immediately", emphasize its promoters, who released the Manifesto today, April 18, taking advantage of the International Day of Monuments and Sites, which celebrates this Wednesday.
The signatories of this manifesto come from the worlds of science, culture, economics, politics, journalism and citizenship. They have different views, but they unite in a common will.
Other signatories of the document are, for example, Viriato Soromenho Marques, Rui Reininho, Ana Benavente, António Carmona Rodrigues, Duarte Pio, Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles or Francisco Louçã.
Under the motto “Let's save the Tua!”, the manifesto stresses that “the destruction of the Tua valley is imminent, one of the last wild rivers in Europe and one of the most beautiful in Portugal”.
The signatories defend “the immediate stop of the works in Foz Tua, before irreparable damage is done to a heritage of high social, ecological and economic value, part of our cultural heritage and national identity”.
The manifesto presents “seven good reasons to stop the criminal dam at Foz Tua: “It doesn't meet the objectives. It's useless. Yeah man. There are better alternatives. It's a cultural attack. It's an environmental attack. It is a social attack».
The Foz Tua Dam, included in the National Dam Plan and granted to EDP, has been contested by non-governmental organizations for the “irreparable” consequences it will bring to Vale do Tua. The submersion of a section of the Tua Line and its location in the Alto Douro Wine Region Cultural Landscape, classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, are two of the negative aspects mentioned, to which is added the destruction of the valley's ecosystem.
Read here the text complete of the Manifesto for the Tua Valley (which will soon be made available for open subscription to all):
Note: Photo taken from the blog The Line is Yours
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