In a week in which the two biggest Portuguese parties exchange accusations on those who requested or did not request an Environmental Impact Assessment on the project to be built in Lagoa dos Salgados (Albufeira), the Algarve receives another classification in terms of wetland protection, with the classification of Ribeira do Vascão as Ramsar site.
The Ramsar Convention was signed by Portugal in 1980, thus assuming a commitment to define strategies for the protection of wetlands, inscribing the Ria Formosa and the Tagus Estuary as the first Ramsar sites in Portugal.
Up to the present day a further 26 sites have been registered, with the Algarve being awarded three locations: the Ria Formosa, the Ria de Alvor and the Sapal de Castro Marim. With the classification of Ribeira do Vascão and Pateira de Fermentelos (Águeda), Portugal now has 30 classified wetlands.
There is no doubt that this is an important achievement in terms of environmental protection, but does it work as an effective tool for protecting these areas? With the experience we have in the past, namely in the Algarve case of Ria de Alvor, in which the habitats were destroyed, under the command of the company Butwell Trading, Serviços e Investimentos SA, the prospects are not the best.
This turned out to be a case tried in court, which forced the restitution of these same habitats. Although this was an excellent decision (not implemented yet, because there is an appeal in court), the fact is that the damage has been done and it is difficult to restore everything exactly as it was, so it is extremely important that there is greater vigilance for cases like this.
The classifications are important, but above all, they must be respected and seen as effective, avoiding, at all costs, depraved interventions in these areas (since unclassified wetlands are difficult, as we can see in the case of Lagoa dos Salgados).
So I am full of hope that this classification of the Ribeira do Vascão will mean something in the theme of wetland protection and that, effectively, measures will be adopted to protect and manage this natural area in the middle of the Algarve, assuming itself as the largest river without artificial interruptions in Portugal, leading to its conservation, since that is exactly what the signing of the Ramsar Convention obliges, the commitment to the conservation of wetlands.
Private interest cannot continue to override our territory, the common interest, destroying habitats, not respecting fauna or flora, putting the environment in which we live at risk, leading to substantial losses in the future.
Author Tiago Águas has a degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Algarve
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