The Environment Minister João Pedro Matos Fernandes and the Deputy Secretary of State and Environment José Mendes visited, last Monday morning, the Bird Watching & Nature Activities Festival, which ended yesterday, October 5th, in Sagres.
During his visit to Forte do Beliche, the Minister of Environment released a booted eagle and the Deputy Secretary of State for the Environment a round-winged eagle, from illegal captivity and which were in recovery at the RIAS.
In the middle of the morning, the governors took part in a tour of Sagres, having the opportunity to symbolically plant an olive tree and a pine tree and remove an invasive species, the weeping willow.
Adelino Soares, Mayor of Vila do Bispo, said “this year's event has already surpassed, in several aspects, previous years. We and our partners have gradually managed to make this event more famous, which is also due to the “2015 Municipality of the Year Award” and the excellent team we have, namely Almargem, the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA) and the Municipality. This year, we had 100 more activities than in the previous edition, totaling 300, and many sold out before the festival started. This year, the event lasted 6 days, two more than in 2015, and 110 species have already been observed. We welcome participants from more than 20 nationalities. In fact, not just any place has the conditions of Sagres for birdwatching».
In turn, Environment Minister Matos Fernandes considered that “it is with the clear awareness that heritage is what distinguishes us, it is with heritage that we build the future, that we can have a project that is distinguished by its difference – this Festival of Birdwatching and all the initiatives that surround this festival. Many of these birds can choose many other places, they fly very long distances, so our responsibility transcends our country and even Vila do Bispo».
Finally, Secretary of State José Mendes said that the first contact he had with the festival was «about two years ago, when I was part of the jury that recognized Vila do Bispo as the “Municipality of the Year 2015”, due to the originality of the festival. event, something that is confirmed once again today. This was due to a complete value chain, a socio-economic and environmental value chain, which reveals the other Algarve, which seems to us to be quite important. It is clearly an exercise in people involvement. A social value chain is an exercise in partner involvement, which for us is important because it also exploits the economic link. The Algarve is known for its sun, beach and sea, but the truth is that it has a lot more to offer. This type of event has the great advantage of combating the seasonality that happens in these types of places. It is important to look at the other assets in the region».
The Bird Watching Festival was promoted by the Municipality of Vila do Bispo and had the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds and the Almargem Association as co-promoters. This time of year coincides with the peak of autumn migration, when migratory birds leave our country towards African hot lands.
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