The Municipal Assembly (AM) of Faro approved, at the meeting on 26 February, a recommendation by the PAN (People-Animals-Nature) calling for the end of rolling – that is, abusive – pruning that eliminates «most of the benefits» that a tree offers in «terms environmental, aesthetic and comfort'.
This situation has been the order of the day, due to the recent pruning done in Jardim da Alameda, in Faro.
The PAN proposal was the last to be presented, in a Municipal Assembly that ended at dawn, with votes in favor of the PSD, CDS, PPM, MPT, PS and Left Block. The PCP abstained.
In the document, the Sul Informação had access, the PAN recommends that "appropriate pruning methods be used according to the principles of felling", as well as that the trees be "pruned correctly and regularly, ensuring that the beauty and naturalness characteristic of each species remains unchanged, (A well done pruning only removes between 1/3 to half of the tree crown)».
This is because these rolling prunings are, in practice, "abusive cutting of trees, large diameter branches, leaving only a few stumps or very reduced structural legs and in some cases only the trunk, below the crown", stresses the proposal presented. by Paulo Baptista, municipal deputy of the PAN.
Thus, the trees no longer «create shade to protect the sun's rays, they start to contribute to the increase in the temperature of sheltered and surrounding spaces, make the environment more arid and polluted and stop absorbing CO2 (one of the gases responsible for the greenhouse effect). ) and to release oxygen', explains the NAP.
This political party, in the recommendation it presented, also wants that «a comprehensive study be carried out on the number of trees under the responsibility of the municipality, identifying their georeferencing, species and phytosanitary status, subsequently communicating the results to the population within an ideal period of time. six months from today's date. The results must then remain available for permanent physical and virtual consultation through the Chamber of Faro»
Ao Sul Informação, Paulo Baptista, PAN deputy at the Municipal Assembly of Faro, said that "even though AM's recommendations do not have a binding power, they were voted positively by municipal groups that support the executive and reveal the will of the majority of legitimately elected parties to represent Farenses and the municipality's superior interests" .
«We know that this type of pruning is happening all over the Algarve. I hope that this AM deliberation also serves so that Faro assert your capital by setting a good example of best practices in protecting your environmental heritage», he considered.
The Chamber of Faro has already gone public also give your view on the subject. «We have always tried to carry out these maintenance works without resorting to rolling/radical pruning», considered the municipality, in a press release.
«The City Council only proceeds with the pruning of trees that are its responsibility (located in public spaces) and always upon technical advice issued by the services, seeking to promote the health of the treated species and to prevent dry and broken trunks, branches and branches from falling on public roads and reach cars and pedestrians», he says.
In the specific case of Alameda João de Deus, the Chamber considers that “many of the trees treated are extremely aged, susceptible to bad weather, disease and rotting. Others were, over many years, the object of systematic pruning, which caused the crown to rise as well as the height of insertion of the branches into the trunk. Seeking to avoid the felling of these specimens, the services have proceeded to a substantial reduction of the crowns pruning to contain the risks of falling branches – safeguarding the integrity of people and goods».
«Despite the constraints of the arboreal park, we seek daily to carry out maintenance work, which is technically correct and necessary for the safety of citizens and the dignification of the image of our city and municipality. We reiterate that, previously planned by the municipal services, all these operations carried out are normal and necessary in any urban forest and will continue so that it develops in a balanced way and can be fully enjoyed by the citizens», concludes the note from the City Council of Faro.
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