The discovery is even 227 million years old, but this is a project for the future. O Metoposaurus Algarvensis, whose fossils were found in the Jazida da Penina, is the starting point for the aspiring project. UNESCO World Geopark which brings together Loulé, Silves, Albufeira and the University of Algarve. This Monday, December 2, the three municipalities and the academy signed collaboration protocols for an initiative whose main objective is to counteract the decline of the interior of the region, involving people.
The Salão Nobre of the Paços do Concelho de Loulé welcomed this moment that was nothing more than the realization of two years of work together.
Two years that only marked the starting point, but that were already “essential” to start preparing the UNESCO application, which should be made in 2021 or 2022.
This is a very ambitious project. The idea is to bring together geological, historical or archaeological knowledge, all from a holistic perspective, to develop the territory in the interior of the municipalities of Loulé, Albufeira and Silves.
Promoting the sustainable development of the territory from the communities and their quality and way of life, as well as the geological wealth, making the area of the three municipalities a sustainable and potentially tourist destination of world interest, through its geological heritage, is the main purpose of this application.
Cristina Veiga Pires, the scientific coordinator of the Algarvensis Geopark, explained that the delimited area (which incorporates places like Paderne, Silves, Messines, Loulé or Querença) has "numerous geosites already identified", such as the Jazida da Penina, where the Metoposaurus Algarvensis, the Sal-Gema mine, in Loulé, the Grés de Silves or the limestones in Escarpão, in Albufeira.
“We already have a list of over 25 geosites to be documented. This is very long, of course, we have to go to the site, see the accessibility. In the future, there will be a musealization to be developed and hence the need for a long time to prepare everything. Now, we have to make this list and homogenize the information», he told journalists.
It will also be from these geosites that the entire project will be developed, in which walking routes will play an important role.
“The three municipalities have things done, in heritage, in culture, in walking routes. If there are, it's because they pass in beautiful places and if the places are beautiful it's because there is geology involved», he illustrated.
Basically, the great idea is to make known the rich heritage that exists in the interior of the Algarve and which is often forgotten. With this, people are attracted and the economy itself is promoted, as mentioned by Vítor Aleixo, mayor of Loulé.
Recalling the pivotal role of Octávio Mateus, a professor at the University of Lisbon who challenged him to create this Geopark, the mayor said that "quickly he realized the unique opportunity that he could not fail to seize".
«I immediately understood that I had the opportunity to take to the interior of the Algarve a project in which I believe, which will help to counteract its climate of demographic, economic and even natural decline», he considered.
For Vítor Aleixo, this is a “for generations” project, with a “strong identity matrix” and where the presidents of the Parish Councils are “a key player in mobilizing and taking the initiative to the people”.
Moreover, the inhabitants of these territories are, according to the mayor, the “most important” of the entire project.
“People will be absolutely decisive. The Geopark is a project that will only be successful if it involves people and has to be from the bottom up. It is necessary that everyone lives this, that they understand what is happening», he said, bluntly.
Rosa Palma, mayor of Silves, defended precisely the same idea.
“We want the heritage that is already there to come to life, but for that to happen, there has to be people and they also have a story to tell. Therefore, I think it is important that customs and traditions are not lost and this is a project that encompasses all this knowledge», he considered.
The mayor left two strong wishes. «We want people to speak and that this word algarensis walk on everyone's lips. And more: we want people to be infected and recognize their territory – that they feel a sense of belonging».
José Carlos Rolo, mayor of Albufeira, considered, in turn, that the Geopark could be, for his municipality, an «alternative to mass tourism».
«We have to walk there, so that there is such complementarity to the sun and the beach. We already know how the issue of seasonality works and the formation of the Geopark, with the UNESCO seal, could add value to the tourist fabric of Albufeira», he defended.
And with the development of tourism in the interior, it is the economy itself that flourishes and is stimulated. Paulo Águas, rector of the University of Algarve (UAlg), said, in this sense, that the Geopark project "looks at the territory from a perspective of preservation and that will be how we will have the capacity to improve living conditions."
And for the future?
For the next year, the creation of an Aspiring Association Geoparque Algarvensis is expected to bring together all these entities. In parallel, there will be actions in the territory, with the population, to make this project known.
The first one is this Saturday, December 7th, from 15 pm, at the Escola Secundária de Loulé, which will host a conference with those involved in this project, as well as experts in this field – Octávio Mateus, from Universidade Nova de Lisboa and researcher who led the international team that excavated the Penina deposit, where the Metoposaurus Algarvensis, and Artur Sá, from the University of Minho.
Both will talk about the challenges and opportunities of the bid that brings together the three Algarve municipalities.
At 17:15 pm, the traveling exhibition “Let's be Geopark Algarvensis: What is this? – A territory aspiring to UNESCO World Geopark”, carried out within the scope of the candidacy of the municipality of Loulé to the Environmental Fund “Environmental + Sustainable Education | EducarTe: Educate for the Territory”.
Algarvensis Geopark already has a website available here.
Photos: Pedro Lemos|Sul Informação
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