The civic movement «Across the Ribeira de Quarteira – Against the City of Lacustre» requested the issuance of a Declaration of Unfavorable Environmental Impact for the project called “Loteamento da Cidade Lacustre, Vilamoura”, whose public consultation took place until the 21st of May.
In addition to the civic movement, other environmental defense organizations sent opinions, such as the LPN – League for the Protection of Nature, Almargem – Association for the Defense of the Cultural and Environmental Heritage of the Algarve, and SPEA – Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds, as well as the Glocal Citizens Movement Faro.
The civic movement asked for an Unfavorable Environmental Impact Statement to be issued as it is, in its opinion, “a megalomaniac project with irreversible damage, which brings the sea to the land, which raises the level of sea water by human hand , plus an enormous pressure on the landscape on the Algarve coast, with loss of ecosystem value and high environmental degradation in the surrounding areas due to the artificial area created».
In a statement sent to the Sul Informação, citizens stress: «We live in times when reality surpasses fiction, in a scenario of fear and disbelief with a virus that caught us off guard, a humanity demanding change and the simple hypothesis of an elitist project, the remembering the unsustainable line from Dubai (which imported millions of tons of sand from Australia), becoming a reality is something too frightening for the Algarve and the Portuguese».
The movement considers that the project will have “disastrous” impacts in terms of sustainability, climate, climate change and noise, in addition to suffering from “legal irregularities, in terms of the procedure or violation of the Urbanization Plan that would give it legal support”.
Therefore, they consider, "the assessment of sustainability has no rigor, it does not present concrete measures to prevent, eradicate and/or control problems and situations", as well as it does not present "scenarios with a time horizon", nor "evolutions, considerations or threats" .
From the outset, says the movement, the Environmental Impact Study that was under public discussion «does not take into account the territorial dimension and the overall impact of the project on the territory and in the relationship with the areas that surround it», thus, as «it does not taking into account the coastal situation and, therefore, does not project future hypotheses or scenarios, resulting in an important gap in the knowledge of its true impact».
In relation to Climate and Climate Change, the current project «continues to be based on very, very old and inadequate data – from 1971 to 2000, or year 2015- and from two meteorological stations, when there are more recent and treated data. by the competent official entities, such as the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), which makes annual climate reports, or the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) - P3AC, or the Climate Portal or Coastal Action Plan XXI».
And as for the various reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Adaptation to Climate Change (IPCC), "this project simply devalues them." “The view of the world has changed due to climate change and the promoters of this project seem to forget this important fact”, stresses the civic movement in its communiqué.
With regard to Water Resources, the Study identifies as negative impacts of the project “the decrease in aquifer recharge and the increase in water consumption. It is the promoters themselves who recognize “negative, significant, permanent and irreversible impacts” in relation to the recharge of the aquifer».
The "exponential consumption of water for human consumption and irrigation that the project would represent, at a time when we are struggling with a shortage of water resources and no solution in sight for this problem, is something that cannot be forgotten, nor the fragility of the model regional development based primarily on tourism, whose consequences were so painfully evident as a result of the pandemic – Covid 19 and with tragic consequences for the business fabric of the Algarve», he adds.
For the issue of Noise, «we can see contradictions and inaccuracies in the project», underline the citizens. “The work will last for years, which will necessarily have effects on people's lives, in terms of people's well-being, due to the fact that they will have to live with loud noises for a period of years”.
The study itself “proves that, after applying the mitigation measures, there are still significant and less significant negative impacts generated by construction and exploration activities, such as, for example, the case of Noise resulting from the increase in road traffic”.
Added to this «the occupation of an area with potential evolution of habitats and the occurrence of flora with conservation value and the alteration of the landscape, the opposite of the increasingly pressing need to preserve biodiversity».
But the civic movement still claims to have detected “illegalities both in the procedure and in the compatibility with the Vilamoura Urbanization Plan”.
Therefore, in this context, they consider that "the nullity of the present public consultation process may be at stake, something that, if not recognized by the EIA authority, will certainly be recognized by the Courts".
In another context, «there is a violation of the Vilamoura Urbanization Plan. The construction area inherent in the EIA, proposed by the company Vilamoura Lusotur SA exceeds what is allowed by the urbanization plan, violating it».
For all that is exposed and more details that the civic movement «Across the Ribeira de Quarteira – Against the City of Lacustre» claims to be «available to share», namely «in relation to the illegalities both in the procedure and in the compatibility with the Urbanization Plan of Vilamoura”, the citizens say they hope that “the competent entities have an integrated vision of the future, not compromising our country, with a project with such significant, permanent and irreversible negative impacts at so many levels”.
Ending its statement, the civic movement recalls "the European agreement, green agreement or ecological agreement (European Green Deal), which sets a limit for 2050".
“It is up to the most suitable municipalities to find tools to stop this type of project, to attract community funds and to outline new green environmental policies inspired by other European cities. A cohesion policy that responds in a balanced way to the complex but fair, inclusive and precise transition, supported by adequate governance models. A governance with flexibility to establish partnerships with other municipalities, with other countries, that share common goals and establish roadmaps of sustainability'.
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