For now, it was an investment by Turismo do Algarve in urban furniture and new signage for the headquarters of the Ria Formosa Natural Park. But the partnership between RTA and the regional directorate of the Nature Conservation Institute, made official yesterday, can be seen as a first step towards a model of co-management of this protected area, which has been being thought for a long time and which will also have the Chamber of Olhão as its 'key partner'.
This was the message left both by João Catarino, Secretary of State for Nature Conservation, and by João Fernandes, president of the Algarve Tourism Region, on the sidelines of the signing of the protocol for the transfer of support equipment to improve the visitor's experience. Marim Environmental Education Center, which took place yesterday, at Quinta de Marim, the headquarters of the PNRF, in Olhão.
Under the protocol signed yesterday, RTA provided ICNF with tables and benches for the picnic area at Quinta de Marim, as well as new directional and informative signage, which Turismo do Algarve acquired under an application to the Valuetur project, approved by under the INTERREG VA Cooperation Programme.
"Similarly to what had already been the ICNF investment in similar equipment, this furniture is very resistant and is made of plastic that would be sent to landfills, as it cannot be recycled," explained João Fernandes, who, in addition to being president from RTA, he is an environmental engineer.
“But there are companies that work with these materials. In this way, we have increased the life of the equipment, made the economy more circular and, obviously, reduced the impact of using these resources, namely plastic”, he added.
«All the equipment here in the picnic area, the signage and the information panels are made of this material. This is also a way of demonstrating that there are still many ways to recover waste», illustrated the responsible for Turismo do Algarve.
As for a bet on the valorization of natural resources, it is something «Algarve Tourism has been developing for years».
“In this specific case, we are in the heart of the Ria Formosa, in a space that is visited by tens of thousands of people and that has the potential to have more visitors and, therefore, more resources, in order to also improve the own space», added the president of Turismo do Algarve.
This type of partnership, said João Catarino, "are fundamental" and represent "a paradigm shift within ICNF and the central administration itself."
Basically, it is about «an approximation to municipalities and local agents, precisely so that each one can do what they do best in enhancing this natural capital and these protected areas».
"There is an intention here to study together with the City Council of Olhão a management model for this farm, similar to what we already have in other regions of the country", said the Secretary of State for Nature Conservation, who argues that the municipality of Olhão «can and should have a more active role in managing this space».
For now, "there is still no concrete proposal" to formalize co-management, but "there has been this will of the chamber for several years and there is an opening on our side."
“We already have other places where this works well. I think it would make perfect sense for the Chamber to take a more active role here. In fact, it already has it, but obviously not participating in an official way. We would like to do it in a really official way», said João Catarino, who, on his visit to Quinta de Marim, had the opportunity to release a kite recovered in the RIAS, after having been shot.
As for the provision of equipment, by the RTA, to the PNRF, «it is a good example of how, with tourism, we can substantially enhance this space».
"I believe that ICNF is only valued and reinforced in its role as a national forest authority and national nature conservation authority, by having these partners in the valorization of these spaces", said the member of the Government.
João Fernandes also considered this collaboration essential.
«For at least two years we have been working on a co-management model, where RTA itself is also a partner», and where the City Council of Olhão plays «a prominent place», illustrated the president of Turismo do Algarve.
“All of this symbolizes a state of maturity that is very important. On the one hand, ICNF perceives the advantage of valuing the territory through its visitation and its usufruct by humans, with responsibility. On the other hand, there are the municipalities, which are already aware of what the natural heritage is and its value for residents, visitors and for the quality of life in the municipality», he summed up .
There is also the tourism sector, «which recognizes in natural parks and in Nature Tourism an opportunity for development».
Castelão Rodrigues, ICNF regional director, thanks this recognition and the investment that accompanied it.
"It is extremely important for us because, fortunately, today we see a much more heightened awareness of issues of nature conservation, biodiversity or ecosystems," he said.
And, considering that it is the RTA that does «the dissemination of what tourism in the Algarve is», the collaboration between ICNF and this entity assumes even more importance, «in the sense that they will also enhance this tourism in the Algarve. nature, making tourists see that natural values are to be preserved».
"When we have a properly signposted route, people stay on the trail and will not step on adjacent areas, thus causing the death of plants or frightening birds or other living beings in these spaces," added the regional director of the ICNF.
As for the future co-management of the Quinta de Marim Interpretive Center, Castelão Rodrigues welcomes it, not least because there is a lot to do at Quinta de Marim, which turns out to be the PNRF's calling card.
At the moment, a forest cleaning is already underway, an investment of around 300 thousand euros that focuses on several spaces in this protected area, financed by the environmental fund.
«What is missing is the restoration of the buildings that we have here and that were abandoned for many years. Our bet for the year is to recover the buildings that the farm has”, said the person responsible for ICNF, in the Algarve region.
Here, the Chamber can be a key partner and help in the recovery of the existing loading dock on the farm "and which at the moment is not used, because it is degraded".
António Pina, who never hid his desire to move towards a co-management model for Quinta de Marim, explained that this is an emblematic space for the city and was already so before becoming the headquarters of the PNRF.
“People from my generation and older people already used this space before it became the Natural Park and, therefore, it is special for us”, he explained.
All these improvements are made thinking of the more than 30 people who visit the space – those who pay admission, the municipalities of Olhão are not counted here, who have free entry -, who must be given «visiting conditions, to that they leave here satisfied with the visit they make».
Photos: Hugo Rodrigues | Sul Informação
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