The Loulé Climate Action Monitoring Local Council met last Monday, May 16, to create new synergies.
More than 70 representatives of entities with a seat on the Local Council for Monitoring Climate Action of the Municipality of Loulé were at Cineteatro Louletano to participate in the 7th meeting of this body, «a unique forum in the country for the debate of initiatives at the local level in environmental matters and where , for the first time, there were students representing the school groups», says the Loulé Chamber.
Interventions by specialists on the work being developed in areas such as water, energy, sustainable development objectives, natural heritage, forest and biodiversity or the elaboration of the Loulé Municipal Climate Action Plan were some of the themes in focus on climate change. .
As Lídia Terra, head of the Climate Action and Circular Economy Division, underlined, despite this interregnum caused by the pandemic, “the work process has not slowed down”.
And it was to “give account and collect contributions from the parties in the face of this commitment to climate action” that the day's program was developed.
The first speaker of this plenary session, Mayor Vítor Aleixo, recalled the remarkable moments of Loulé's trip, which began in 2013 with "the executive's predisposition to make climate policy a central axis of municipal policy, now reinforced by the recent approval of the Municipal Plan Climate Action», highlighting the fact that Loulé was the first Portuguese municipality to have approved an instrument, which is now a legal obligation.
A plan that aims to «turn Loulé into a climate-resilient territory, committed to decarbonization and the energy transition», but that «leave no one behind».
“We are already experiencing a climatic catastrophe, which is evident to our eyes and we all have to hurry”, he emphasized.
This was followed by the intervention of Miguel Freitas, who brought to this meeting some data on the dossier on “Sustainability, Forests and Biodiversity and Rural Development”. A vast work in progress since 2020, with a view to implementing various programs to increase knowledge about the territory (with a focus on low-density areas), make it more resilient and value endogenous resources, which is an asset for the candidacy for UNESCO Geopark.
In the current context that the Algarve region is already being affected by drought, Sérgio Costa, from Simbiente, presented the Municipal Contingency Plan for Periods of Drought, which provided the Municipality with a mechanism to deal preventively with periods of drought. , ensuring the reduction of its effects and damages.
In a municipality that already has two protected areas, Fonte da Benémola and Rocha da Pena, councilor Carlos Carmo presented the process that led to the creation of a third, the Foz do Almargem and Trafal Local Natural Reserve.
The classification process of this area of 135 hectares in the parish of Quarteira was born from the need to protect the natural values existing there, its wealth of fauna and flora, creating, on the other hand, a decompression zone in the parish of the Algarve region with greater density. population and urban area.
João Ferrão, from the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon, spoke about the importance of meeting the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the Agenda for 2030 proposed by the United Nations and the Local ODS Platform, a dynamic online portal that allows viewing and monitoring of contributions and progress of each municipality in relation to the SDGs, map the innovative and sustainable practices that both municipalities, civil society and companies are implementing, and measure their impact.
This meeting ended with an assessment made by Pedro Coelho, from APA – Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente, Loulé's partner, who praised the work carried out: “Loulé clearly stands out in the Algarve and stands out clearly at national level. It is on the right path but that path is long,” he stressed.
During this session, President Vítor Aleixo announced that, in September, Loulé will host an unprecedented initiative in terms of sustainable development, an international conference dedicated to the theme of "natural capital markets", a new way for companies to think about use of natural resources.
During the afternoon, with a more practical focus, the workshop “What is the contribution of key actors to local climate action?” was held, in which participants integrated thematic work tables (Water, Forest and Biodiversity and Energy) and, in a more informal way, they promoted the sharing of ideas for the implementation of new projects.
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