The Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations (ONGA) of the C6 Coalition and the Confederation of Portuguese Farmers (CAP) demonstrated, last week, concern with the transfer and sharing of attributions of the peripheral services of the direct and indirect administration of the State to the Commissions of Regional Coordination and Development (CCDR) in the governmental areas of nature conservation, forests and agriculture, determined by the Resolution of the Council of Ministers n.º 123/2022 published on December 14th.
At issue is the «weakening» of the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF), as the central body responsible for conservation policies and for coordinating the management of environmental assets, and the «potential loss of responsibility for the effective management of national protected areas », which, according to the position of the C6 Coalition, «should be under the purview of bodies of national scope, even safeguarding the fulfillment of community obligations and international treaties».
The coalition considers that, with the delegation of these functions to the CCDR, «nature conservation policies lose the course of priority action designed for the entire territory and become the target of pressure and interests from local actors, losing impartiality, neutrality and placing the conservation of nature and forests in Portugal at risk".
Since the CCDRs are not under the supervision of the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Action, "there are still several doubts about the management of financial resources or the hierarchy of decision-making between ICNF and CCDR", adds the coalition.
In the area of agriculture, this measure «may mean not only the dismantling of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food», but also, as CAP reinforces, «the disappearance of several of its valences, which will have serious consequences for farmers and agriculture family».
«Given the lack of justification and the removal of public, transparent and participatory discussion with civil society», the ONGA and CAP delivered a letter last week to António Costa, calling for the Government to review this decision.
«Time is of urgency in action regarding the restoration and protection of nature. We need to protect and restore what's left of our ecosystems and species, and not continue to delay their protection with bureaucratic processes of sharing competences and dubious as to their effectiveness and their benefits to nature. Nature conservation should be a priority for any Government and, therefore, we appeal to Mr. Prime Minister to commit to this single objective, and that the Portuguese Government's action be quick, efficient, showing ambition and leadership in the protection of nature and people», write the organizations in the letter sent this week.
The C6 Coalition is made up of the Fund for the Protection of Wild Animals (FAPAS), the Study Group on Territorial and Environmental Planning (GEOTA), the League for the Protection of Nature (LPN), QUERCUS – National Association for Nature Conservation (QUERCUS ), Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA) and Representation in Portugal of WWF, Worldwide Fund For Nature (WWF Mediterranean – Portugal).
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