Duarte Cordeiro, Minister for the Environment and Climate Action, did not exclude, this Monday, June 5, that, in the coming months, there will be even more restrictive measures due to the lack of water in the Algarve.
The official participated in the 8th Meeting of the Local Council for Monitoring Climate Action in the Municipality of Loulé, which is taking place at the Hotel Ria Park, in Vale do Garrão (Almancil).
Speaking to journalists, on the sidelines of the initiative, Duarte Cordeiro admitted that, despite the measures already adopted in the Algarve, such as the reduction of the water quota for agriculture and golf at the Odeleite dam or the closure of municipal swimming pools, there may be more in the pipeline .
“Of course, it is possible for there to be more measures, in the same way that it was possible for us to take decisions last week. We have to monitor the situation, that's why we hold monthly meetings and that's why AMAL meets regularly», said the minister.
According to Duarte Cordeiro, it is necessary «to monitor consumption», and an awareness campaign will be launched on the 15th of June.
«If consumption increases substantially and the measures we have adopted are not enough, we will probably have to take more», he admitted.
Asked about what kind of actions could be foreseen, Duarte Cordeiro did not want to "make speculations".
«We must progressively introduce rational measures, but we also know that we must bet a lot on reducing consumption: the level of consumption this year, in the Algarve, is higher than last year», he added.
With summer approaching, when the population of the Algarve triples, Duarte Cordeiro said that the region has to position itself «not necessarily against the possibility of visiting us, but rather as a sustainable destination in which those who visit us he also knows that he has to abide by some rules».
«Today, the best quality hotels know that sustainability is a central element and they have a way to reduce their consumption: they just need to monitor it and then have a plan», said the official.
«Today we have a very significant investment plan in the Algarve to reinforce the capacity to supply water resources, but we know that we will have less precipitation in the future. Therefore, we will have to work in two dimensions: on the one hand, as far as possible, with the resources that the country has, with the European resources available and invest in the efficiency of water consumption, in the interconnection, passing water from Sotavento to Barlavento, but also new sources of water, recycled water and water that comes from the sea through the desalination plant», he concluded.
Comments