The Move for the Salgados Appeal
Salgados - Portugal
Published on
In a move that has astounded many of the natives, the RSPB and SPEA in Portugal, the government has granted permission for the construction of new hotels on the last coastal lagoon which sits along the south coast. This area is currently recognized as a very special coastal lagoon and Bird Sanctuary on the Algarve coast. Even though this may be seen as a disgraceful move, this decision was made in part of the fact that current occupancy rates for hotels are only at 55%. In a bid to increase to increase the tourist industry, this decision is seen as a catastrophic blow to the unique coastal region on the south coast.
The RSPB and SPEA are avid supporters of bird life and their sanctuaries. They have been waged in an ongoing battle over the coastal region known as Salgados (Pera Marsh to the locals) for a decade. Their intent was for the area to be given over to the jurisdiction of the SPA on a special protection status, but for many reasons unknown that special protection was never given. What has happened is instead the Portuguese Government has granted Finalgarve (an affiliate of Grupo Gallilei and currently under scrutiny of the Parliamentary Commission for corruption), the permission to start construction on 887 acres of land situated right next door to the bird sanctuary.
Scheduled to be constructed are a golf course, 3 hotels and select prime property such as villas, stores and etc. Of course, since the Finalgarve does not currently hold enough money to pay off the fines that they have being cited against them for their scandalous past, they are not able to proceed with the construction and are asking for investments from investors all around the world.
Before tourism became one of the biggest industries in the Algarve in the late 1970’s, there were quite a few unique coastal regions that were very similar to the one in Salgados. These regions were converted into fuel stops, wintering sites and breeding habitats for many different bird species. Now due to the tourist industry, those regions no longer exist. Located in between the most urban areas in the city of Agarve are Armação de Pera and Albufeira and they have had to deal with substantial pressure and threats from the authorities in charge of tourist developments and have managed to successfully withstand the test of time. But thanks to the latest developments and decree of the Portuguese Government, the battle may be over and lost. The landscape of the eastern edge of the lagoon has a dune that helps to protect it from the sea. There is a golf course that is also situated along the eastern edge and now that area is in danger of being flooded. Also, the effects of having an extremely dry winter, has severely decreased the water supply. The water that was once used to feed the inhabitants of the bird sanctuary is now being used to help maintain the appearance of the golf course. Each week the water level drops an average of 4 cm. Breeding has been highly unsuccessful and as a result, several resident species are no longer present in the lagoon.
With the news of new construction developments causing more political pressure in the region it is highly possible that the lagoon will disappear and many of the indigenous species will be gone forever. Now there is widespread discord and unease since a government that is supposed to be promoting Nature-based tourism is letting such a travesty happen.
In response to this problem, there is now a petition available online that is being circulated to try to convince the Portuguese Government to change its mind and revoke the permission it previously gave for real estate development and also to grant SPA status to protect this lagoon now and in the future.
Here is the link to the petition for the appeal:
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Published in: News and Updates / Portuguese Life