15 February 2012

The Regional Director of the Environment defended Friday, in Faial Island, a strong involvement of the local communities in the life of each of one of the nine Island’s natural parks existing in the archipelago.
The idea was advanced by João Bettencourt in the presentation of the regulation of the program “Natural Park – Partner of the Sustainable Development”, that took place at the late afternoon in Faial’s Botanical Garden.
According to what he refers at the occasion, the formal presentation of the partner’s regulation makes this date “a special day” to the island’s parks, once the initiative concretizes, in Faial’s concrete case, the involvement of the community with its natural park.
From now on, added that responsible, the Faial’s Natural Park, which in 2011 was distinguished with the EDEN Award – European Destinations of Excellence, will count with 29 partners, and during the current year, the program will be extended to all islands and all parks.
For João Bettencourt, the creation of this figure of partner of the park ensures that the living forces of each island are involved in a large project that passes by taking our islands beyond, as part of nature conservation, and potentiate a growing economic activity as tourism.
The existence of three islands (Flores, Corvo and Graciosa) classified as Biosphere Reservation, the application of the Azores Geopark to the European and Global Geoparks Network, the attribution of the EDEN Award to Faial’s Natural Park and the application to the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism, presented by the S. Miguel’s Natural Park for the Councils of Nordeste and  Povoação, were pointed out as examples of the “healthy relationship that should exists between tourism, an economic activity, and the environment”.
This is one more reason to the Regional Government “be pleased with this initiative and intended that the same to be extended to the other islands”, assured the Regional Director of the Environment, adding that, in the case of Pico Island, are already in course the “initial contacts” for the program extends to the mountain-island.
In this case, what we intend is favor a sustainable development, with the involvement of all living forces so, this way, we manage to preserve our natural patrimony, on one hand, and on the other, that the partners can develop an successful economic activity, added João Bettencourt.
The partners of island's natural parks, with the right to use an “identification seal”, are grouped in four categories: travel agencies (Turtle), transports (Shearwater), agri-food producing entities (Bat) and associations of local development, sport clubs, non-governmental organizations of the environment and departments of education and research (Basalt).

Source (Tribuna das Ilhas)