Azorean Government awards 31 prizes under the "Eco-Freguesia, Freguesia Limpa" Programme

July 1, 2022

The Regional Secretary for the Environment and Climate Change, Alonso Miguel, distinguished, Wednesday, several parish councils of the Azores for their commitment and dedication to environmental preservation in a ceremony held in Velas, on the island of São Jorge.

Alonso Miguel, who presided over the delivery of the Excellence Awards, under the scope of the "Eco-freguesia, Freguesia limpa 2021” programme, recognised and valued the efforts of these councils in the cleaning, removal and final destination of waste abandoned in public spaces, including waterlines and the coastline, as well as in the promotion of environmental awareness actions.

"These actions are essential from the point of view of environmental preservation and the protection and enhancement of our natural resources but are also increasingly relevant to ensure the protection of people and property, especially on islands such as ours, subject to increased vulnerability to the effects of climate change. In fact, clean public spaces and unobstructed riversides, combined with good environmental practices by the population, are key aspects to reducing the risk of overflow, flooding, landslides and other hazards, contributing decisively to safeguarding populations and avoiding huge material and financial losses", assured Alonso Miguel.

At this ceremony, Alonso Miguel announced that, in 2021, 140 parishes signed up for the "Eco-Freguesia, Freguesia Limpa" Programme, with the actions carried out by the Parish Councils that resulted in the removal of approximately 1,500 tonnes of waste abandoned in public spaces.

Regarding the applications submitted to the complementary projects "My Stream" and "Clean Coast", he said that "the actions developed by the parish councils have ensured the monitoring and cleaning of more than 240 kilometres of waterlines and more than 180 kilometres of coastline, numbers that demonstrate the success of this collaboration between the Regional Government and local authorities".

In terms of the development of awareness and environmental education programmes and activities, another pillar of the "Eco-Freguesia, Freguesia limpa", 350 actions were carried out in 2021, which, for the governor, "reveals a very positive evolution in terms of the environmental awareness of the population and public participation in the environmental field, fundamental for a behaviour change and a new paradigm of sustainable development".

In this ceremony 31 Parish Councils were distinguished with the Excellence Award, specifically, the Parish Councils of Lajedo and Fajã Grande, from the island of Flores, Cedros, Ribeirinha and Salão, from the island of Faial, Rosais and Santo Antão, from the island of São Jorge, Prainha, from the island of Pico, Santa Cruz da Graciosa, Ribeirinha, São Bartolomeu dos Regatos, Terra Chã, Feteira, Raminho, Porto Judeu, São Bento, Santa Bárbara, São Sebastião, Fonte do Bastardo, Vila Nova, Fontinhas and Agualva, on the island of Terceira, Santo Espírito, Almagreira and Santa Bárbara, on the island of Santa Maria, and Conceição, São Brás, Ribeira Chã, Água de Pau, Santana and Algarvia, on the island of São Miguel.

For Alonso Miguel, "the Parish Councils, by their proximity to local populations and detailed knowledge of their territories, are strategic partners and play a key role in the enormous challenge of preserving the Environment", stating that "it is enormous satisfaction to have the opportunity to distinguish these 31 parishes, from eight islands of the Azores, which stood out in terms of cleaning effort, maintenance and environmental awareness, obtaining maximum points in all evaluation criteria, and that, therefore, were awarded the Excellence Award, consisting of a certificate of excellence and an additional monetary prize.

Alonso Miguel also highlighted the Regional Government's decision to reinforce the budget for the "Eco-Freguesia, Freguesia Limpa" Programme, with an additional 1 million euros, tripling the budget initially foreseen for 2022, taking into account the importance of empowering the Parish Councils and reinforcing cooperation with these local authorities.