Regional Council for the Environment and Sustainable Development met on Terceira Island

June 13, 2023

The Regional Secretary for the Environment and Climate Change, Alonso Miguel, chaired, in Angra do Heroísmo, an extraordinary meeting of the Regional Council for the Environment and Sustainable Development (CRADS).

According to the official, “the CRADS is a consultative body of the autonomous regional administration department responsible for the environment and sustainable development, which ordinarily meets twice a year, with the first meeting taking place on March 23 and a meeting being expected. second meeting at the end of 2023, to assess the preliminary proposals for the Region's Plan and Budget for 2024”.

“As such, since it is intended to immediately follow up on projects relevant to the Region, there was a need for an extraordinary meeting of the CRADS, so that this Body could pronounce on them, within the scope of its specific competences”, he stressed.

On the agenda of the CRADS meeting are the presentations of the projects for the requalification of the Geodesic Landmark of Pico Mountain, the second phases of requalification of the Pedestrian Circulation of the Protected Landscape of Monte da Guia and the Pole of Pedro Miguel do Jardim Botânico, both in island of Faial, as well as the third phase of the redevelopment of the Landscaped Forest at Lagoa do Congro, in São Miguel.

Referring to the requalification of the Geodesic Landmark of Pico Mountain, Alonso Miguel stressed that "this project aims to reinforce safety conditions and promote a landscape improvement of the place, thus dignifying the highest point in Portugal", adding that "if it is a minimalist intervention, given that the area is part of a Natural Reserve and that the intervention must comply with a set of specific and rigorous geodetic criteria, in addition to being subject to extreme weather conditions”.

The Regional Secretary underlined that “the proposal of the Action Plan of the Paleoparque de Santa Maria was also presented to the councilors, which obtained its legal protection with the publication of Regional Legislative Decree n. 11/2018/A, of August 28, and which is also recognized by the International Association of Paleontology”.

“The Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Change has developed and will put into public consultation an Action Plan with the aim of implementing measures for the conservation, monitoring and enhancement of the fossil deposits on the island of Santa Maria, which represent a unique natural heritage, with a budget of around 335 thousand euros to be implemented in the period between 2023 and 2026”, he said.

Within the scope of this meeting, the councilors also had access to other relevant documents and information, such as the proposal to amend the Coastal Ordainment Plan (POOC) of the island of São Miguel, the methodologies to be applied for carrying capacity calculations , within the scope of the Nature Sports Charters under development, as well as the preliminary results of the Regional Waste Information System (SRIR), referring to 2022.