Alonso Miguel inaugurates Macrophotography Exhibition of Azorean endemic insects “LIFE BEETLES: Little big ones”

July 31, 2023

The Regional Secretary for the Environment and Climate Change, Alonso Miguel, presided today over the inauguration of the Macrophotography Exhibition of Azorean endemic insects “LIFE BEETLES: Little big ones”, at the Jardim Duque da Terceira, in Angra do Heroísmo.

The event was celebrated on World Nature Conservation Day that, according to Alonso Miguel, “represents one of the pillars of sustainable development, which is a brand image of the Region and which corresponds to one of the bets of the Regional Government, namely the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Change.”

According to the Regional Secretary, “this exhibition, which we are pleased to inaugurate today, arises within the scope of the LIFE BEETLES project, which is a nature conservation project, coordinated by the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Change, with a duration of 5 years, in force since January 2020, and which represents an investment of around 1.76 million euros, 55 % financed by the European Commission”.

“LIFE BEETLES assumes the mission of improving the size of populations, distribution area and conservation status of 3 species of beetles endemic to the Azores, namely the ground beetle on Terceira Island; the ground beetle of Pico island, and the ironclad beetle on Flores island, covering an intervention area, in the total of the 3 islands, of 345 hectares”, he explained.

According to the governor, “this exhibition, 'Little big ones', is of particular importance since, in addition to corresponding to the execution of one of the objectives of the LIFE BEETLES project, namely scientific dissemination and educational promotion, it also assumes an innovative character, in our Region, in the photographic record in the macro photography modality”.

“Basically, with this macro photography exhibition, it is intended to contribute to increasing the levels of awareness of the populations and increasing the public's perception of the extraordinary importance of these beings in the functioning of ecosystems, given the vast set of ecosystem services they provide, ranging from the decomposition of organic matter to pollination, through the large-scale reproduction of these little insects that usually go unnoticed and whose fundamental role is often undervalued by ordinary citizens, compared to what happens with larger and more easily observable biodiversity”, stressed the Regional Secretary.

The person responsible for the Environment said that “this project has already created 4 jobs on Terceira, 3 on Pico and 3 on Flores, and it is expected that, by the end of the project, an investment of around 900 thousand euros will be made on Terceira, 400 thousand euros on Pico and more than 300 thousand euros on Flores”.

“There are currently 3 LIFE projects underway in the Region aimed at nature conservation and biodiversity preservation, coordinated by the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Change, starting with LIFE BEETLES, which brings us here today, but also LIFE IP AZORES NATURA and LIFE SNAILS, and last June the LIFE VIDÁLIA project also ended, whose post-LIFE will be ensured by the LIFE IP AZORES NATURA project”, he emphasised.

Alonso Miguel added that “we still have the LIFE IP CLIMAZ project underway, which despite being aimed at mitigating and adapting to climate change, contains a very significant set of actions aimed at nature conservation, and, in its entirety, LIFE projects in the Region represent an investment of € 45M, co-financed by the European Union.”

Marking the date, Alonso Miguel said that “nature conservation is a continuous and complex process, which requires large investments and high levels of technical and scientific knowledge, so the Region has relied on LIFE projects, which are truly strategic operational and financial instruments for the Azores.”