AZORES | Regional Council for the Environment and Sustainable Development of the Azores met on Terceira Island

The Regional Secretary for the Environment and Climate Change, Alonso Miguel, chaired last Friday the first 2023 meeting of the Regional Council for the Environment and Sustainable Development (CRADS) in Angra do Heroísmo.

Alonso Miguel highlighted “the importance of this advisory body for the decision-making process of the Regional Government as well as for the implementation of public policies in the various environmental areas.”

As part of this meeting, a proposal was presented to the members of the Council regarding the creation of the “Friend of Nature” programme. According to Alonso Miguel, “it aims to create partnerships and establish new projects, with a view to promoting the Region’s natural values, including Nature Custody Agreements, providing counterparts for the partner entities, namely discounts on entry fees to the Region’s Environmental Interpretation Centres.

“Aimed at public and private entities, whether profit or non-profit, operating in the Autonomous Region of the Azores, the programme is intended to support the promotion, organisation and monitoring of the performance of the regional tourism offer, with regard to nature tourism, as well as to acknowledge public and private entities that implement good environmental practices by granting them the status and respective seal” added the government official.

The Regional Secretary also presented the proposal for a Regional Legislative Decree revising the Legal Scheme for Environmental Impact Assessment and Licensing, currently in force.

According to Alonso Miguel, “this initiative aims to transpose into the regional legal system the Community Directives that had not been transposed to date, in addition to optimising and clarifying procedures, based on the experience acquired by this Regional Secretariat in the implementation of this legal scheme over the past 12 years.”

During the CRADS meeting, a proposal was also presented concerning the locations to be classified as harbours (class E harbours) in the Autonomous Region of the Azores, whose administration and management now fall under the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Change, as a result of the organisational changes that have redirected these competences.

The agenda of this meeting also included the presentation of a status report on six REACT-EU projects underway in the Region, which will be completed by the end of 2023.

Four of these projects aim to strengthen the Region’s response to the effects of climate change, including the creation of the Roadmap for Carbon Neutrality in the Azores, the Project to Improve Knowledge of the Location and Conservation Status of Organic Soils and Peatlands, the preparation of Risk Cartography for Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change, and also the implementation of Flood Alert Systems in four high-risk Hydrographic Basins in the Region.

The other two projects underway focus on the improvement of waste management in the Azores, namely the creation of the Regional Circular Economy Roadmap and the Restructuring of the Waste Processing Centres with a view to composting selective organic waste collection and the producing high-quality compost on the islands of Flores, Faial, Pico, São Jorge, Graciosa and Santa Maria. 

For Alonso Miguel, “these projects represent an important investment for the mitigation and adaptation to the effects of climate change and waste prevention and management in the Autonomous Region of the Azores, as part of a paradigm shift towards a more circular economy, representing an overall investment of about 13 million Euros, fully funded under REACT-EU.”

During the meeting, a report on the progress of LIFE projects underway in the Region was also presented to the members of the Council. These are five projects aimed at nature conservation and mitigation and adaptation to the effects of climate change, with an investment of about 45 million Euros: LIFE IP Azores Natura, LIFE IP Climaz, LIFE Beetles, LIFE Snails and LIFE Vidália.

Alonso Miguel stressed that “the LIFE Vidália project ends already this year, with an excellent performance, and the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Change will continue the implementation of its actions through the LIFE IP Azores Natura project.” According to him, “the LIFE Programme represents a strategic operational and financial tool for the Region,” and therefore, it will continue to be a commitment of the Regional Government, with the development of new projects with relevance to the Azores already being prepared.

GRA/RÁDIOILHÉU