Regional Government promotes training on enforcement in nature conservation and biodiversity protection - Communication

Secretaria Regional do Ambiente e Ação Climática

The Regional Secretary for the Environment and Climate Action, Alonso Miguel, chaired the opening session of a training course on “Nature Conservation and Biodiversity Protection” held on Monday on the island of Terceira. It is aimed at organisations responsible for environmental monitoring and enforcement, which will also be held on the islands of São Miguel and Faial.

Organised by the Regional Environment Inspectorate and taking place this week in Angra do Heroísmo, this training course involves 33 participants from the Nature Rangers Corps, the Nature and Environment Protection Service (SEPNA) of the National Republican Guard (GNR), the Environmental Protection Brigade (BRiPA) of the Public Security Police (PSP), and the technical teams of the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Action. It aims to promote an integrated approach to environmental enforcement and strengthen cooperation among various entities responsible for nature conservation and biodiversity protection.

At the opening session, Alonso Miguel considered the initiative to be of “great importance for the preservation and enhancement of the Azores’ extraordinary natural heritage. It makes a decisive contribution to the health, well-being and safety of the population, as well as to the Region’s social and economic development, particularly as a strategic tourist asset, but one that is as valuable as it is fragile.”

“It is essential to achieve a balance between the responsibility to protect our natural heritage and the need to chart a development course. However, achieving, managing and maintaining this balance is highly complex in humanised landscapes such as ours, particularly at a time when we face increasingly demanding global challenges, such as climate change, environmental pollution, the destruction of ecosystems and biodiversity loss,” he said.

The Regional Secretary emphasised that “the Region has managed to make remarkable progress,” noting that “the recently published results of the Synthetic Regional Development Index for 2024 clearly demonstrate the Azores’ excellent performance in terms of environmental quality, which places the archipelago at the leading edge in this indicator nationwide."

In this context, he recalled that firm steps had been taken in the Region towards establishing a solid legal, regulatory and administrative framework in the areas of environmental management, nature conservation, climate action and spatial planning.

The government official emphasised the importance of establishing the Azores Nature Parks and the Regional Network of Protected Areas, as well as the progress made in recent years with the approval of the new Regional Water Plan, the revision of the  Azores Hydrographic Region Management Plan and the creation of the Azores Drought and Water Scarcity Management Plan. 

Alonso Miguel also highlighted “the approval of the new Strategic Waste Prevention and Management Programme for Azores (PEPGRA 20+) and the Circular Economy Agenda, the process of refurbishing, modernising and outfitting regional waste processing centres, representing an investment of exceeding €10 million, as well as the creation of the Roadmap for Carbon Neutrality in the Azores and the implementation of the Regional Climate Change Plan.”

Alonso Miguel reiterated the Regional Government’s ongoing commitment to developing environmental policies, highlighting the recent approval of the last six Land Management Plans for Island Nature Parks. He also pointed out that the Regional Strategy for the Control and Prevention of Invasive Species is nearing completion, whilst the National Nature Restoration Plan is being prepared, which will include 56 measures specifically developed for the Azores.

Alonso Miguel emphasised that “the successful implementation of environmental policies also depends on a commitment to environmental education, technical and operational capacity-building for nature conservation, and the availability of adequate resources to ensure environmental monitoring, surveillance and enforcement.”

The government official highlighted “the Regional Government’s firm commitment to environmental education and literacy, whilst also recognising the work carried out within the context of Island Nature Parks, environmental centres, the Azores Geopark and the Biosphere Reserves, underlining the crucial role of the LIFE Programme, as a financial and operational tool, which has already allocated more than €45 million to the management, preservation and improvement of the Region’s protected areas.”

Alonso Miguel also emphasised the “firm commitment to the training and capacity-building of technical and operational teams.” In this regard, he revealed that “more than €2.5 million has been invested to outfit the Environment and Climate Action Services on our islands over the last four years with vehicles, boats, machinery and industrial equipment, drones, uniforms and personal protective equipment.”

The Regional Secretary also emphasised “the importance of the surveillance and enforcement actions carried out by the Nature Rangers, the SEPNA unit of GNR, the BRiPA unit of PSP and, in particular, the Regional Environment Inspectorate; the latter is responsible for the inter-institutional coordination of inspection activities and the processing of administrative offence proceedings in the environmental sector in the Azores.”

Alonso Miguel reiterated that “the Regional Government will continue to bolster the resources allocated to environmental enforcement, noting the recent recruitment of 12 Nature Rangers and the recruitment procedures currently underway to appoint a senior inspector, a senior environmental technician and a legal expert for the Regional Environment Inspectorate.”

He also highlighted the important work carried out by the Regional Environment Inspectorate in the field of training, emphasising “the course on Environmental Law and Legislation, held in 2021; the series of information and awareness-raising sessions aimed at the agricultural and livestock sector, held throughout 2023; and the training course on "approach, presentation and dialogue in enforcement actions," aimed at inspectors and Nature Rangers, held in 2024.”

“We now have an active and proactive inspection service, which combines high levels of knowledge, discipline and rigour with an educational and preventive approach, and for this reason, is highly regarded and recognised both within the region and outside it,” he emphasised.

This new training initiative draws on the collaboration and expertise of instructors from the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF), the Regional Directorate for the Environment and Climate Action, and the Regional Environment Inspectorate. According to Alonso Miguel, it represents “another important step forward in training, information-sharing, institutional coordination and improved enforcement of environmental legislation, contributing to ever more effective protection of the Region’s natural heritage and environmental quality.”

The Regional Secretary paid “a well-deserved tribute to all the professionals who, every day, carry out environmental inspection, monitoring and enforcement duties, playing a key role in protecting the environment in the Azores.”

The government official concluded by expressing confidence that this training will help to improve the effectiveness of environmental legislation enforcement and enhance the joint capacity to respond to the challenges of environmental protection, the conservation of natural heritage, safety and the sustainable development of the Autonomous Region of the Azores.”