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LIFE POLLINIZAÇORES project approved, highlights António Ventura
Ecocentre opened in Cedros parish, Faial Island
Civil Protection conducts exercise to test parish evacuation
The signs that Humanity's environmental, economic and social sustainability must go hand in hand in combating the countless threats they face are increasingly evident. This collective awareness has led the world and community agendas for sustainability to become increasingly ambitious, clear and urgent.
In this cause that belongs to everyone, we embrace and face the challenges head-on, and we do so with a sense of responsibility and with the full conviction that we are on the right path to make this island territory a reference region in the field of sustainable development.
In this context, the Regional Directorate for the Environment and Climate Change, within the scope of the competences attributed to it, which pass through Nature Conservation, with the management of protected areas and species and habitats of the Natura 2000 Network, and the promotion of Environmental Quality, in the components of climate change, environmental noise, air quality and waste, it contributes to the macro objective of, taking advantage of the geostrategic position of the Azores and its wealth in terms of resources, to promote its diversity, scale and area of influence.
Thus, we seek to reconcile different uses, activities and interests, in a context of public utility, promoting its biophysical integrity and the conservation of its natural and landscape values, and ensuring, in this small dispersed territory and limited resources, simultaneously, the quality of population life and the existence of high environmental quality standards, emphasizing sustainability and resilience.
This is our vision and it is what we strive for!
March 5, 2025
LIFE POLLINIZAÇORES project approved, highlights António Ventura
The application submitted by the Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and Food to the LIFE Programme in the European Pollinator Initiative thematic area, amounting to 2.78 million Euros, has been approved. "It is a great satisfaction to note that our project has been approved, acknowledging the Government's public policies in applied sustainability and not theoretical sustainability," emphasised António Ventura, the Regional Secretary for Agriculture. The LIFE POLLINIZAÇORES project aims to create more favourable conditions for the shelter, feeding and dispersal of pollinators in a diversity of agricultural and forest land uses. It will run for six years. In addition to strengthening the capacity to produce plants for the work involving the island services of the Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and Food in Flores, Faial, S. Miguel and Terceira, the LIFE POLLINIZAÇORES project plans to use them to improve habitats in about 51 hectares on the same islands. The approved interventions will take place in areas under the management of the Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and Food and other Regional Government bodies that are partners in the project. They will also cover private land under the management of agricultural and forestry producers and public areas under concession to third parties. António Ventura pointed out that "the project includes a line of support for third parties, in the form of small incentives, to help with replication work similar to that carried out by the teams and partners involved." The proposed interventions cover work to create more favourable conditions for the shelter, feeding and dispersal of pollinators in various agricultural land uses (pastures, orchards, horticultural production and flower production). They also comprise, in collaboration with other public and private entities, forest areas, agroforestry, roadsides, viewpoints, recreational and leisure parks, and urban gardens. António Ventura noted that "with LIFE POLLINIZATIONS, the Regional Government is taking on a pioneering role in implementing European policies that point to the need to reverse the decline of pollinator communities, with a view to maximising the ecosystem services they offer to society, namely agricultural activity." He continued: "This project is closely linked to agrifood producers, through the Azores Agricultural Federation, which contributes to its success." For the development of this project, the Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and Food has partners such as KAIROS - Cooperative for the Incubation of Solidarity Economy Initiatives; the Regional Directorate for Forest Resources, the Regional Directorate for the Environment and Euroscut Açores - Sociedade Concessionária da Scut dos Açores.
February 13, 2025
Ecocentre opened in Cedros parish, Faial Island
The Regional Secretary for the Environment and Climate Action, Alonso Miguel, chaired today the opening of the Ecocentre in the parish of Cedros, Faial Island, as part of a collaboration agreement between the Regional Secretary for the Environment and Climate Action and the Cedros Parish Council, municipality of Horta. The ceremony was attended by the Regional Director for the Environment and Climate Action, Ana Rodrigues, and the Mayor of Horta, Carlos Ferreira. On the occasion, the Regional Secretary highlighted the importance and usefulness of this collective infrastructure, placed at the service of Faial citizens, "insofar as it contributes to more effective waste management on the island. It fills a gap and creates conditions for the proper waste packaging in the parish of Cedros until it is forwarded to the Faial Waste Processing Centre." "This project represents an investment of 19 thousand Euros by the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Action, carried out by the Cedros Parish Council. It also had the collaboration and support of the Horta Municipal Council, namely through the provision of a land plot for this purpose," he emphasised. The Regional Secretary recalled the "significant effort undertaken by the Regional Government over the last four years in waste management and environmental awareness and education in the Region," highlighting "the creation of the Strategic Waste Prevention and Management Programme for the Azores - PEPGRA 20+, approved in 2023. The Regional Roadmap for Circular Economy was also drawn up, which, among other relevant tools, led to the development of an Agenda for Circular Economy of the Azores, with a view to adapting the new Action Plan for Circular Economy, one of the European Green Deal pillars, to the Region." "With this legislative framework, which reflects the strategy outlined for waste prevention and management in the Azores, various projects have been developed of significant importance for improving waste management on our islands," he added. The government official highlighted the restructuring of the Waste Processing Centres on the islands of Faial, Pico, Graciosa, São Jorge, Flores and Santa Maria, to adapt them to the selective collection of bio-waste, completed in 2023. "This represented an investment of about 6.1 million Euros by the Regional Government under the REACT-EU programme." Alonso Miguel pointed out that "just as part of the Restructuring of the Faial Waste Processing Centre, opened in July 2024, the Government invested one million Euros in the construction of the new composting pavilion and the purchase of an industrial pre-shredder and a rotary machine with a clamp and bucket, making an extraordinary contribution to improving the management and operation of that infrastructure." Alonso Miguel announced that, in 2025, "an investment of about three million Euros will begin to improve the Waste Processing Centres of Pico, Graciosa, São Jorge, Santa Maria and Faial, with a view to continuing the recovery and modernisation of recycling processes. This will include the installation of new sorting lines to optimise waste management and processing and increasingly promote waste separation and recovery." The Regional Secretary also stressed that "in the specific case of Faial, the modernisation of the sorting line is planned, with the installation of a dosing bunker and a conveyor belt for the sorting table, an investment of about 180 thousand Euros." He added that other interventions are also planned, namely for the "renovation of roofs, replacement of fences and electrification of the pavilion, an investment of about 80 thousand Euros." "We have ensured a very positive path in the Region as far as waste management is concerned, which has resulted in a 17% increase in recycling over the last two years in the Azores. This is due to all these investments, the strong commitment to environmental education and awareness, good collaboration and coordination between all the competent entities, namely our local councils and parish councils, which do an exceptional job, and the fundamental contribution of society as a whole, especially each Azorean." Alonso Miguel concluded that "despite the good indicators and the positive path registered in the Region, it is essential to continue investing in improving and enhancing waste management systems and cleaning public spaces. In this regard, the collaboration of local councils and parish councils with the Regional Government plays a key role."