Regional Government promotes volunteering initiative to restore natural habitats in Algar do Carvão and Furnas do Enxofre - Communication

Secretaria Regional do Ambiente e Ação Climática

Last Saturday, the Regional Secretary for the Environment and Climate Action, Alonso Miguel, took part in a volunteering initiative aimed at recovering and preserving natural habitats at Algar do Carvão and Furnas do Enxofre (caves), on Terceira Island, in collaboration with the National Scout Corps - Terceira Centre.

Promoted by the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Action as part of the LIFE BEETLES Project, the initiative involved around 240 scouts from eight groups on the island of Terceira. They had the opportunity to remove invasive plants and plant specimens of endemic species, namely firetree (Morella faya) and Azores laurel (Laurus azorica), in addition to stacking wood to create a habitat for one of the project's target species, the wild beetle (Trechus terrabravensis).

Afonso Miguel emphasises that LIFE BEETLES "is a nature conservation project aimed at increasing the population size, distribution area and conservation status of three species of beetles endemic to the Azores: Tarphius florensis (ironclad beetle) on the island of Flores, Pseudanchomenus aptinoides (ground beetle) on the island of Pico, and the Trechus terrabravensis (ground beetle) on the island of Terceira. It represents an investment of about 1.76 million Euros, with 55% subsidised by the European Union, to be carried out over a six-year period."

The Regional Secretary explained that "the work planned for Terceira island, under the LIFE BEETLES project, covers an area of around 107 hectares, with the aim of controlling the spread of invasive plant species in pristine habitat areas of the target species and converting eucalyptus plantations into patches of laurel forest."

"In the eucalyptus forests of Algar do Carvão and Furnas do Enxofre, representing two of the project's five areas of intervention on Terceira Island, interventions have been underway since 2020 to renature exotic eucalyptus forests by planting endemic species, converting them into native forests, which creates ideal habitat conditions for the Trechus terrabravensis (ground beetle)," he added.

Alonso Miguel pointed out that "about 4,500 eucalyptus trees have already been removed and eliminated in these two 16-hectare areas as part of this renaturation process. Works have been carried out to control invasive species such as Kahili ginger (Hedychium gardnerianum) and elmleaf blackberry (Rubus ulmifolius) and to implement natural engineering solutions, i.e. based on nature, to stabilise slopes."

"So far, these two areas have seen the planting of about a thousand endemic species, such as Azorean heather (Erica azorica), Azores laurel (Laurus azorica), Azorean laurustinus (Vibrunum trelasei), Azores holly (Ilex perado subsp azorica), Picconia azorica and firetree (Morella faya)," added the Regional Secretary.

Alonso Miguel highlighted the investment of more than 250 Euros made by the Regional Government for the works in the intervention areas on Terceira Island, namely with the hiring of human resources and the purchase of equipment needed for the project, such as chainsaws, drills and a mobile biogrinder. 

"These volunteering activities, involving the general population, are crucial to raising awareness of the need to protect and restore the Azores' native forest, an incredible source of natural resources. It also plays an essential role in biodiversity conservation, oxygen production, climate regulation, and soil and water conservation," he said.

Alonso Miguel welcomed the large number of young scouts taking part in this initiative. As he noted, "it is essential to ensure that young people are increasingly well-informed and aware of this collective, but also individual, responsibility to safeguard the conservation of nature and the protection of the environment, as this is also one of the main goals and values of the scout movement."