Quercus complains to the GNR about deforestation on Caminho das Ginjas | Funchal News | Madeira News – Information for everyone for everyone!

The Regional Center of the environmental organization Quercus da Madeira publicly expressed its “vehement rejection, deep indignation and sadness” at the intervention recently carried out on Caminho das Ginjas. He further adds that he filed a complaint with the Nature Protection Service (SEPNA) of the Republican National Guard.

Environmentalists understand that this was an indiscriminate deforestation of the areas bordering the path, not safeguarding the native vegetation present, which was mercilessly uprooted or damaged.

“Heathers, beeches, uveiras, leaf litter, laurel trees – many still featuring the green protection net usually applied to planted specimens – were felled, uprooted, partially buried and piled up on the edges of the embankment, on top of the vegetation present there. Numerous specimens spared from deforestation were damaged in such an incomprehensible and unnecessary way that they appear to have been the target of vandalism”, laments Quercus.

“It is unbelievable that this scenario was produced by the Regional Secretariat for Agriculture and Environment! It is inconceivable that this “work” was monitored (?) by the Institute whose mission is to conserve legally protected habitats and species! which devastated the intervention area of ​​a LIFE project, in which he was a partner, and whose maintenance he was obliged to maintain! What commitment and professionalism are these? How can we trust you with the safeguarding of our greatest natural values? We are ashamed!”, Quercus also confesses in this statement.

“Interventions like this have the opposite effect to what was intended – they promote the proliferation and expansion of invasive alien species. “Cleansing” is short-lived and “control” is an illusion! The exposed clearing will be fertile ground for the rapid growth of broom and carqueja (invasive) as the native plants have been destroyed. If cleaning and invasive plant control operations are carried out in this way, the future will be theirs! The only people who don’t want to see it don’t see it… for some reason”, conclude the president of the Madeiran Nucleus of Quercus, Elsa Araújo.