Future of Alagoas Brancas was discussed in Participatory Session in Lagoa

“Protecting Alagoas Brancas: Why and how” was the question that more than 30 experts tried to answer on April 20th. It was an intense day of hard work and sharing of knowledge, of various aspects and themes, which took place at the Convento de São José, in Lagoa.

The initiative started with the president of the Associação Cívica Cidade da Participação, Ana Marta Costa, who made a point of highlighting the importance, not only of the session, which is intended to “mark the beginning of fruitful work between all parties”, but also for so many experts from different areas gathered in Lagoa to contribute to safeguarding the natural and cultural values of that wetland.

The Mayor of Lagoa Luís Encarnação recalled the different steps of this long process, saying that it was an important moment, with his eyes set on the future.

Anabela Blofeld, the best-known face of the Movement to Save Alagoas Brancas (MSAB), said, emotionally, the happiness of seeing a room full of people focused on the same goal.

It was up to the president of the Portuguese Botany Society, João Farminhão, to mention the importance of the municipality of Lagoa at a national level, in terms of botany, speaking of the most relevant values and noting the importance of considering an ecological corridor from the coast of the municipality , incorporating Alagoas Brancas and continuing to the rice fields of Lagoa and Vale da Parra.

The moment was also marked by the gift, to President Luís Encarnação, of a copy of the book “Sites of botanical interest in Continental Portugal”, in which João Farminhão is one of the authors.

Opening session

Alagoas Brancas: past and present

There were then three presentations in the form of an overview of the past and present of Alagoas Brancas. Anabela Blofeld looked back at the Movement’s struggle over the last seven years, always with the aim of safeguarding this area.

Anabela Santos presented the Study to characterize this wetland carried out in 2019 by the Almargem Association and which ended up demonstrating, through scientific data, the importance of preserving and classifying that area.

It was up to Judite Fernandes, from the Spatial Planning and Environmental Study Group (GEOTA), to frame the biophysics and waters of Alagoas Brancas and the need to include this area in the REN as a Flood Threatened Zone (ZAC).

That specialist also drew attention to the karst characteristics of the subsoil and the dangerous expansion of urban buildings in these karst locations.

Jael Palhas presents the results of Bioblitz in botany

Bioblitz 2024 results

The results of the Bioblitz carried out on February 18th, by a group of experts from various areas of study, were then presented.

Jael Palhas, researcher at “Center for Functional Ecology”, from the University of Coimbra, presented the botanical value of Alagoas Brancas, focused on hydrobotanical data collected and analyzed together with several IUCN experts (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) and the University of Algarve.

This researcher pointed out the uniqueness and national and international relevance of the Alagoas Brancas botanical community, highlighting that it is the only place in Portugal where eight botanical species occur simultaneously and one of the few in Europe and the world with these characteristics.

Jael Palhas even equated the botanical richness of the place to a “mini Doñana”.

Margarida Cristo, researcher at the Algarve Sea Science Center (CCMAR), at the University of Algarve, presented data on aquatic invertebrates, highlighting the presence of Daphnia magna – Classified as Vulnerable (VU) in the Red Book of Invertebrates of Continental Portugal, a species of interest as a model in the laboratory and field, and referred to the need to carry out more sampling throughout the year for greater and better knowledge of this group.

Judite Fernandes, from GEOTA, spoke about “sponge” cities – cities of the future that mimic the water cycle, presenting some suggestions, particularly in terms of territorial management instruments, measures that the Municipality of Lagoa “could and should apply, not only from a perspective of preserving natural values, but also for the protection of material assets and the safety of its residents».

Rui Félix, from the Butterfly Conservation Center of Portugal (TAGIS), presented data relating to insects, while Julieta Costa, from the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA), focused on known data in terms of avifauna, highlighting the several species with confirmed nesting in the area.

«The presentations were unanimous in the irrefutable importance of this wetland and the need for more prospecting (evaluations/studies) in order to complete the information already collected», highlights Almargem.

There was also time in the morning for questions from the public. Questions were asked about the involvement of the various entities present (academia, associations and NGOs) in planning the project that will be carried out by the Municipality.

Anabela Simão, vice-president of the Lagoa Chamber, guaranteed the municipality’s collaborative interest not only with the experts involved in the technical survey, but also with the entities present there.

Group dynamics in the Participatory Session

Thinking about the future

The second half of the Participatory Session, which took place in the afternoon, was dedicated to thinking about the future. It began with a «fruitful dynamic of working groups that aimed to create the work bases for the next steps in this wetland», explains Almargem.

The multidisciplinary groups of experts were divided into four structuring themes: Visitation; Environmental education; Renaturalization and Strategic Planning.

«The aim was to take advantage of the presence of dozens of experts on site to outline strategies and respond to the most immediate questions, both in terms of scheduling and operationalization, in order to more easily apply the recommendations», adds the association.

The results of the group dynamics were then presented to the public, through a spokesperson for each group, and the session was opened to questions.

There was an exchange of ideas between different groups and citizens’ doubts regarding the implementation of these ideas. It was clarified by the Almargem technician, Anabela Santos, that a more detailed report will be made, containing all the information on the group dynamics and which will be sent to the Municipality of Lagoa, with the aim of making valid contributions to the Master Plan that the Municipality is developing for the area.

A round table was also held, moderated by journalist Elisabete Rodrigues, from the newspaper Sul Informação, and which was attended by the regional director of the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF), Joaquim Castelão Rodrigues, the director of the Portuguese Environment Agency – Administration of the Algarve Hydrographic Region (APA-ARH Algarve), Pedro Coelho, the councilor of the Municipality of Lagoa, Mário Guerreiro, the representative of Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Domingos Leitão, the representative of the Academy, Jael Palhas and from MSAB representative, Ângela Rosa.

Among the many issues addressed, all representatives expressed the desire to collaborate in the development of a “beneficial and feasible strategic plan for the area”.

It was also mentioned that a co-management model, already successfully tested in other protected areas in the Algarve, could be suitable for Alagoas Brancas.