The Regional Secretary for the Environment and Climate Action, Alonso Miguel, marked World Environment Day on Wednesday by visiting the Caldeira do Faial Nature Reserve.

“World Environment Day, which this year has the theme ‘Accelerating land restoration, resilience to drought and desertification’, aims to alert people to the effects of the destruction of nature, loss of biodiversity and pollution, as well as the negative impacts of climate change,” said Alonso Miguel.
According to the minister responsible for the environment, “This issue has an important significance for the Azores since the regional government has made a major financial and operational effort to ensure the protection and restoration of natural habitats, as well as to ensure mitigation and adaptation to climate change in the region.”

Alonso Miguel said that “the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Action currently has four LIFE projects underway, with the aim of promoting nature conservation, preserving biodiversity and mitigating and adapting to climate change, which together represent an investment of over 40 million euros”.

The Regional Secretary explained that “these and other projects aim to protect and restore important natural habitats, such as peatlands, which are habitats of great importance for regulating the hydrological cycle, recharging aquifers, retaining and purifying water, as well as sequestering carbon and, consequently, mitigating the effects of climate change and combating drought and desertification.”

“The project to Improve Knowledge of the Location and Conservation Status of Organic Soils and Peatlands, which this Secretariat completed at the end of 2023, with an investment of 1.5 million euros, is a good example of the efforts made by the Regional Government in this direction,” he added.

Alonso Miguel revealed that, to mark World Environment Day, among many other activities taking place on all the islands, a visit to the Caldeira do Faial Nature Reserve was promoted, with the participation of around half a hundred employees from the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Action. The aim was to sensitize and make the population aware of the importance of preserving the environment and conserving nature.

“The Caldeira do Faial Nature Reserve was the first classified protected area in the Azores and is home to an extraordinary natural heritage. It is a hotspot of endemic flora and fauna, home to two thirds of the Azores’ endemic vascular flora, in a perfect state of conservation, as well as relevant natural habitats such as peat bogs,” concluded Alonso Miguel.

Caldeira do Faial has several protected statuses, including being classified as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and Special Protection Area (SPA) under the Natura 2000 Network, a Ramsar Site, and a site of the Azores Geopark—UNESCO World Geopark.

in Tribuna das Ilhas-Faial Island newspaper

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.