Govt to spend €11.1 million on rehabilitating Portugal’s rivers, streams
Newswire
Lisbon: Portugal’s AD government pledged this week to spend €11.1 million rehabilitating 10 rivers and streams “from the north to the south of the country,” covering 214 kms.
According to information provided by the press office of the Ministry of the Environment and Energy, the projects include restoration work on the River Tua (in the north east), Esteiro de Salreu (in the north, near Aveiro), River Arunca (in Leiria municipality), Ribeira de Carnide (also Leiria), River Cértima (Aveiro), River Lena (Leiria), Ribeira da Fervença (Serra da Estrela area), Olhos da Fervença (Coimbra/ Cantanhede region), River Zela (Viseu district) and the tributaries, Ribeira Espiçandeira (Viseu district), River Este (in north, running from Braga to Póvoa de Varzim), River Leça (in north), River Vizela (again north), Bugio (north) and Ferro (north).
The curious thing about this announcement is that not only there no interventions in the south of the country, as stated in the opening paragraph – but interventions in the rivers Vizela, Bugio and Ferro were equally announced by Fafe municipality last year in a €1 million investment backed by APA, Portugal’s environment agency.
Lusa makes no reference to this, however, simply reporting that the announcement of these investments “comes on a day when the minister for the environment and energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, is visiting various interventions (again all in the north) – in Braga, Porto, Maia, Águeda, Aveiro, Oliveira do Bairro and Tomar – worth €5.3 million.
The aim of rehabilitating the 10 rivers and streams is, according to the government, “to recover their original characteristics, after many years in which they have undergone profound changes”.
The investment, coordinated by the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), will be financed by the Environmental Fund, under the Ministry of the Environment and Energy, and by European funds.
In the same note, the Ministry of the Environment and Energy added that interventions are being completed on another 97 kms of rivers, worth €3.4 million, financed by the Environmental Fund.
The government has set itself the goal of restoring “at least 500 kms of rivers and tributaries” by 2030, concludes Lusa.
