The PAN asked the Government this Wednesday to adopt economic compensation measures for owners who help preserve the natural ecosystems of the Serra da Estrela by maintaining their commitment to the native forest.
“We have to start paying landowners for the ecosystem service they provide to the community. The oxygen we breathe, carbon retention is absolutely essential in the fight against climate changein addition to the component that this heritage has, from the tourist point of view, for the region”, Inês Sousa Real told the Portuguese agency.
The leader and sole deputy of the People-Animals-Nature party was speaking in the Verdelhos parish, in the municipality of Covilhã, district of Castelo Branco, on the sidelines of a visit she made that day to the Serra da Estrela Natural Park (PNSE). , to learn about the damage caused by the great fire that broke out in Covilhã on August 6 and affected about 22 thousand hectares of that protected territory.
After meeting with several local entities, Inês Sousa Real stressed that the main concern that was transmitted to her has to do with the urgency of adopting soil containment measures to avoid contamination of the water lines.
In addition, he explained, it was also clear that “revitalize this areaand adopt measures that guarantee that “there is support for investment in the forest”, not only in production, but above all in conservation”.
According to him, these measures must find a way to economically compensate the owners of the forest that is economically unprofitable, but whose maintenance is considered essential to maintain biodiversity and even to help stop fires.
Emphasizing that it is “absolutely heartbreakingSeeing the burned landscape of the PNSE, the PAN leader also stressed that it was the native forest areas that contributed to stopping the fire in some places, for which she reiterated the importance of adopting measures that help its owners. kind of forest
“If we do not take it into account in the next State Budget and in the policies and implementation of community funds, we will be losing every year to the firesbecause fires are fought in winter and not in summer”, he added.
On the other hand, he also recalled that the rest of the neighbors and small producers cannot be forgotten, having argued that it is necessary to adopt a “more robust program from the financial point of view.”
He also stressed that the great PNSE Dynamization Plan, which the Government has already promised to create, cannot fail.
“It has to be this time. We cannot run the risk of losing the fight against climate change, of losing forest areas as important as those that the PNSE has”, she reasoned.
On this visit, which includes some of the places most affected by the fire, Inês de Sousa Real also plans to visit the Serra da Estrela Interpretation Center (Seia) and CERVAS – Center for the Ecology, Recovery and Surveillance of Wild Animals of Gouveia.
Source: Observadora
