The Government created a working group, led by the president of the Águas de Portugal Group, which will outline the country’s strategy for the efficient management, storage and distribution of water.
On May 22, the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, had already announced, in Faro, the inter-ministerial initiative “The water that unites us”, which will design the new water strategy.
“The Government decided to create a working group that, guided by a multi-sector vision, will complete this initiative by the end of 2024, giving rise to a strategic framework for the development of solutions and possible sources of public financing,” reads a joint statement. of Ministries of Environment and Agriculture.
Among these solutions is the National Hydrological Plan and an interconnected network for the storage and efficient distribution of water for agriculture, which will be called REGA.
The working group, which will be led by the president of the Águas de Portugal Group, António Carmona Rodrigues, is responsible for outlining the country’s strategy for efficient water management, storage and distribution.
In its composition there will be a member of the board of directors of the Portuguese Environmental Agency (APA), or director-general of the Directorate-General of Agriculture and Rural Development (DGARD) and president of the Board of Administration of the Alqueva Development and Infrastructure Company ( ITS DAY).
“This inter-ministerial cooperation in the management of Portuguese water resources aims to promote more effective environmental conservation, greater food security and sustainable economic development,” said the Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria, quoted in the same note. da Graça Carvalho. .
The minister has also said that she believes that the “Water that unites us” strategy will bring the possibility of combining infrastructure and advanced technology, in addition to raising awareness in society about water consumption.
Successively, The Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, José Manuel Fernandes, defended the urgent need to advance investments for the storage and distribution of water..
“We are going to build an interconnected and efficient water network for agriculture. We cannot waste time or opportunities, as unfortunately happened with the Government of António Costa, which forgave 8.3 billion euros in terms of loans from the Recovery and Resilience Plan,” he concluded.
Last week, within the framework of his visit to the National Agricultural Fair, Luís Montenegro had already announced that the Government would approve, in the Council of Ministers, on Friday, the initiative.
“This is a strategic planning project for this resource, promoting its storage, its good use and its reconciliation between all forms of use, whether agricultural, tourism or human consumption,” he explained at the time.
Montenegro also highlighted the collaboration that has existed between the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Ministry of Environment and Energy, pointing out that “from the union of efforts between these two ministries, strategies are born that will solve people’s real problems.”
Source: Observadora
