A large protest is being organised by the ‘Save Lagoa’s Lagoa’ group for Sunday, 12 February, to take place between 10am and 1pm in the vicinity of the wetland and which will also coincide with a monthly market day.
On Monday afternoon local resident Martin Owen, 51, drew more attention to the cause by staging an individual protest as part of the collective efforts.
Brandishing a board stating ‘Lets save the Alagoas Brancas [wetlands]’, Mr. Owen spent three hours at the locale, informing passersby of the goings-on and handing out pamphlets advising people about how they too could join the action against the construction.
“I felt strongly about it because I love nature”, he says of his actions, elaborating: “I have lived here for 17 years and conservation is for me the most important issue that the world faces today whether it be rainforests in the Amazon, or fresh water wetland habitats on the fringe of Lagoa.”
The response to his one-man manifesto he says was “extremely favourable.
“It gave people the opportunity to express their emotions about what’s going on. I felt that the building project was developing so fast that an immediate response was required and I thought perhaps it would motivate other people to join the cause.”
A petition launched by the ‘Save Lagoa’s Lagoa’ group to “Censor and curb the plans drawn up for another natural area on the skirts of Lagoa” has been signed by more than 150 people.
The development of what is believed to be “one of the last fresh water wetlands left in the Algarve,” allegedly to make way for a supermarket, has caused an outcry to “‘Stop the Destruction’ of the area and its wildlife”, the group’s facebook page states.
The resident wildlife is said to include glossy ibis, kingfishers, reed warblers, ducks and other wildfowl as well as small mammals and insect life.
Those contesting the development claim the marsh-like land known as the ‘Alagoas Brancas’ is being levelled for the construction of a large supermarket, allegedly belonging to major national group Sonae.
Critics say the plot is an important ecosystem that is home to “so many very rare and beautiful birds”, and query “why would the Câmara give permission to build here?”, as well as “how many supermarkets does a town this size need.”
The Lagoa branch of the leftist BE (Bloco da Esqueda) party has also jumped on the bandwagon and issued a statement saying it views the levelling of the wetlands with “profound consternation” and argues that despite Lagoa Council’s claims all is above-board, “the legal framework does not justify the environmental attack being made, because higher values such as the conservation of rare species in our country are at stake.
“Moreover, the construction of yet another hypermarket, to add to the other five that exist in and around the city, will not bring economic gains or the announced jobs, because excess supply will further crush small urban commerce, as well as leading to the collapse of larger stores.”
The BE said it would be joining Sunday’s protest to “raise awareness about the preservation of environmental values, and to gather signatures for a petition to prevent destruction of and construction in such a sensitive habitat.
“It is a way of demonstrating that growth is not synonymous with development and that it is possible to plan the city in another way.”